色

色 U+8272, 色 ← 艱[U+8271] CJK Unified Ideographs 艳 →[U+8273] ⾊ U+2F8A, ⾊ ← ⾉[U+2F89] Kangxi Radicals ⾋ →[U+2F8B] Stroke order Stroke order

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 number 340.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/色
• 栬, 絶 (绝), 赩, 銫 (铯), 靘, 䵥
• 脃 (Exception: Only for mainland China. Other regions contain ⿱刀巴 instead of 色)

• 𡜆, 絕

• 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

simp. and trad. 色 alternative forms 𢒸𣤻骰 “die”㐌 erroneous

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 爪 (“claw; hand”) + 卩 (“kneeling person”). It depicts a hand pressing down on a kneeling person. 色 was an ancient form of 印; they both originally meant “to press down”, meaning now written with 抑. The character was later borrowed phonetically to mean “color”.

Shuowen interprets this character as an Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 人 (“person; human”) + 卪, which refers to the expression, vitality or complexion of a person’s face.

Sometimes, especially in folk etymology, the character is misinterpreted as a proto-form of 絕. The bottom part is unrelated to 巴.

Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *srək (“ashamed; shy”), whence Burmese ရှက် (hrak, “ashamed; shy”), Japhug tɤ-zraʁ (“shame”) (Schuessler, 2007; Jacques, 2015b).

Alternatively, Schuessler (2007) connects this word to Mizo sâr (“prismatic colours seen in the sky in fine weather; to be healthy-looking, ruddy”), which would point to a form *sər-k from which the Old Chinese was derived.

彩 (OC *s.r̥ˤəʔ, “colour”) may be a dialectal variant (Baxter, 1992; Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

色

1. color; tint; hue; shade (Classifier: 隻／只 c) 顏色／颜色 ― yánsè ― color 顏色兒／颜色儿 ― yánshǎir ― color 紅色／红色 ― hóngsè ― red 四色定理 ― sì sè dìnglǐ ― four color theorem
2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) look; expression 臉色／脸色 ― liǎnsè ― facial expression
   • 子曰：「巧言令色，鮮矣仁。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]子曰：「巧言令色，鲜矣仁。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionZǐyuē: “Qiǎoyánlìngsè, xiǎn yǐ rén.” [Pinyin]The Master said, “Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.”
3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) scenery; circumstance 景色 ― jǐngsè ― scenery 夜色 ― yèsè ― night scenery
4. kind; sort 貨色／货色 ― huòsè ― goods; stuff; trash; rubbish; quality of goods; specification
5. feminine charm; beauty 姿色 ― zīsè ― good looks (of women)
6. lust; sexual desire 好色 ― hàosè ― to lust for women 色情 ― sèqíng ― pornography; sexual desire
7. (colloquial) perverted; being a pervert; lecherous
8. theatrical role 角色 ― juésè ― role; part
9. metallic content 成色 ― chéngsè ― purity (of a precious metal in an alloy)
10. die (a cube with numbers or symbols on each side, used in games of chance) (Classifier: 粒 c) 色子 ― shǎizi ― die
11. (Buddhism) rūpa (form; material element; form of existence; etc.) 色即是空，空即是色。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]Sè jí shì kōng, kōng jí shì sè. [Pinyin]Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
12. (transgender slang) short for 色普龍／色普龙; cypro (cyproterone acetate)
    • 各位靠補+色hrt的朋友們請注意檢測自己的E2/E1比例 [MSC, trad.]各位靠补+色hrt的朋友们请注意检测自己的E2/E1比例 [MSC, simp.]From: 2020 November 28, KhloeKkkkkkkk 的想法: 各位靠补+色hrt的朋友们请注意检测自己的… – 知乎gèwèi kào bǔ + sè hrt de péngyǒu men qǐng zhùyì jiǎncè zìjǐ de E2 / E1 bǐlì [Pinyin](please add an English translation of this usage example)
13. a surname

• (color): 顏／颜 (yán)
• (perverted):

• (die):

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

• (cypro): 補／补 (bǔ, “E”), 螺 (luó, “spiro”)

• “色”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014-
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A03427
• “色”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “色”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 262.

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “色” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Stroke order

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

• 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)

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

⟨iro2⟩ → */irə/ → /iro/

From Old Japanese.

First attested in the Nihon Shoki with the meaning of color.[1] Senses referring to a person’s emotions also appear quite early on. The romance or sex senses appear from the 900s, apparently an influence from Chinese usage,[1] and roughly comparable to the euphemistic usage of English colorful.

• (Tokyo) いろ [ìróꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2][3]
• IPA(key): [iɾo̞]
• Audio:(file)

• (Kyōto, Ōsaka) い​ろ [íꜜrò] (Kōki)

色(いろ) • (iro)

1. [from 720] color 目(め)の色(いろ)が違(ちが)う猫(ねこ)me no iro ga chigau nekoa cat that has eyes of different color
2. [from 797] (figurative) 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. [from early 900s] 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. [from late 900s] the type or kind of something
5. (informal, slang) various specific kinds of color:
   1. (informal, slang, woman’s speech) lipstick or rouge
   2. (informal, slang) soy sauce
   3. (informal, slang) paint

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

1. [from late 900s] (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 inamitebeautiful girls all in a row
2. [from late 900s] (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 teEchizenmori was a man who liked the girls / had quite the libido
3. [from early 1000s] (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…

色(いろ) • (iro)

1. relating to a love affair or the red light district 彼女(かのじょ)は愛色町(あいいろちょう)で働(はたら)いている。Kanojo wa aīrochō de hataraite iru.She works in a red‑light district.
2. of that tone or timber or mood 部屋(へや)の壁紙(かべがみ)を明(あか)るい転色(てんしょく)にした。Heya no kabegami o akarui tenshoku ni shita.I changed the room’s wallpaper to a brighter tone.
3. relating to type or kind これは青(あお)に類(るい)した類色(るいしょく)系統(けいとう)の絵具(えのぐ)だ。Kore wa ao ni ruishita ruishoku keitō no enogu da.This paint belongs to the blue‑type color range.

Only found in compounds.

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.

• IPA(key): [iɾo̞e̞]

色(いろえ) • (iroe) ←いろへ (irofe)?

1. (obsolete) coloring, design

Kanji in this term 色 しきGrade: 2 goon

From Middle Chinese 色 (MC srik). The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.[4]

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

• (Tokyo) しき [shìkíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
• IPA(key): [ɕikʲi]

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.[5]
2. that which is visible of a thing, specifically form and color
3. color

Used extensively in compounds.

• 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”)

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

From Middle Chinese 色 (MC srik). The kan’on reading, so likely a later borrowing.[4]

• IPA(key): [ɕo̞kɯ̟]

色(しょく) • (shoku)

1. color (US), colour (everywhere else)

Used in compounds.

色(しょく) • (-shoku)

1. used to count the number of colors 三(さん)色(しょく)刷(す)りsanshoku surithree-color printing

• 三色(さんしょく) (sanshoku)

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) 橙(だいだい)色(いろ) (daidaiiro),オレンジ (orenji); 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(わか)緑(みどり) (wakamidori) 水(みず)色(いろ) (mizuiro),シアン (shian); 鴨(かも)の羽(はね)色(いろ) (kamo no hane iro) 空(そら)色(いろ) (sorairo), 縹(はなだ) (hanada); 青(あお) (ao) 紺(こん)藍(あい) (kon’ai);紺(こん) (kon) 菫(すみれ)色(いろ) (sumireiro); 藍(あい)色(いろ) (aiiro),インジゴ (injigo) 赤(あか)紫(むらさき) (akamurasaki),マゼンタ (mazenta); 紫(むらさき) (murasaki) 桃(もも)色(いろ) (momoiro),ピンク (pinku)

• “色”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎[3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015-2026

From Middle Chinese 色 (MC srik).

Historical readings Dongguk Jeongun reading Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄉᆡᆨ〮 (Yale: sóyk) Middle Korean Text Eumhun Gloss (hun) Reading Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 빗 (Yale: pis) ᄉᆡᆨ (Yale: soyk)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [sʰɛk̚] ~ [sʰe̞k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [색/섹]

色 (eumhun 빛 색 (bit saek))

1. Hanja form? of 색 (“colour”). [noun]

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

色: Hán Nôm readings: sắc, sặc

1. chữ Hán form of sắc (“color”)