Chinese word

彩虹

Pronunciation

Pinyincǎi hóng

Meaning

  • nounrainbow

Example

雨后天边出现了一道彩虹。yǔ hòu tiān biān chū xiàn le yí dào cǎi hóng

After the rain, a rainbow appeared on the horizon.

Illustration for 彩虹 (rainbow)

More examples

我们在山顶上看见了两道彩虹。wǒ men zài shān dǐng shàng kàn jiàn le liǎng dào cǎi hóng

We saw two rainbows from the mountaintop.

Core concept

A bright, curved band of many colors arches across the sky after rain.

Common phrases

  • 出现彩虹chū xiàn cǎi hóng

    a rainbow appears

  • 看见彩虹kàn jiàn cǎi hóng

    see a rainbow

  • 两道彩虹liǎng dào cǎi hóng

    two rainbows

Similar words

虹hóng: A curved strip of multicolored light seen in the sky, often after rain.

Definition in Chinese

雨后或空气中有水滴时，阳光经水滴的折射和反射在天空中形成的弧形多色光带。yǔ hòu huò kōng qì zhōng yǒu shuǐ dī shí yáng guāng jīng shuǐ dī de zhé shè hé fǎn shè zài tiān kōng zhōng xíng chéng de hú xíng duō sè guāng dài

Word origin

彩虹 (cǎihóng, "rainbow") is a compound of 彩 (cǎi, "color") + 虹 (hóng, "rainbow"), linking its many colors with its curved sky form.

Usage tips

  • Chinese commonly counts a rainbow with 道 (dào, "strip"), so 道 is a useful measure word to learn alongside 彩虹 (cǎihóng, "rainbow").

Related words

  • 彩虹色cǎi hóng sèrainbow colornoun
  • 彩虹旗cǎi hóng qírainbow flagnoun

Word lists with this word