Colors in Chinese
This list covers common colors in Chinese—from basic hues like 红, 蓝, 绿 to frequent variants such as 深 (dark) and 浅 (light) or compound forms like 天蓝. It's useful for describing clothes, objects and nature; try combining colors with nouns (e.g., 红色的裙子).
- 颜色 yánsè — color; hue
- 红 hóng — red (color)
- 红色 hóngsè — red (color)
- 蓝 lán — blue (color)
- 蓝色 lánsè — blue (color)
- 绿 lù — the character 绿 as used in personal or place names
- 绿色 lǜsè — green (the color)
- 黄 huáng — yellow (colour)
- 黄色 huángsè — yellow (color)
- 黑 hēi — black; dark (color or absence of light)
- 黑色 hēisè — black (color)
- 白 bái — white; of the color white
- 白色 báisè — white (the color)
- 灰 huī — ash; residue left after burning
- 灰色 huīsè — gray; ash gray (color)
- 棕色 zōngsè — brown (color)
- 褐色 hèsè — brown
- 粉 fěn — powder (finely ground solid material)
- 粉色 fěnsè — pink (color); rose-colored
- 紫 zǐ — purple; violet (color)
- 紫色 zǐsè — purple; violet (color)
- 橙 chéng — orange tree; orange (fruit)
- 橙色 chéngsè — orange (the color)
- 青色 qīngsè — cyan; blue-green
- 青 qīng — green; blue; young
- 金色 jīnsè — golden; gold (color)
- 银色 yínsè — silver (color)
- 浅色 qiǎnsè — light-colored; of a pale or light shade
- 深色 shēnsè — dark; dark-colored
- 淡 dàn — insipid; bland; tasteless (of food)
- 暗 àn — dark; lacking light
- 五颜六色 wǔyánliùsè — multicolored; of many bright colors
- 彩色 cǎisè — color; pigment
- 无色 wúsè — colorless; lacking color
- 条纹 tiáowén — stripe; streak (a long narrow band of color or texture)
- 相间 xiāngjiàn — to alternate; to follow one another; to be interspersed
- 漆黑 qīhēi — pitch-black; completely dark
- 米色 mǐsè — beige; off-white (a pale yellowish-brown color)
- 肤色 fūsè — skin color; complexion
- 宝蓝 bǎolán — sapphire blue
- 墨绿 mòlǜ — dark green; forest green
- 湖蓝 húlán — lake-blue; a bluish-green color resembling the color of a lake or lagoon
- 靛蓝 diànlán — indigo (dye); indigo (color)