颜色
Yánsè — Colors
Colours are the perfect first vocabulary set: they’re everywhere in the room, they need no explanation, and a child can point instead of translating. Students learn eight colours and the question that unlocks them all.
Unit objectives
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
- Name eight colours out loud when shown them
- Answer 什么颜色？ Shénme yánsè? — “What colour?”
- Point to something in the room of a named colour
- Say their favourite colour with 我喜欢…
Key vocabulary
Eight colours plus the question word — all practised with flashcards and audio.
红色 黄色 蓝色 绿色 白色 黑色 粉红色 橙色 什么颜色
Two lessons, a whole rainbow
Eight colours
Flashcards with audio, then the colour hunt: the teacher names a colour and everyone races to touch something that matches.
Start Lesson 1My favourite colour
Answering 什么颜色？, then drawing a picture and naming every colour used in it.
Start Lesson 2Colour of the day
Pick one colour each morning and spot it in Chinese all day — at breakfast, in the car, on the way to bed.
Why red is everywhere
Red, 红色, is the colour of luck and celebration across Chinese culture — New Year envelopes, wedding dresses, festival lanterns and front-door banners are all red. White, 白色, carries the opposite association and is the traditional colour of mourning, which is roughly the reverse of the Western convention. Neither is a rule anyone is required to follow today, but noticing the pattern helps children make sense of what they see in photos, films and Chinatown streets.
Unit 3 progress check
A light, no-pressure way to see what’s sticking:
- Can your child name four colours without help?
- Can they point to something red when you say 红色?
- Can they tell you their favourite colour in Chinese?
Four out of eight colours is a solid pass. Colours reappear in Grade 3’s clothing unit and again in Grade 4’s shopping unit.