How to Describe Color in Chinese

While learning colors may seem a bit trivial, we actually use colors to describe things in our daily speech more than you might realize. In fact, one of the most basic ways that we describe things and people around us is through color. If you go shopping, you might need to ask for a piece of clothing in a certain color. Or when you’re describing someone’s appearance, you might want to say what color hair or eyes they have. That’s why learning how to describe color in Chinese is so important!

Beyond your basic colors, you’ll also want to learn ways to modify these in Chinese, like how to describe colors as “light” or “dark,” or how to say more specific shades of colors in Chinese, like “magenta” or “sky blue.”

Let’s start by looking at some basic colors.

Basic Chinese Color Vocabulary

These color words can be used alone, but they are often paired with the character “色” (sè). This character is part of the word “color” (颜色) listed above, and alone also means “color.”  To use this word, simply place it after the color word. So for example, red (红) becomes “红色.”

Here are a few example sentences:

Using Basic Chinese Color Words

There are two main ways to use the colors in the list above:

1- Color name + N.

2- Color name + 色 + 的 + N.

Here’s how you might use these patterns in full sentences:

Describing Colors in More Detail in Chinese

Just like in English, there are several ways to modify the basic colors in Chinese to describe colors more precisely, as well as many more specific shades of colors. Below are a few ways that you can describe what color something is in more detail.

1- Light vs Dark

The easiest way to describe any color is to differentiate whether it is light or dark, just like how in English we might say “dark blue” or “light blue.” Below are a few examples of how to use these descriptors.

2- Combining Colors

Just like in English, it’s possible to describe a color as being a mix of two colors in Chinese. Below are a few examples of common pairings.

3- More Specific Color Shades

Beyond the basic colors, there are many shades of colors in Chinese. Here are some Chinese color shades.

4- Using Objects to Describe Colors

You can also talk about colors in terms of common objects that are associated with that color, just like how in English we might say something is “cream colored.” Many of the terms that we use in English, like “cream colored,” are also used in Chinese (奶油色 nǎi yóu sè). However, some terms do differ, often due to cultural differences. Below are a few examples of item-based color shades in Chinese.

5- Other Color-Related Words

As mentioned, adding “light” or “dark” in front of a color is one way to be more specific when talking about colors, but you can also use other descriptive words to explain the color of something. Here are a few other color-related words that you might want to add to your Chinese vocabulary.

The color words and related sentences above will definitely help add more color to your speech in Chinese! Whether you need to describe what someone looks like or explain what color item you want to a storekeeper, color vocabulary is sure to come in handy. You can try starting with some basic colors and then add other descriptive words, like “light” and “dark,” and then learn some more specific shades of colors. You’ll be describing colors in Chinese like a pro in no time!

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