彩
- Kanji
- 彩
- Level
- N1
- Meaning
- Color, paint
- On'yomi
- サイ
- Kun'yomi
- いろど.る, いろどり
- Strokes
- 11
- Common compounds
色彩 (しきさい) Color, hue 彩る (いろどる) To color, to decorate 水彩画 (すいさいが) Watercolor painting
- Memory hook
The 'hair' radical (彡 - stylized 'brush strokes') combined with 'tree' (木 - part of 采, an old form of 採 meaning pick) and a 'hand' (手 - hidden in 采). 'Color' is applied with 'brush strokes' (彡) to 'pick' (采) out features, perhaps like picking a fruit from a tree, using a 'hand.'