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noun / adjective HSK 4
cǎi sè
color · colored · multicolored

Meaning

彩色 refers to things that have color (as opposed to black and white). It's commonly used to describe colored photographs, films, televisions, or anything displaying multiple colors rather than monochrome.

Usage

Used both as a noun meaning 'color' and as an adjective modifier before nouns. Very common in phrases like 彩色照片 (color photo) or 彩色电视 (color TV). In modern usage, it often distinguishes colored versions from black-and-white versions of media or images.

Examples

  1. 01
    这些彩色照片是我去年在北京拍的。
    Zhè xiē cǎi sè zhào piàn shì wǒ qù nián zài Běijīng pāi de.
    These color photos were taken by me in Beijing last year.
  2. 02
    现在很少有人看黑白电影了，大家都喜欢彩色的。
    Xiàn zài hěn shǎo yǒu rén kàn hēi bái diàn yǐng le, dà jiā dōu xǐ huān cǎi sè de.
    Very few people watch black and white movies now; everyone prefers colored ones.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 彩色照片
    cǎi sè zhào piàn
    color photograph
  • 彩色电视
    cǎi sè diàn shì
    color television
  • 彩色打印
    cǎi sè dǎ yìn
    color printing
  • 彩色的
    cǎi sè de
    colored, in color

Antonyms

Origin

Both characters relate to color: 彩 originally referred to variegated colors or patterns, while 色 means color or hue. Together they emphasize the multicolored or chromatic nature of something.

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