姹 (chà) · beautiful; lovely

Meanings

1 beautiful; lovely

Characters

姹

chà

beautiful; lovely

Examples

HSK 3

春天的花园姹紫嫣红。

Chūntiān de huāyuán chàzǐ-yānhóng.

The spring garden is a riot of beautiful purple and red blossoms.

HSK 7-9

山谷里开满了姹丽的野花。

Shāngǔ lǐ kāimǎn le chà lì de yěhuā.

The valley was filled with lovely, gorgeous wildflowers.

Tips

culture

A literary word for beautiful. It is best known in 姹紫嫣红 ('a riot of beautiful purples and reds'), describing a dazzling profusion of blooming flowers.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman

Woman, the radical on the left. The word's original sense was 'a lovely young woman', so the woman radical anchors the beauty meaning, the same family as 娇.

phonetic

宅 zhái

residence; phonetic

Residence, supplying the sound through its core; the reading shifts to chà. It is phonetic here; the same core element gives 托.