Chinese character for green: 绿 (lǜ)
The Chinese character for green is 绿 (lǜ). It means green and appears in 绿色 (lǜsè, green color) and 绿茶 (lǜchá, green tea). It is also used for eco-friendly things, as in 绿色生活 (green living).
How 绿 is built
绿 joins 纟, the silk radical, with 录 (lù), which gives the sound. Like 红 (red), it has the silk radical because colors were named from dyed silk. The traditional form 綠 writes the silk radical in full as 糸. Note the vowel is ü, written lǜ. Be aware that 戴绿帽子 (to wear a green hat) means a man's partner was unfaithful, so green hats are avoided.
绿 lǜ · green
- 纟sī — silk
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 录lù — to copy
- 彐jì — snout
- 二 — two strokes
- 氺shui — structural part
- 亅 — hook
- 彐jì — snout
Origin hint: 纟 gives the meaning, 录 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 绿 is used
Other ways to say green
- 青 qīng — blue-green, used for nature and youth
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 绿 is fine alone, but avoid pairing it with 帽 (hat), which carries an embarrassing meaning in Chinese.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for green?
绿 (lǜ) means “green”. In traditional characters it is written 綠.
How do you pronounce 绿?
绿 is pronounced lǜ.
Is 绿 simplified or traditional?
绿 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore; 綠 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.