TongTong
Sign in

翠绿 (cuì lǜ) — emerald green; greenish-blue

Definition

翠绿 is a vivid emerald green, the bright, slightly bluish green of fresh plants and jade. It is lighter and more vibrant than 碧绿, which is a darker, denser green.

adjective
emerald greengreenish-blue

Examples

  • 翠绿。
    Zhè piàn sēn lín de yán sè shì cuì lǜ de.
    The color of this forest is emerald green.
  • ，翠绿。
    Chūn tiān dào le, cǎo dì biàn de cuì lǜ.
    Spring has come, and the lawn becomes emerald green.
  • 翠绿。
    Tā dài zhe yí kuài cuì lǜ de yù.
    She is wearing a piece of emerald green jade.

Origin

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.

翠cuìjade-green
绿lǜgreen

翠 'jade-green' refines 绿 'green' into a bright emerald 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羽羽yǔwing
Sound part声符shēngfú
卒
卒zú翠cuì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It is made from 羽, a wing, and 卒, which gives the sound.

Open 翠 →

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 綠; 绿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
彔
彔lù綠lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 綠 uses 糸 to show silk and 彔 for sound; the simplified 绿 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 绿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.