米黄色 (mǐ huáng sè) — cream color, beige

Definition

noun
cream colorbeige

Examples

  • 米黄色。
    Tā chuān le yí jiàn mǐ huáng sè de wài tào.
    She wore a cream-colored coat.
  • 米黄色。
    Zhè zhǒng mǐ huáng sè de qiáng qī hěn shòu huān yíng.
    This beige wall paint is very popular.
  • 米黄色，。
    Wǒ gèng xǐ huan mǐ huáng sè, bù xǐ huan chún bái sè.
    I prefer beige over pure white.

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.

米黄rice-yellow
米mǐrice黄huángyellow
偏正Modifier + head
色sècolor

The '米' (rice) tint of '黄' (yellow) names a '色' (color).

Characters in this word

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

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.

Open 米 →

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 →

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.

Open 色 →

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