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6 strokes · 纟 (silk radical) + 工 (sound) — dyed silk, the luckiest color · HSK 2

Where 红 comes from

红 is silk 纟 plus the sound 工: dyed silk. Color words in Chinese often wear the silk radical (红绿 both do) — color was, first of all, something you dyed into cloth.

红 in Chinese culture

红 is China's master color: luck, joy, weddings, the New Year. 红包 (red envelopes) carry money at every festival — now flying digitally through WeChat by the billions. 网红 ('internet-red') is an influencer; 走红 is to become famous; 红火 describes booming business. To 'be red' in Chinese is to be thriving — no other color does as much cultural work.

Example

红包 hóngbāo — red envelope (gift money)

过年的时候,孩子们有红包。
Guònián de shíhou, háizimen yǒu hóngbāo.
At New Year, children get red envelopes.

How to remember it

Silk 纟 dyed the color of luck — RED.

WeChat users send tens of billions of digital 红包 each New Year — the ancient envelope, now with a tap animation.

Same sound, different tones

2nd hóng
red
3rd hǒng
to coax
4th hòng
uproar

Words unlocked by 红

红包 hóngbāo
red envelope
红色 hóngsè
red (color)
网红 wǎnghóng
internet celebrity
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One character a morning · 169-character HSK library · iOS