紫 (zǐ) · purple; violet

Meanings

1 purple; violet

Characters

紫

zǐ

purple; violet

Examples

HSK 4

她穿了一件紫色的裙子。

Tā chuān le yī jiàn zǐsè de qúnzi.

She wore a purple dress.

HSK 7-9

天边出现了紫色的晚霞。

Tiānbiān chūxiàn le zǐsè de wǎnxiá.

Purple sunset clouds appeared at the horizon.

HSK 7-9

薰衣草是紫色的。

Xūnyīcǎo shì zǐsè de.

Lavender is purple.

Tips

usage

紫 is usually combined with 色 to form 紫色 (purple color) when used as an adjective. On its own, 紫 appears in literary or compound contexts.

culture

Purple has imperial associations in Chinese culture. 紫禁城 (the Forbidden City) literally means 'Purple Forbidden City.'

Components

radical

糸 mì

silk; thread

糸 is the full-form silk radical (the standalone parent of left-side 纟). Its presence flags 紫 as a dye-and-fabric word: purple was historically the costliest robe colour in imperial China, extracted from murex shells, reserved for the highest officials.

phonetic

此 cǐ

this

此 supplies the sound - initial drifted from c- to z- but the -i rime is preserved. Pedagogically useful: 此 also seeds 雌 (female), 疵 (flaw), 龇 (bare teeth) which all keep the cǐ/cī family ring. Sits on top because the silk radical anchors below.