Chinese colors and their meanings
Red is for weddings and New Year; white is for funerals. Get those two right and you’ll avoid the worst mistakes.
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What each color means
| Color | Chinese | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 红 hóng | good luck, happiness, celebration; weddings and New Year |
| Yellow | 黄 huáng | the emperor, the center, the earth; heroism |
| White | 白 bái | mourning and funerals |
| Black | 黑 hēi | neutral; in many negative words; formal clothes |
| Green | 绿 lǜ | a green hat means a cheated-on husband |
Red: luck and celebration
Red is the color of Chinese New Year, weddings and every celebration, and of the 红包 (hóngbāo), the red envelope of money given at New Year, birthdays and weddings, its red meaning good luck. For the same reason red is kept away from funerals, and writing someone’s name in red ink is a traditional taboo1.
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color
Also written 顏色
Yellow: the emperor’s color
In imperial China yellow was the emperor’s color: his dragon robes, the roof tiles of the Forbidden City and the Qing flag were yellow, and the Yellow River is the cradle of Chinese civilization. Unlike in English, yellow stands for heroism, not cowardice1.
White: mourning
White is the traditional color of mourning; a funeral is a 白事 (báishì), a “white affair”. White wedding dresses have caught on only since China’s reform and opening up, which began in 1978; the traditional wedding color is red1.
Black: neutral, with a dark side
Black is neutral, and the color of business suits today, but it turns up in negative words: 黑帮 (hēibāng), literally “black gang”, is organized crime1.
Green, blue and the green hat
Old Chinese had one word, 青 (qīng), for both blue and green; modern Chinese says 蓝 (lán) for blue and 绿 (lǜ) for green. Never give a man a green hat: 戴绿帽子 (dài lǜ màozi), “to wear a green hat”, means his partner is cheating on him1.
The five colors and the five elements
Traditional Chinese thought links five colors to the five elements and the directions1:
| Color | Element | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| 青 qīng, blue-green | wood 木 | east |
| 红 hóng, red | fire 火 | south |
| 黄 huáng, yellow | earth 土 | center |
| 白 bái, white | metal 金 | west |
| 黑 hēi, black | water 水 | north |
All the color words, with pinyin and sound, are on our colors in Chinese page, and our guide to Chinese etiquette covers the other gifts and numbers to avoid.
Questions
What does red mean in Chinese culture?
Good luck, happiness and celebration. Red fills Chinese New Year and weddings, and money is given in red envelopes (红包). It is kept away from funerals.
What color means death in China?
White. It is the traditional color of mourning, and a funeral is a 白事, a “white affair”.
Why shouldn’t you give a Chinese man a green hat?
戴绿帽子, “to wear a green hat”, means his partner is cheating on him.
Sources
Checked on 27 October 2026. Prices and features change; tell us if one has.