色调 (sè diào) — tone; hue; color; shade

Definition

色调 refers to the overall tone or palette of a color scheme (warm, cool, dark, light), not a single color. Use it for describing art, photos, or décor rather than naming a specific hue.

noun
tonehuecolorshade

Examples

  • 色调，。
    Zhè fú huà de sè diào piān lěng, gěi rén yì zhǒng ān jìng de gǎn jué.
    The tones of this painting lean cool, giving a quiet feeling.
  • 。
    Tā xǐ huan yòng nuǎn sè diào lái zhuāng shì fáng jiān.
    She likes to use warm colors to decorate the room.
  • 色调，。
    Zhào piàn de sè diào tài àn le, xū yào tiáo liàng yì xiē.
    The color of the photo is too dark; it needs to be brightened a bit.

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.

色sècolor
调tiáotone

“色” is color and “调” is tone, giving the tone of a color.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →
Appears in
Colors

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