cǎi

hue, color

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components
采 sound component

  Sound component

cǎicài

  

gather, pick

彡 meaning component

  Meaning component

shān

  

hair

Evolution

彩 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
彩 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

cǎi

hue, color; variegated colors; (bright) color; variety; applause; applaud; lottery prize

Most common words with 彩
Freq.
Word
Meaning

精彩

wonderful

variety

色彩

tint

彩票

lottery ticket

彩色

color