Chinese character for rainbow: 彩虹 (cǎihóng)
The Chinese word for rainbow is 彩虹 (cǎihóng). 彩 means colorful and 虹 means rainbow, so together they mean a colorful rainbow. 虹 alone also means rainbow but is used mostly in writing and names.
How 彩虹 is built
彩 (cǎi) joins 采 (cǎi, to pick), which gives the sound, with 彡, three strokes for bright patterns or color. 虹 (hóng) joins 虫 (chóng, insect or creature) with 工 (gōng) for the sound. Ancient Chinese imagined the rainbow as a long creature drinking from the sky, which explains the creature radical. As a memory aid, 彩虹 is a bright, colorful creature arching across the sky.
彩 cǎi · color
- 采cǎi — to collect
- 爫zhǎo — claws
- 木mù — tree
- 十 — ten
- 八bā — eight
- 彡shān — hair
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 丿 — falling stroke
Origin hint: 彡 gives the meaning, 采 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
虹 hóng · rainbow
- 虫chóng — insect
- 中zhōng — central
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 中zhōng — central
- 工gōng — labor
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丄shàng — above
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
How 彩虹 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 彩虹 is identical in both scripts; using only 虹 is shorter but less familiar to most readers.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for rainbow?
彩虹 (cǎihóng) means “rainbow”.
How do you pronounce 彩虹?
彩虹 is pronounced cǎihóng.