彩 cǎi — hue · English

彩

cǎi

hue

At a glance · 彩

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「彩」从彡采声，小篆从彡采声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「彩」本义为彩色、文采，引申光彩、彩头。

Structure

从彡、采声，形声字，彡表文饰义类，采表音，本为彩色。

At a glance

Pinyincǎi

Radical彡

Strokes11

UnicodeU+5F69

Character type形声

Theme颜色

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English hue hue, color; variegated colors

Français couleur / peinture Couleur, peinture. «画彩仙灵» : polychromie.

Español color / pintura Color, pintura. «画彩仙灵»: la policromía.

العربية لون / رسم لون، رسم. «画彩仙灵»: التلوين.

Русский цвет / роспись Цвет, роспись. «画彩仙灵»: многоцветье.

Common words

彩色cǎi sècolor
精彩jīng cǎiwonderful

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