色

See also: 巴

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

色 (Kangxi radical 139, 色+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 弓日山 (NAU), four-corner 2771₇, composition ⿱⺈巴)

1. Kangxi radical #139, ⾊.
2. Shuowen Jiezi radical №340

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/色
• 𠈜, 𠲅, 𢙚, 𢬘, 𣴊, 栬, 絶(绝), 赩, 銫, 𤧾
• 脃 (Exception: Only for mainland China character. Other regions contain ⿱刀巴 instead of 色)

Further reading

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1014, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30602
• Dae Jaweon: page 1473, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3071, character 1
• Unihan data for U+8272

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		色
alternative forms		𢒸 骰 “die”

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 色
Spring and Autumn	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (色) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
色	*srɯɡ
赩	*qʰrɯɡ

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 爪 (“claw; hand”) + 卩 (“kneeling person”) – complexion.

Shuowen interprets this character as an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 人 (“person; human”) + 卩 (“etiquette”) – complexion.

Compare 印, 抑.

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 色

1. color/colour; tint; hue; shade

   顏色／颜色  ―  yánsè  ―  color 顏色兒／颜色儿  ―  yánshǎir  ―  color

2. look; expression
3. kind; sort

   貨色／货色  ―  huòsè  ―  goods; stuff; trash; rubbish; quality of goods; specification

4. feminine charm; beauty

   姿色  ―  zīsè  ―  good looks (of women)

5. sexual; lewd

   色情  ―  sèqíng  ―  pornography; sexual desire

6. (colloquial) perverted; being a pervert
7. theatrical role
8. metallic content
9. die (a cube with numbers or symbols on each side, used in games of chance) (Classifier: 粒 c)

   色子  ―  shǎizi  ―  die

Synonyms

• (color): 顏／颜 (yán)

Dialectal synonyms of 骰子 (“die (used in games of chance)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		骰子
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	色子
	Taiwan	色子
	Harbin	色子
	Singapore	骰子
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	色子
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	色子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	色子, 色兒
	Wanrong	色子
	Xi'an	色子
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	色子
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	色子
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	色子
	Lanzhou	色子
	Ürümqi	色子
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	色子
	Wuhan	色子
	Guiyang	色子
	Liuzhou	色子
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	猴兒, 猴子
	Yangzhou	猴子
	Nantong	色兒
Cantonese	Guangzhou	色仔
	Hong Kong	色仔, 色
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	色仔
	Macau	色仔
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	色仔
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	色仔
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	色仔
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	色
	Foshan	色仔
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	色仔
	Foshan (Shunde)	色仔
	Foshan (Sanshui)	色仔
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	色子
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	色仔
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	色仔
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	色仔
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	色仔
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	色仔
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	色仔
	Taishan	色仔
	Kaiping (Chikan)	色仔
	Enping (Niujiang)	色仔
	Heshan (Yayao)	色仔
	Dongguan	色仔
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	色仔
Gan	Nanchang	色子
	Lichuan	色子
	Pingxiang	色子
Hakka	Meixian	骰仔
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	色仔
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	色仔
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	色仔
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	色仔
	Yudu	色子
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	骰仔, 猴仔, 寶斗仁
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	骰仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	骰仔, 猴仔, 寶斗仁
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	十八啦
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	輾豆
Huizhou	Jixi	寶子
Jin	Taiyuan	色兒
	Xinzhou	色兒
Northern Min	Jian'ou	骰仔
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	骰
Southern Min	Xiamen	骰仔, 豆仔
	Quanzhou	骰仔, 豆仔
	Zhangzhou	骰仔, 豆仔
	Taipei	救十八
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	膏十八仔
	Kaohsiung	撚骰仔
	Yilan	撚骰仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	撚骰仔
	Taichung	十八骰仔
	Tainan	撚寶
	Hsinchu	骰九
	Kinmen	骰仔
	Penghu (Magong)	骰仔
	Manila (Hokkien)	骰仔
	Jieyang	骰
	Leizhou	骰
	Haikou	色囝
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	色囝
	Sanxiang	色囝
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	色子
Wu	Shanghai	骰子
	Shanghai (Chongming)	骰子
	Suzhou	骰子
	Danyang	骰子
	Hangzhou	骰子
	Ningbo	色子
	Wenzhou	骰子
Xiang	Changsha	色子
	Loudi	骰子

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (色):

• → Japanese: 色(しき) (shiki); 色(しょく) (shoku)
• → Korean: 색(色) (saek)
• → Vietnamese: sắc (色)

See also

Colors in Chinese · 顏色／颜色 (layout · text)

白色	灰色	黑色
紅色／红色, 赤色; 緋紅色／绯红色, 豔紅色／艳红色, 大紅／大红	橙色; 棕色, 褐色	黃色／黄色; 奶油色
青檸色／青柠色	綠色／绿色
青色; 深青色	湛藍色／湛蓝色, 蔚藍色／蔚蓝色, 天藍色／天蓝色	藍色／蓝色
紫羅蘭色／紫罗兰色; 靛色	洋紅色／洋红色; 紫色	粉紅色／粉红色

Further reading

• “Entry #2612”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

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Japanese

Stroke order

Kanji

色

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: しき (shiki, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: しょく (shoku, Jōyō)
• Kun: いろ (iro, 色, Jōyō); いろえ (iroe, 色)^{←いろへ (irofe, 色, historical)}
• Nanori: しか (shika); しこ (shiko)

Compounds

Compounds

• 字(ツー)一(イー)色(ソー) (tsūīsō)
• 緑(リュー)一(イー)色(ソー) (ryūīsō)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
色
いろ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

⟨iro₂⟩ → */irə/ → /iro/

From Old Japanese.

Originally referred to kin, indicating siblings sharing the same mother. Later came to indicate feelings of familial love. Apparently this then evolved to refer to romantic love, and by extension sex, or by alternate extension, female beauty. Then by further extension, this came to refer to beauty in general, and then colorfulness, and finally color.

Noun

色(いろ) • (iro) 

1. color (US), colour (UK)

   目(め)の色(いろ)が違(ちが)う猫(ねこ)

   me no iro ga chigau neko

   a cat that has eyes of different color

2. the metaphorical color or mood
   1. one's facial coloring or expression
   2. the shape of one's face or appearance; more specifically, beautiful looks or a beautiful figure
   3. lively elegance, enjoyable or interesting charm
   4. apparent thoughtfulness, warmheartedness
   5. the feeling or mood of a thing
   6. the tenor or timber of a voice or sound
   7. in Noh, a section that is chanted at a medium pace; alternately, a decorative poetic section
   8. in 浄瑠璃 (jōruri, “puppet show narrative”), a lively section that is neither strictly dialog nor narration, but has many elements of dialog
   9. when playing the koto, pushing on a string with the fingers of the left hand to change the pitch of a note, or for vibrato
3. something related to romantic or sexual love, particularly between genders
   1. the emotions or circumstances of attraction between genders
   2. extramarital relations, an affair
   3. an extramarital lover
   4. a prostitute
   5. a red-light district
4. the type or kind of something
5. (informal, slang) various specific kinds of color:
   1. (informal, slang, woman's word) lipstick or rouge
   2. (informal, slang) soy sauce
   3. (informal, slang) paint

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 色(いろ)う (irou)
• 色(いろ)色(いろ), 色々(いろいろ) (iroiro, “various”)
• 色(いろ)んな (iron na, “various”)
• 色(いろ)艶(つや) (irotsuya, “color and luster; a person's facial coloring; warmth of feeling in speech or attitude; interest or fun in speech or writing”)
• 色(いろ)合(あ)い (iroai), 色(いろ)合(あい) (iroai, “a shade, hue, tone; coloring”)
• 色(いろ)褪(あ)せる (iroaseru, “lose color, fade; fade, lose freshness, become old and musty”)
• 色(いろ)紙(がみ) (irogami, “colored paper”)
• 色(いろ)気(け) (iroke)
• 色(いろ)眼(め)鏡(がね) (iro megane, “colored glasses”)
• 色(いろ)物(もの) (iromono, “a colored item, particularly cloth or clothing; a lively and colorful variety act”)
• 色(いろ)好(よ)い (iroyoi, “having a beautiful figure; favorable (as in a reply or attitude)”)
• 色(いろ)分(わ)け, 色(いろ)分(わけ) (irowake, “to color code, to separate by color”)

• 赤(あか)色(いろ) (aka-iro, “red”)
• 青(あお)色(いろ) (ao-iro, “blue”)
• 黄(き)色(いろ) (ki-iro, “yellow”)
• 茶(ちゃ)色(いろ) (cha-iro, “brown”)
• 狐(きつね)色(いろ) (kitsune-iro, “reddish-brown”)
• 橙(だいだい)色(いろ) (daidai-iro, “orange (colour)”)
• オレンジ色(いろ) (orenji-iro, “orange (colour)”)
• 柿(かき)色(いろ) (kaki-iro, “reddish-orange”)
• 紫(むらさき)色(いろ) (murasaki-iro, “purple”)
• 薄(うす)紫(むらさき)色(いろ) (usumurasaki-iro, “light purple, lavender”)
• 桃(もも)色(いろ) (momo-iro, “peach pink”)
• 桜(さくら)色(いろ) (sakura-iro, “light pink”)
• 水(みず)色(いろ) (mizu-iro, “light blue”)
• 群(ぐん)青(じょう)色(いろ) (gunjō-iro, “ultramarine”)
• 赤(あか)紫(むらさき)色(いろ) (akamurasaki-iro, “magenta”)
• 青(あお)緑(みどり)色(いろ) (aomidori-iro, “cyan”)
• 灰(はい)色(いろ) (hai-iro, “dark gray”)
• 鼠(ねずみ)色(いろ) (nezumi-iro, “light gray”)
• 鴇(とき)色(いろ) (toki-iro, “pink”)
• 縹(はなだ)色(いろ) (hanada-iro, “light indigo blue”)
• 栗(くり)色(いろ) (kuri-iro, “maroon”)
• 緋(ひ)色(いろ) (hīro, “scarlet”)
• 茜(あかね)色(いろ) (akane-iro, “madder (colour)”)
• 苺(いちご)色(いろ) (ichigo-iro, “strawberry (colour)”)
• 鬱(う)金(こん)色(いろ) (ukon-iro, “turmeric (dye)”)
• ココア色(いろ) (kokoa-iro, “cocoa (colour)”)
• 葡(ぶ)萄(どう)色(いろ) (budō-iro, “grape (colour)”)
• 檸(レ)檬(モン)色(いろ) (remon-iro, “lemon (colour)”)
• 金糸雀(かなりあ)色(いろ) (kanaria-iro, “canary (colour)”)
• 芥(から)子(し)色(いろ) (karashi-iro, “mustard (colour)”)
• 琥(こ)珀(はく)色(いろ) (kohaku-iro, “amber”)
• 薔(ば)薇(ら)色(いろ) (bara-iro, “rose (colour)”)
• 十(じゅう)人(にん)十(と)色(いろ) (jū-nin to-iro, “to each his own”)

Related terms

Related terms

• 白(しろ)い (shiroi, “white”)
• 黒(くろ)い (kuroi, “black”)
• 赤(あか)い (akai, “red”)
• 青(あお)い (aoi, “blue”)
• 黄(き)色(いろ)い (kīroi, “yellow”)
• 茶(ちゃ)色(いろ)い (chairoi, “brown”)

Adjective

色(いろ) • (iro) -na (adnominal 色(いろ)な (iro na), adverbial 色(いろ)に (iro ni))

1. (archaic) of exceptional beauty of form or appearance
   • Utsubo Monogatari, late 10th c.:

     いろなる娘(むすめ)どもゐなみて

     ironaru musume domo inamite

     beautiful girls all in a row

2. (archaic) knowledgeable about lovemaking, sensual; lascivious, lecherous
   • Ochikubo Monogatari, late 10th c.:

     越前守(えちぜんもり)色(いろ)なる人(ひと)にて

     echizenmori ironaru hito ni te

     Echizenmori was a man who liked the girls / had quite the libido

3. (archaic) elegant, tasteful, refined
   • The Tale of Genji, early 11th c.:

     目馴(めな)れずもある住(す)まひの様(さま)かな色(いろ)なる御心(おこころ)にはをかしくおぼしなさる

     menarezu mo aru sumahi no sama ka na ironaru okokoro ni wa okashiku oboshinasaru

     "I haven't seen it before, but it looks like a house," he thought bemusedly in his refined mind...

Affix

色(いろ) • (iro) 

1. kin, blood relative, more specifically family members sharing the same mother

Usage notes

Only found in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• いろは (one's birth mother)
• いろ背(せ) (irose, “a sibling from the same mother”)
• いろね (a sibling from the same mother)
• いろ兄(え) (iroe, “an older brother from the same mother”)
• いろと (a younger sibling from the same mother)
• いろも (a younger sister from the same mother)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
色
いろえ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

⟨iro₂pe₂⟩ → */irəpəj/ → /irofe/ → /iroe/

Nominalization of the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of classical shimo nidan katsuyō verb 色う (irou, “to color something”).

Not used in modern Japanese.

Noun

色(いろえ) • (iroe) ^{←いろへ (irofe)?}

1. (obsolete) coloring/colouring, design

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
色
しき Grade: 2
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 色 (MC srik). The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

The Buddhist sense is translation of Sanskrit रूप (rūpa, “outward appearance, color, form, shape”).

Noun

色(しき) • (shiki) 

1. (Buddhism) material form, specifically the organized body as one of the five constituent elements or skandhas
   • 7th century, Heart Sutra (translation by Xuanzang)

     舍(しゃ)利(り)子(し)。色(しき)不(ふ)異(い)空(くう)。空(くう)不(ふ)異(い)色(しき)。色(しき)即(そく)是(ぜ)空(くう)。空(くう)即(そく)是(ぜ)色(しき)。受(じゅ)想(そう)行(ぎょう)識(しき)亦(やく)復(ぶ)如是(にょぜ)。

     Sharishi, shiki fu i kū, kū fu i shiki. Shiki soku ze kū, kū soku ze shiki. Ju-sō-gyō-shiki, yaku bu nyoze.

     Sariputra, form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. That which is form is empty; that which is emptiness is form. This is also true for sensation, perception, intention, and awareness.

2. that which is visible of a thing, specifically form and color
3. color (US), colour (UK)

Usage notes

Used extensively in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 色(しき)界(かい) (shikikai, “the material world”)
• 色(しき)彩(さい) (shikisai, “coloring, coloration, hue, tint; color, mood, influence, leaning”)
• 色(しき)紙(し) (shikishi, “a square piece of cardboard used for painting or for writing poems”)
• 色(しき)調(ちょう) (shikichō, “the coloring of a thing; a tone, shade, or hue”)
• 三(さん)色(しき) (sanshiki)
• 縹(ひょう)色(しき) (hyōshiki, “light indigo blue”)

See also

• 五(ご)蘊(うん) (gōn, “five skandhas”): 色(しき) (shiki, “rūpa”), 受(じゅ) (ju, “vedanā”), 想(そう) (sō, “saññā”), 行(ぎょう) (gyō, “saṅkhāra”), 識(しき) (shiki, “viññāṇa”)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
色
しょく Grade: 2
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 色 (MC srik). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Affix

色(しょく) • (shoku) 

1. color (US), colour (UK)

Usage notes

Used in compounds.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 暗(あん)色(しょく) (anshoku, “a dark color”)
• 威(い)嚇(かく)色(しょく) (ikaku-shoku, “a threatening color or pattern on an animal”)
• 異(い)色(しょく) (ishoku, “of a different color; different from the norm”)
• 炎(えん)色(しょく) (enshoku), 焰(えん)色(しょく) (enshoku, “flame colour”)
• 怨(えん)色(しょく) (enshoku, “grudging look”)
• 演(えん)色(しょく) (enshoku, “colour rendering”)
• 艶(えん)色(しょく) (enshoku, “bewitching looks; beautiful colour”)
• 黄(おう)色(しょく) (ōshoku), 黄(こう)色(しょく) (kōshoku, “yellow”)
• 灰(かい)色(しょく) (kaishoku, “grey”)
• 褐(かっ)色(しょく) (kasshoku, “dark brown”)
• 橄(かん)欖(らん)色(しょく) (kanran-shoku, “olive (colour)”)
• 好(こう)色(しょく) (kōshoku, “lasciviousness, lechery; lascivious, lecherous”)
• 紅(こう)色(しょく) (kōshoku, “crimson”)
• 行(こう)色(しょく) (kōshoku, “the state of being about to depart; natural scenery”)
• 黒(こく)色(しょく) (kokushoku, “black”)
• 紫(し)色(しょく) (shishoku, “purple”)
• 赭(しゃ)色(しょく) (shashoku, “reddish-brown, auburn”)
• 青(せい)色(しょく) (seishoku, “blue”)
• 赤(せき)色(しょく) (sekishoku, “red”)
• 水(すい)色(しょく) (suishoku, “light blue”)
• 遜(そん)色(しょく) (sonshoku, “inferiority”)
• 橙(とう)色(しょく) (tōshoku, “orange (colour)”)
• 白(はく)色(しょく) (hakushoku, “white”)
• 明(めい)色(しょく) (meishoku, “a bright color”)
• 緑(りょく)色(しょく) (ryokushoku, “green”)

Counter

色(しょく) • (-shoku) 

1. used to count the number of colors

   三(さん)色(しょく)刷(す)り

   sanshoku suri

   three-color printing

Derived terms

• 三色(さんしょく) (sanshoku)

See also

Colors in Japanese · 色(いろ) (iro) (layout · text)

白(しろ) (shiro)	灰(はい)色(いろ) (haiiro), 鼠(ねずみ)色(いろ) (nezumiiro) (dated)	黒(くろ) (kuro)
赤(あか) (aka); 深(しん)紅(く) (shinku), クリムゾン (kurimuzon), 紅(べに)色(いろ) (beniiro), 紅(くれない)色(いろ) (kurenaiiro), 茜(あかね)色(いろ) (akaneiro)	オレンジ (orenji), 橙(だいだい)色(いろ) (daidaiiro); 茶(ちゃ)色(いろ) (chairo), 褐(かっ)色(しょく) (kasshoku)	黄(き)色(いろ) (kiiro); クリーム色(いろ) (kurīmuiro)
黄(き)緑(みどり) (kimidori)	緑(みどり) (midori), 青(あお) (ao) (dated)	若緑(わかみどり) (wakamidori)
シアン (shian); 鴨(かも)の羽色(はねいろ) (kamo no hane iro)	水(みず)色(いろ) (mizuiro)	青(あお) (ao)
菫(すみれ)色(いろ) (sumireiro); 藍(あい)色(いろ) (aiiro), インジゴ (injigo)	マゼンタ (mazenta), 赤紫(あかむらさき) (akamurasaki); 紫(むらさき) (murasaki)	ピンク (pinku), 桃(もも)色(いろ) (momoiro)

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Korean

Hanja

色 (eumhun 빛 색 (bit saek))

1. Hanja form^? of 색 (“light”).

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 色 (sắc, sặc)

1. color