CHENGYU
五颜六色(wǔ yán liù sè)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral
- Source:
- 清·李汝珍《镜花缘》
MEANING
- Literal
- five faces and six colors
- Figurative meaning
- multicolored; of all colors
ORIGIN STORY
In Li Ruzhen's novel Flowers in the Mirror, flowers are described in "five faces and six colors, each form unlike the next". The counting words simply mean "every kind".
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“a riot of color”
EXAMPLES
花园里开满了五颜六色的花。Huāyuán li kāi mǎn le wǔ yán liù sè de huā.HSK6
The garden is full of flowers of every color.
孩子们穿着五颜六色的衣服跳舞。Háizimen chuān zhe wǔ yán liù sè de yīfu tiàowǔ.HSK6
The children dance in clothes of every color.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It describes visible colors — not variety of types or ideas.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01