Colors in Hokkien

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This Hokkien lesson is all about colors. Let's first take a look at the most important word of this lesson:

Sek (色), meaning 'color'

Colors in Hokkien

Like in Mandarin, the word Sek (色) follows a color adjective when used to describe the color of an object.

Colors in Hokkien

  • Red → Áng-sek (红色)
  • Orange → Kām-uí-sek (橙色)
  • Yellow → Uí-sek (黄色)
  • Green → Che-sek (青色)
  • Blue → Lám-sek (蓝色)
  • Purple → Kió-sek (紫色)
  • Pink → Cuì-áng-sek (粉红色)
  • Gray → Huè-hu-sek (灰色)
  • Black → O-sek (黑色)
  • White → Peh-sek (白色)

To describe light and dark hues of colors in Hokkien, these two words can be used:

  • Chièn (浅), meaning "light", and
  • Chim (深), meaning "dark" or "deep"

For instance, to describe the color "light blue", you'd say:

  • Light blue → Chièn-lám sek (浅蓝色)
  • Dark blue → Chim-lám sek (深蓝色)

Describing Colors and Objects

When describing a color followed by an object, say the color first, followed by the particle e, and an then the object. Here are some examples:

  • A green book → Che-sek e chek (青色的书)
  • A black cellphone → O-sek e chiu-ki (黑色的手机)
  • Two yellow tables → No-kai ui-sek e tok-teng (两个黄色的桌子)
  • Five red shirts → Go-tiau ang-sek e sa (五件红色的衫)
  • Twenty light blue pants → Ji-cap-tiau chien-lam-sek e kho (二十件浅蓝色的裤子)

Learn to Count in Hokkien


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