黄褐色 (huáng hé sè) — tan, tawny (a brownish-yellow color)

Definition

noun
tantawny (a brownish-yellow color)

Examples

  • 黄褐色，。
    Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn huáng hé sè de wài tào, hěn xiǎn qì zhì.
    She is wearing a tawny coat, which looks very elegant.
  • 黄褐色，。
    Qiū tiān shù yè biàn chéng le huáng hé sè, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
    In autumn the leaves turn tawny, very beautiful.
  • 黄褐色。
    Zhè kuài huáng hé sè de shí tou shì kuàng wù biāo běn.
    This tawny rock is a mineral specimen.

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.

黄褐yellow-brown
黄huángyellow褐hèbrown
联合Side by side
色sècolor

Yellow and brown together name a color, giving the tan or tawny shade.

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 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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 褐 →

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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