金黄 (jīn huáng) — golden yellow

Definition

adjective
golden yellow

Examples

  • ，金黄。
    Qiū tiān dào le, shù yè biàn chéng le jīn huáng sè.
    Autumn has arrived, and the leaves have turned golden yellow.
  • 金黄，。
    Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn jīn huáng de qún zi, fēi cháng piào liang.
    She is wearing a golden yellow dress, very beautiful.
  • 金黄。
    Xī yáng bǎ tiān kōng rǎn chéng le jīn huáng.
    The sunset dyed the sky a golden yellow.

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.

金jīngold
黄huángyellow

金 means gold and 黄 means yellow, giving a golden yellow.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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