着色 (zhuó sè) — to color, to tint, to apply color | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/formal verb for 'to apply color, to colorize' — used in art, photography, and image-processing contexts, more written than the everyday 染色 (dyeing).

verb

to colorto tintto apply color

Examples

着色。
Wǒ yào gěi zhè fú huà zhuó sè.
I want to color this painting.
。
Zhè ge qū yù yǐ jīng zhe le sè.
This area has already been colored.
着色。
Zhè kuǎn ruǎn jiàn kě yǐ zì dòng duì zhào piàn zhuó sè.
This software can automatically colorize photos.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

着 “apply” and 色 “color” together mean to add 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě著zháo

Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Appears in

Art & Fine Arts

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