色

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 №340

• Appendix:Chinese radical/色
• 𠈜, 𬻖, 𠲅, 𫵺, 𢙚, 𢬘, 𣴊, 𨹔, 𨒶, 栬, 𥅺, 𥒍, 絶(绝), 𬚐, 赩, 𨉆, 𨋭, 𨠶, 銫(铯), 靘, 𤧾, 𮪀, 𫙙, 䵥, 𪗼
• 𨛉, 𪁅, 𤈖, 𪵼, 𤶋
• 脃 (Exception: Only for mainland China character. Other regions contain ⿱刀巴 instead of 色)

• 𡜆, 絕

• KangXi: 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

Historical forms of the character 色
Spring and Autumn	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 爪 (“claw; hand”) + 卩 (“kneeling person”) – complexion.

Shuowen interprets this character as an ideogrammic compound (會意) : 人 (“person; human”) + 卩 (“etiquette”) – complexion.

Compare 印, 抑.

Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-r(j)ak ~ *g-jak (“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

   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. ^⁜ 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 version

     Zǐyuē: “Qiǎoyánlìngsè, xiǎn yǐ rén.” [Pinyin]

     The Master said, "Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue."

3. ^⁜ 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 (Can we add an example for this sense?)
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 example)

13. a surname

• (color): 顏／颜 (yán)
• (perverted):

• (die):

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

• “色”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 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
• “Entry #2612”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

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

(grade 2 “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)

⟨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)

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 neko

   a 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 winamite

     beautiful 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 te

     Echizenmori 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
2. of that tone or timber or mood
3. relating to type or kind

Only found in compounds.

⟨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

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) (goun, “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”)

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

• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞kɯ̟ᵝ]

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 suri

   three-color printing

• 三色(さんしょく) (sanshoku)