深红 (shēn gōng) — dark red | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

dark red

深红。
Tā de qún zi shì shēn gōng de.
Her skirt is dark red.
深红。
shēn gōng Bǐ fěn sè gèng zhuāng zhòng.
Dark red is more solemn than pink.
深红。
Qiū tiān de fēng yè biàn chéng le shēn gōng.
The autumn maple leaves turn dark red.

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 the sense of deep, and 红 is red; together they name a deep red color.

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.