颜色 (yán sè) — color

Definition

The basic, everyday word for 'color' (the property of things). 色彩 is more literary and often used figuratively ('flavor, character'); 彩色 means 'colored' as opposed to black-and-white.

noun
color
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 颜色。
    Zhè ge píng guǒ de yán sè hěn piào liang.
    The color of this apple is very pretty.
  • 颜色？
    Nǐ xǐ huan shén me yán sè?
    What color do you like?
  • 颜色。
    Zhuō zi de yán sè shì bái sè de.
    The color of the table is white.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

颜yánface color
色sècolor

颜 (face color) and 色 (color) are parallel senses forming color or appearance.

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 顏; 颜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
彥
彥yàn顏⁰yán
Same sound today

The traditional form 顏, not the simplified 颜, pairs 彥 as a sound part with 頁, a head, for face or countenance.

Open 颜 →

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 →
Appears in
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