浅色 (qiǎn sè) — light color; pale shade

Definition

Refers to pale or light shades (of clothing, paint, etc.), as opposed to dark colors. It modifies a noun directly, e.g. 浅色的衣服.

noun

light colorpale shade

浅色。
Tā xǐ huan chuān qiǎn sè de yī fu.
She likes to wear clothes in light colors.
浅色。
Zhè jiān fáng jiān shuā le qiǎn sè de yóu qī.
This room was painted with light-colored paint.
浅色。
qiǎn sè Bǐ jiào bù róng yì xī rè.
Light colors are less likely to absorb heat.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

浅 (pale) describes 色 (color), giving a light shade.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 淺; 浅 is its simplified writing.

氵戔淺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān淺qiǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 淺 pairs 氵 (water) with 戔 to give the sound; 浅 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Appears in