红 (hóng) — red (color); popular, in vogue
Definition
As an adjective, 红 has two uses: the color red, and informally 'popular, in vogue' (e.g. a hit song). For the color, 红色 is the noun form; 红 is the adjective you put before a noun like 红的.
adjective
red (color)popularin vogue
Examples
- 。Tā chuān le yí jiàn hóng sè de qún zi.She wore a red dress.
- 红。Zhè shǒu gē xiàn zài hěn hóng.This song is very popular now.
- 。hóng Sè zài zhōng guó wén huà zhōng dài biǎo hǎo yùn.The color red represents good luck in Chinese culture.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
工gōng紅hóng
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.
Appears in
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