{"id":183526,"date":"2016-07-25T09:32:30","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T13:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/chinese-colors\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T05:11:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T10:11:47","slug":"chinese-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-colors\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Colors in Chinese and Their Cultural Significance [With Quiz]"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you’re learning Chinese vocabulary<\/a>, it helps to pick up basic words like colors <\/strong>(\u989c\u8272\u00a0\u2014 y\u00e1n s\u00e8<\/em>) so you can give better descriptions. Having a wide and varied color vocabulary will let you express and understand greater nuance in Mandarin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this guide, we’ll go over all of the main colors\u2014plus quite a few less common ones\u2014and touch on their significance in Chinese culture. Once you’ve reviewed the post a few times, you can take the quick quiz to test what you’ve learned.
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Common Colors in Chinese<\/h2>\n

When you’re learning Chinese colors, it helps to start off with the most common! Try to think of the colors of your surroundings as you go about your day to solidify these in your memory.<\/p>\n

You can also stick labels on things around your home or office with the characters of what color they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Chinese<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u7ea2\u8272 <\/a>\n (h\u00f3ng s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Red<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6a59\u8272 <\/a>\n (ch\u00e9ng s\u00e8)\u00a0<\/i><\/td>Orange<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u9ec4\u8272 <\/a>\n (hu\u00e1ng s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Yellow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7eff\u8272 <\/a>\n (l\u01dc s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Green<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u84dd\u8272 <\/a>\n (l\u00e1n s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Blue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7d2b\u8272 <\/a>\n (z\u01d0 s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Purple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u767d\u8272 <\/a>\n (b\u00e1i s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>White<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u9ed1\u8272 <\/a>\n (h\u0113i s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Black<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7070\u8272 <\/a>\n (h\u016bi s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Gray<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u68d5\u8272 <\/a>\n (z\u014dng s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Brown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u91d1\u8272 <\/a>\n (j\u012bn s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Gold<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u94f6\u8272 <\/a>\n (y\u00edn s\u00e8)<\/i><\/td>Silver<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

You can pair \u6df1<\/strong> (sh\u0113n)<\/em> \u201cdark”<\/strong> or \u6d45<\/strong> (qi\u01cen)<\/em> \u201clight\u201d<\/strong> with any color hue to describe varying intensities of that color.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u6df1\u6a59 (sh\u0113n ch\u00e9ng)<\/em> \u2014 dark orange<\/p>\n

\u6d45\u6854\u9ec4 (qi\u01cen j\u00fa hu\u00e1ng)<\/em> \u2014 light tangerine yellow<\/p>\n

\u7ea2\u8272 (h\u00f3ng s\u00e8)<\/em> \u2014 Red<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"red-Chinese-lanterns\"<\/p>\n

Red \u7ea2\u8272 is a prominent color in Chinese culture. It represents strength, vitality and energy. It’s also related to festivity. An auspicious (lucky) color, it’s associated with holidays like Chinese New Year and\u00a0weddings.<\/p>\n

Varieties of red:<\/strong><\/p>\n