Shunbo Dai
Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
School of Foreign Languages, Sichuan University of Arts and Science, Dazhou 635000, China
Azlin Zaiti Zainal
Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Previous philological and empirical investigations have shown inconsistencies regarding the quantity of Basic Color Terms (BCTs) in Chinese, particularly in relation to Berlin and Kay’s established definition. This investigation identified the number of BCTs through a comprehensive online survey encompassing 90 native speakers from mainland China. This survey has employed a methodological framework that includes a free recall task devoid of visual stimuli and a color chip naming task utilizing 330 Munsell color chips. The research examines the ranked weights and distributions of color terms collected from Chinese in both tasks. The findings reveal the existence of eleven BCTs in Chinese: Hong (红, red), Cheng (橙, orange), Huang (黄, yellow), Lu (绿, green), Lan (蓝, blue), Zi (紫, purple), Fen (粉, pink), Hei (黑, black), Bai (白, white), Hui (灰, grey) and Zong (棕, brown). Notably, while the traditional macro-category qing (青, cyan) exhibited psychological salience, its variable interpretations among participants hindered its identification as a basic color term. Additionally, the identification of synonymous BCTs pair for orange (Cheng, 橙; Ju, 橘) and brown (Zong, 棕; He, 褐) indicates a necessity for further exploration into the semantic breadth and focal points of these synonymous color terms. The findings have practical applications in teaching Chinese as a foreign language and offer a solid foundation for future research into cross-cultural color perception.
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Copyright © 2025 Shunbo Dai, Azlin Zaiti Zainal
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