彩

cǎi
noun #4,791

Meanings

  1. 1 color; colorful
  2. 2 applause; prize

Examples

HSK 3
Tā zhòng le cǎipiào.
He won the lottery.
HSK 4
Jīngcǎi de biǎoyǎn.
A wonderful performance.
HSK 6
Cǎihóng chūlái le!
A rainbow appeared!

Tips

usage
彩 is used in: 精彩 (wonderful/brilliant), 彩虹 (rainbow), 彩票 (lottery ticket), 色彩 (color), 喝彩 (to cheer/applaud). Contains 采 (to pick) + 彡 (stripes of color).

Components

radical
彡 shān
stripes; rays of light
Right three-stroke 彡 - the indexing radical, depicting brushes of color or rays of light. Same radical anchors a visual-pattern family: 形 (shape), 影 (shadow), 须 (whiskers), 修 (adorn). Three strokes drawn like brushed paint give 彩 its color-stripes meaning.
phonetic
采 cǎi
to pluck; to gather
Left 采 supplies the sound directly (cǎi = cǎi, no drift) and a faint flavor of choosing/gathering - colors get picked out and chosen, much like fruit. The graph itself shows a hand reaching down into a tree. Same phonetic anchor as 菜 (vegetable) and 踩 (trample).

Stroke Order

彩 cǎi