Colors in Chinese Worksheet

The colors in Chinese

To say a colour in Chinese you usually add 色 (sè, colour) to the character: 红色 is red, 蓝色 is blue. When describing something, the single character is often enough: 红花 (red flower), 白云 (white cloud). This page lets you practise the single characters, which is what children need to write.

红 hóng: red
橙 chéng: orange
黄 huáng: yellow
绿 lǜ: green
蓝 lán: blue
紫 zǐ: purple
白 bái: white
黑 hēi: black
粉 fěn: pink (粉红色)
灰 huī: grey
棕 zōng: brown (also 咖啡色, “coffee colour”)
金 jīn and 银 yín: gold and silver

A good order to learn them

Start with 白 (5 strokes) and 红 (6 strokes). They are short and kids use them all the time. Next comes 黄, 绿 and 蓝. Leave 黑 and 紫 until last: 黑 has twelve strokes and four dots at the bottom that young writers tend to squash together.

Notice that 红 and 绿 share the 纟 (silk) radical on the left. Ancient dyers coloured silk, so several colour words carry the silk sign. 蓝 has 艹 (grass) on top, because blue dye was made from a plant.

Make it a colouring activity

This is the one topic where crayons are part of the lesson. After printing:

Your child traces and writes each colour in pencil.
Then they go over the solid model character (the first box in each row) with a crayon of that colour: 红 in red, 蓝 in blue.
For 白, use a black outline on white paper, or try white crayon on a sheet of coloured paper.

The coloured characters make a nice poster for the wall. Some families cut out the model boxes and glue them onto the matching crayon boxes.

Games to practise colours

I spy. 我看见一个红色的东西 (I see something red). Your child points to it and writes the colour.
Rainbow order. Write the six rainbow colours on cards, mix them up, and put them back in order: 红橙黄绿蓝紫.
Fruit match. Pair colours with fruits from the fruits worksheet: 红苹果, 黄香蕉, 绿西瓜.
Get dressed. In the morning, ask what colour their clothes are, in Chinese.

Settings tips

Large boxes give the most room for colouring over the model character. Turn on stroke order for 黄, 绿 and 黑, where the order is easy to get wrong. If you are printing for a class, choose two rows per colour so there is room to practise after the colouring.

Questions parents ask

Is it 红 or 红色?

Both are correct. 红色 is the name of the colour (“red”), and 红 on its own is used before a noun (“a red car”, 红车) or in set words.

Why is green 绿 and not 青?

青 is an old word that can mean green, blue or even black depending on the context. Modern everyday Chinese uses 绿 for green and 蓝 for blue.

How to print this worksheet

Pick a set with the buttons above, or type your own characters into the box.
Choose A4 or US Letter to match your printer paper.
Press Print or save as PDF. In the print window choose your printer, or “Save as PDF” to keep a copy.

Your settings are saved in the page address, so you can bookmark it or send the link to another parent or teacher and they will see the same worksheet.