Learning Chinese

Basics

Colors

The word for "color" is 颜色 (yán sè). The basic colors:

CharacterPinyinMeaning
hóngred
huángyellow
lánblue
green
hēiblack
báiwhite

To say "X is (color)", use color + 色 with 是, or use 很 + color like an adjective (recall 是 and Adjectives):

  • 花 是 红色。 "The flower is red." (Huā shì hóngsè.)
  • 天空 很 蓝。 "The sky is blue." (Tiānkōng hěn lán.)
  • 我 的 猫 是 黑色 的。 "My cat is black."

Quiz

Pick the best answer for each question. You get feedback right away.

  1. Which character means "blue"?

  2. The pinyin for 绿 is:

  3. How would you say "The sky is blue" (statement, no 是)?