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彩绘 (cǎi huì) — colored drawing or painting (often decorative, on pottery, walls, etc.)

Definition

A decorative painting done in color, typically on surfaces like pottery, walls, or porcelain. The focus is on the artwork itself, not the act of painting.

noun
colored drawing or painting (often decorative, on pottery, walls, etc.)

Examples

  • 彩绘。
    Zhè jiàn táo qì shàng de cǎi huì fēi cháng jīng měi.
    The colored painting on this pottery is very exquisite.
  • 彩绘。
    Sì miào de qiáng bì shàng bǎo liú zhe gǔ dài de cǎi huì.
    The temple walls preserve ancient colored paintings.
  • 彩绘。
    Tā shàn cháng zài cí qì shàng jìn xíng cǎi huì chuàng zuò.
    He is skilled at creating colored paintings on porcelain.

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.

彩cǎicolor
绘huìpaint

彩 gives color, and 绘 gives drawing or painting, so the word means a colored painted design.

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
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 繪; 绘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
會
會huì繪
Same sound today

The traditional form 繪 pairs 糸 (silk) with 會, which carries the sound; the simplified 绘 is a later shorthand.

Open 绘 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

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