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There are two different ways to say each colour in Mandarin.

Colours as nouns in Mandarin

To start, there are colours as nouns in Mandarin, eg ¡®the colour red¡¯ or ¡®the colour black¡¯:

These can be used in Mandarin alongside:

• ÎÒϲ»¶ W¨¯ x¨« hu¨¡n - I like

• ÎÒ²»Ï²»¶ W¨¯ b¨´ x¨« hu¨¡n - I don¡¯t like

For example:

• ÎÒϲ»¶×ÏÉ« W¨¯ x¨« hu¨¡n z¨« s¨¨ - I like the colour purple

• ÎÒ²»Ï²»¶°×É« W¨¯ b¨´ x¨« hu¨¡n b¨¢i s¨¨ - I don¡¯t like the colour white

Colours as adjectives in Mandarin

To use colours as adjectives in Mandarin, the particle ¡®µÄ de¡¯ is added at the end to express possession.

For example, to describe the colour of on object, eg clothing, as red in Mandarin you would need to use ºìÉ« µÄ h¨®ng s¨¨ de, rather than ºìÉ« h¨®ng s¨¨. Here are some other examples:

• ÕâÊÇÒ»¼þ°×É«µÄ³ÄÉÀ Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ y¨© ji¨¤n b¨¢i s¨¨ de ch¨¨n sh¨¡n - This is a white shirt

• ÎÒÓÐÒ»¶¥ÂÌÉ«µÄñ×Ó W¨¯ y¨¯u y¨¬ d¨«ng l¨¸ s¨¨ de m¨¤o zi - I have a green hat