Colors in Chinese – Learn Basic Colors in Chinese

The different meanings of different colors are an interesting cultural phenomenon in China.

Due to the influence of factors such as geographical environment, language, history and culture, customs and habits, the Chinese have given different colors to different cultural connotations.

The many meanings contained in colors also reflect the Chinese people’s characteristics in philosophical thinking, moral concepts, values, customs and habits, and aesthetic appeal.

There are a lot of colors in the world, here I will introduce you a few basic colors in Chinese.

Basic colors in Chinese are as below:

Red – 红 hóng
Yellow – 黄 huáng
Blue – 蓝 lán
White - 白 bái
Black – 黑 hēi

Gold – 金 jīn

Green – 绿 lǜ
Purple – 紫 zǐ
Orange - 橙 chéng
Pink – 粉红fěnhóng
Grey – 灰 huī 

How many colors do you know all of these colors? Please, let me know in the comment section.

Here I introduce some important colors in Chinese culture:

Basic colors in chinese
Source: pexels.com

Red-红 hóng

Red is an important hue in Chinese culture. Red embodies the spiritual and material pursuit of Chinese people.

Red is a symbol of revolution.

Red is a symbol of celebration and auspiciousness.

Therefore, at a Chinese wedding, the bride and groom should wear red dresses with red happy characters, and the Spring Festival couplets, blessing characters and lanterns posted during the New Year are also red.

Red is a symbol of smoothness and success.

Red is also a symbol of loyalty. Guan Yu uses red facial makeup in Peking opera.

Red is also a symbol of danger and emergency.

红旗 Hóng qí  Red flag

红妆 Hóng zhuāng  Red makeup

红利 Hóng lì  dividend

红色预警 Hóngsè yùjǐng   Red alert

Yellow – 黄 huáng

Yellow has an extremely important symbolic meaning in Chinese traditional culture.

Yellow is the color dedicated to the feudal emperors of the past dynasties.

Yellow also has auspicious and festive meanings.

However, modern society has given the meaning of pornography and pornography to pornography.

E.g:

黄袍加身 Huáng páo jiā shēn   be acclaimed emperor

黄道吉日 Huáng dào jí rì   dies faustus

黄色电影 Huángsè diànyǐng  porno movie

White – 白 bái

In Chinese culture, white also has rich connotations.

White symbolizes purity.

White symbolizes death.

White symbolizes failure and loss.

E.g:

白璧无瑕 Bái bì wú xiá  flawless white jade

白事 Bái shì  funeral

白旗 Bái qí  white flag  白条 Bái tiáo  a bill signed in acknowledgement of debt

Black – 黑 hēi

In China, black is a color with contradictory meaning in Chinese culture. On the one hand, black is a solemn and solemn tone, a symbol of seriousness and justice.

For example, Bao Qingtian, Zhang Fei, and Li Kui in the drama are all portrayed as black faces.

On the other hand, black gives people a sense of insidiousness and terror, symbolizing evil, reactionary and lawlessness.

E.g:

黑帮 Hēi bāng  sinister gang

黑幕 Hēi mù  inside story of a plotshady dealetc

Gold – jīn

Gold symbolizes wealth.

E.g:

金碧辉煌 Jīn bì huī huáng  resplendent and magnificent

Here are a few examples of colorful objects:

Green – 绿 lǜ  绿树 lǜ shù  green tree

Many green trees have been planted in my garden.

Purple – 紫 zǐ  紫葡萄 zǐ pútáo  purple grape

There are many purple grapes in the fruit shop.

Orange - 橙 chéng 甜橙 tián chéng   sweet orange

Sweet orange is my favorite fruit.

Pink – 粉红fěnhóng  粉红花朵 fěnhóng huāduǒ  pink flower

On Mother’s Day, I gave my mother a bunch of pink flowers.

Grey – 灰 huī  灰雾 huī wù   grey mist.

On a cloudy day, the window was filled with grey mist.

By Donald Chris

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