深蓝 (Shēn lán) — dark blue, indigo | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

dark blueindigo

深蓝。
Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn Shēn lán de chèn shān.
He is wearing a dark blue shirt.
深蓝。
Hǎi yáng zài yuǎn chù kàn qǐ lái shì Shēn lán de.
The ocean looks dark blue in the distance.
深蓝。
Zhè fú huà yòng le hěn duō Shēn lán.
This painting uses a lot of dark blue.

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.

深 gives deep and 蓝 gives blue, producing the color dark blue or indigo.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥥍

𥥍𥥍深shēn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

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 藍; 蓝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

監

監jiān藍lán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 蓝, the traditional form 藍 has 艸, grass, above 監, which gives the sound.

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