Chinese word

水彩

Pronunciation

Pinyinshuǐ cǎi

Meaning

  • nounwatercolor

Example

他学习水彩已有几年了。tā xué xí shuí cǎi yí yǒu jǐ nián le

He has been studying watercolor for several years.

Illustration for 水彩 (watercolor)

More examples

她周末用水彩画了一幅风景画。tā zhōu mò yòng shuí cǎi huà le yì fú fēng jǐng huà

She painted a landscape using watercolor over the weekend.

Core concept

Color flows with water into translucent marks on paper, so the word covers both the artistic medium and what that medium produces.

Common phrases

  • 学水彩画xué shuí cǎi huà

    learn to paint in watercolor

  • 买水彩颜料mǎi shuí cǎi yán liào

    buy watercolor paint

  • 水彩画shuí cǎi huà

    watercolor painting

Similar words

水彩画shuí cǎi huà: A finished picture on paper painted with transparent, water-soluble colors.
油画yóu huà: A painting made by layering oil paint on canvas or a board.
水粉shuí fěn: A picture painted on paper with opaque, water-based paint.

Definition in Chinese

指以水为媒介的颜料，通常为透明或半透明，用于在纸上作画，也可指用该颜料绘制的作品。zhǐ yǐ shuǐ wèi méi jiè de yán liào tōng cháng wèi tòu míng huò bàn tòu míng yòng yú zài zhǐ shàng zuò huà yě kě zhǐ yòng gāi yán liào huì zhì de zuò pǐn

Word origin

The compound 水彩 (shuǐcǎi, "watercolor") joins 水 (shuǐ, "water") with 彩 (cǎi, "color") to describe water-based color used for painting.

Usage tips

  • Nearby words about paper, brushes, or pigments usually signal the material, while words about an exhibition or a picture usually signal a finished work.

Other meanings

  • watercolor paintnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 水彩画shuí cǎi huàwatercolor paintingnoun
  • 水彩颜料shuí cǎi yán liàowatercolor paintnoun
  • 水彩画家shuí cǎi huà jiāwatercolor painternoun

Word lists with this word