五彩缤纷 (wǔ cǎi bīn fēn) — (idiom) a riot of color; colorful and splendid

Definition

A chengyu (idiom) meaning 'a riot of color' — many bright colors together, as in a garden, fireworks, or a painting. Sets it apart from plain 彩色 by stressing abundance and dazzling variety.

idiom
a riot of colorcolorful and splendid

Examples

  • ，五彩缤纷，。
    Chūn tiān yí dào, huā yuán lǐ wǔ cǎi bīn fēn, měi bú shèng shōu.
    When spring comes, the garden is a riot of color, too beautiful to take in.
  • ，五彩缤纷，。
    Jié rì de yè wǎn, yān huā wǔ cǎi bīn fēn, zhào liàng le zhěng gè tiān kōng.
    On festival nights, the fireworks are a riot of color, lighting up the whole sky.
  • 五彩缤纷，。
    Zhè fú huà sè cǎi wǔ cǎi bīn fēn, gěi rén hěn qiáng de shì jué chōng jī.
    This painting has a riot of colors, giving a strong visual impact.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

五彩five colors
五wǔfive彩cǎicolor
偏正Modifier + head
缤纷abundant
缤bīnvariegated纷fēnabundant
联合Side by side

五彩 names five colors, and 缤纷 says they are abundant, so the display is splendid.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi彩cǎi
Same sound today

彩 puts 采, which gives the sound, next to 彡, the three-stroke mark that carries the meaning.

Open 彩 →

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 繽; 缤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
賓
賓bīn繽
Same sound today

The traditional form 繽 pairs 糸 (silk) with 賓 as a sound part; the simplified 缤 is a shorthand.

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 紛; 纷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn紛fēn
Same sound today

The form 紛 is built from 糸, a meaning part, and 分, a sound part.

Open 纷 →

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