色 (sè): color, CL:種|种, look
色 (sè) is a Chinese character meaning “color.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺈ (structural) and 巴 (structural). It ranks #304 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 色 what a person ⺈ desires 巴. Its radical form 色 (color) appears in many related characters such as 艳 (yàn, bright).
Definitions
- color
- CL:種|种
- look
Etymology & Origin
ideographicWhat a person ⺈ desires 巴
Decomposition: ⿱⺈巴 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 色 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 色
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 出色adjective | chū sè | remarkable | 5 |
| 角色noun | jué sè | role | 5 |
| 颜色noun | yán sè | color | 2 |
| 红色noun | hóng sè | red (color) | 2 |
| 黑色noun | hēi sè | black | 2 |
| 绿色noun/adjective | lǜ sè | green | 2 |
| 白色noun | bái sè | white | 2 |
| 黄色noun | huáng sè | yellow | 3 |
| 棕色noun | zōng sè | brown | 6 |
| 脸色noun | liǎn sè | complexion | 5 |
| 灰色noun/adjective | huī sè | gray | 5 |
| 特色noun | tè sè | a characteristic | 5 |
| 色彩noun | sè cǎi | tint | 5 |
| 景色noun | jǐng sè | scenery | 4 |
| 彩色noun | cǎi sè | color | 5 |
| 五颜六色 | wǔ yán liù sè | multicolored | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蓝色 | lán sè | blue (color) |
| 色情 | sè qíng | pornography |
| 金色 | jīn sè | golden |
| 气色 | qì sè | complexion |
| 肤色 | fū sè | skin color |
| 粉色 | fěn sè | pink |
| 褐色 | hè sè | brown |
| 橙色 | chéng sè | orange (color) |
| 本色 | běn sè | inherent qualities |
| 色拉 | sè lā | (loanword) salad |
| 货色 | huò sè | goods |
| 色鬼 | sè guǐ | lecher |
| 色狼 | sè láng | lecher |
| 好色 | hào sè | to want sex |
| 变色 | biàn sè | to change color |
色 appears in 100 compound words: 26 as the first character, 74 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 色 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (45)
white terror; White Terror (the suppression of political dissidents in Taiwan by the Kuomintang (1949–1987))
to change color and alter one's expression (idiom); to go white with fear; out of one's wits
to read a person (to interpret or infer a meaning or significance based on facial expression, tone of voice etc)
person who is fond of women; lady's man; womanizer; lothario; lecher; libertine
white terror; White Terror (the suppression of political dissidents in Taiwan by the Kuomintang (1949–1987))
Showing 12 of 45 idioms containing 色.
Example Sentences
色字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
sè zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "color" may be tricky to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
雷军公布新一代SU7赤霞红配色,此前已开启小订
léi jūn gōng bù xīn yī dài S U 7 chì xiá hóng pèi sè , cǐ qián yǐ kāi qǐ xiǎo dìng
Lei Jun announced a new generation of SU7 Caxia Red color scheme, which has been opened for small orders
东方日报C1:倪乐琳幸保财色 心郁改名转运
dōng fāng rì bào C 1 : 倪 lè 琳 xìng bǎo cái sè xīn yù gǎi míng zhuǎn yùn
Oriental Daily C1: Ni Lelin is lucky to protect her wealth and change her name to transfer
88%的阿拉伯民众反对承认以色列政权
8 8 de ā lā bó mín zhòng fǎn duì chéng rèn yǐ sè liè zhèng quán
88% of the Arab population opposes the recognition of the Israeli regime
柏林影展得奖名单/得奖者狠呛政府“以色列的共犯” 《坠后真相》女星再封后
bǎi lín yǐng zhǎn dé jiǎng míng dān dé jiǎng zhě hěn qiàng zhèng fǔ yǐ sè liè de gòng fàn zhuì hòu zhēn xiāng nǚ xīng zài fēng hòu
Berlin Film Festival winners/winners choked the government "Israel's accomplices" "The truth after the fall" actress was re-sealed
...层丨国网株洲供电公司党员突击队护航春节绿色..
. . . céng 丨 guó wǎng zhū zhōu gōng diàn gōng sī dǎng yuán tū jī duì hù háng chūn jié lǜ sè . .
... Layer丨State Grid Zhuzhou Power Supply Company Party member commando escorts the Spring Festival green:
那个穿棕色大衣的女人是谁？
Nèige chuān zōngsè dàyī de nǚrén shì shéi?
Who's the woman in the brown coat?
为什么你把长凳漆成红色了？
Wèishénme nǐ bǎ chángdèng qī chéng hóngsè le?
Why did you paint the bench red?
款式很不错，不过有没有别的颜色？
Kuǎnshì hěn bù cuò, bùguò yǒuméiyǒu biéde yánsè?
The style is nice, but do you have it in a different color?
你在附近看见过一只咖啡色的钱包吗？
Nǐ zài fùjìn kànjiàn guo yī zhī kāfēisè de qiánbāo ma?
Did you see a brown wallet around here?
Character Family
色 Radical Family — Characters sharing the color radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 色 (sè) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 色 have?
What is the radical of 色?
What are the components of 色?
What are common words containing 色?
Is 色 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 色 with real-time feedback
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