Color words are adjectives in Chinese, and mostly come in pairs: the character and its 色-marked noun. 红 is the idea "red"; 红色 is "the color red".
The core set
| 红 hóng | red | 黄 huáng | yellow |
| 蓝 lán | blue | 绿 lǜ | green |
| 黑 hēi | black | 白 bái | white |
| 橙 chéng | orange | 紫 zǐ | purple |
| 粉 fěn | pink | 灰 huī | grey |
Grammar: colors take 的 before nouns - 红色的车 - but common compounds drop it: 红酒 (wine), 绿茶， 黑板， 白菜. Shades build like English: 深红 dark red, 浅蓝 light blue, 亮黄 bright yellow.
What the colors mean
- 红 is the auspicious color - weddings, 红包 envelopes, New Year everything. 红火 = prosperous; 网红 = internet celebrity (net-red).
- 白 is funeral's color - white flowers and clothes at memorials; avoid it in celebratory gift wrap.
- 黄 slides toward "erotic" in compounds: 黄色 = pornographic (黄色电影 is not "yellow film" in the American sense).
- 绿 carries one famous trap: 绿帽子 (green hat) means a cuckold - never gift a green hat.
- 金/银 (gold/silver) work as colors too: 金色头发 blonde.
Color words in daily speech
A few compounds are constant: 蓝天 (blue sky), 红灯 (red light - traffic), 白热化 (white-hot, figurative), 黑眼圈 (dark circles), 色盲 (colorblind). Asking about color: 什么颜色？ - "what color?" - or 你喜欢什么颜色？ Red's luck is why 红包 are red and why brands launch in red packaging; if you learn one color's connotations, learn that one first.
Common questions
How do you say colors in Chinese?
Single morphemes (红 黄 蓝 绿 黑 白…) as adjectives, or +色 for "the color X" (红色). Modify with 的: 红色的车.
What does the color red mean in China?
Luck and celebration - red envelopes (红包), red wedding dress tradition, New Year decorations. 红火 means prosperous.
Why is a green hat bad in China?
绿帽子 (green hat) idiomatizes "cuckold" - wearing one implies a cheating spouse. It is the one color-as-object gift to avoid.