The colors in Chinese (颜色; yánsè) are expressed by adding the particle 色 (sè) to the name of the color. This helps to identify the color itself as opposed to another noun that contains it.
For example, in English there is the color “orange”, but also the fruit with the same name. Well, to avoid any confusion about to which you are referring to, the colors in Chinese have the particle 色 (sè).
| Red | 红色 | Hóngsè |
| Blue | 蓝色 | Lánsè |
| Yellow | 黄色 | Huángsè |
| Green | 绿色 | Lǜsè |
| Purple / violet | 紫色 | Zǐsè |
| Brown | 棕色 | Zōngsè |
| Orange | 橙色 | Chéngsè |
| Grey | 灰色 | Huīsè |
| White | 白色 | Báisè |
| Black | 黑色 | Hēisè |
When you want to indicate the color of an object, you must add the particle 的 (de) after the name of the color. Let’s see some examples:
- My yellow book.
我的黄色的书。(Wǒ de huángsè de shū.)
- The blue car.
蓝色的汽车。(Lánsè de qìchē.)
- The grey house.
灰色的家。(Huīsè de jiā.)
- My clothes are black.
我的衣服是黑色的。(Wǒ de yīfú shì hēisè de.)
- The white door.
白色的门。(Báisè de mén.)
- I need a red pencil.
我需要一支红色铅笔。(Wǒ xūyào yī zhī hóngsè qiānbǐ.)
- This tree is dark green.
这棵树是深绿色的。(Zhè kē shù shì shēn lǜsè de.)
- Her dress is purple.
她的裙子是紫色的。(Tā de qúnzi shì zǐsè de.)
- You backpack is brown?
你的书包是棕色的吗？(Nǐ de shūbāo shì zōngsè de ma?)
- Orange is my favorite color.
我最喜欢的颜色是橙色的。(Wǒ zuì xǐhuān de yánsè shì chéngsè de.)
Do you wish to widen your Chinese vocabulary? Are you thinking whether your kids should study Chinese? Studying this fascinating language will open the doors to many opportunities. At Hanyu Chinese School we will be happy to help you. Contact us and request your free class!
