ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
红
red / popular
hóng
6 strokes · 纟 (silk radical) + 工 (sound) — dyed silk, the luckiest color · HSK 2
红 in traditional Chinese
紅
What 红 is made of
纟 + 工 = 红
纟silk (side form)
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
Words unlocked by 红
红包 hóngbāo
red envelope
红色 hóngsè
red (color)
网红 wǎnghóng
internet celebrity
Related characters
LEARN 红 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 455-character HSK library · iOS