The meaning and usage of 色彩.

[yohosuff]

Hello again!

In this sentence,

可是外国人初学汉语时, 弄不清 "东西" 的指代范围和使用状况, 更不知修辞和感情色彩.

what does 色彩 mean?

The dictionary has two definitions,

1. colour; hue; tint; shade

2. emotion; flavour

And here's a Chinese definition:

颜色, 比喻某种事物的倾向或风格.

Which I reckon means: "color, a metaphor for a certain thing's tendency or style"

Am I on the money here?

[studentyoung]

可是外国人初学汉语时, 弄不清 "东西" 的指代范围和使用状况, 更不知修辞和感情色彩.

感情色彩：emotional tendency

颜色, 比喻某种事物的倾向或风格.

Which I reckon means: "color, a metaphor for a certain thing's tendency or style"

For example, in China, red is taken as “the color of revolution”, “loyalty”, “passion” etc. Or you can say blue is the emotional color / emotional tendency感情色彩in some of Van Gogh’s paintings.

Cheers!

[yohosuff]

Emotional tendencies doesn't quite make a lot of sense to me. Does it mean how a person would react emotionally to a certain event? For example, if you crashed your car, would you be angry or would you laugh?

[HashiriKata]

I guess 感情色彩 in this context could mean "tone of voice/ emotional nuance/ sentiment"

[studentyoung]

Does it mean how a person would react emotionally to a certain event?

Hmm. It means how a person would react emotionally to something or what kinds of feelings someone expresses.

For example, if you crashed your car, would you be angry or would you laugh?

Being angry is an emotional color, but we seldom say laugh is an emotional color. Other emotional colors are sad, blue, happy, light, dim etc. The emotional color in Johann Strauss’ “The Blue Danube” is light and happy.

I guess 感情色彩 in this context could mean "tone of voice/ emotional nuance/ sentiment"

100分。

Cheers!

[yohosuff]

Thanks for the insight. I think tone of voice fits perfectly here.

[monto]

Just think it "color" but understand it colorfully, not restricting yourself to the painting colors only.

Chinese language is less precise than most of Western languages, but and as the result,

more tasteful.

[HashiriKata]

Chinese language is less precise than most of Western languages, but and as the result, more tasteful.

Sound like you no longer want to live, Monto?

@yohosuff: I'd translate "修辞和感情色彩" in this context as "stylistic considerations and emotional colourings". I saw in your other thread you asked about 修辞 and everyone told you it meant "rhetorics", but that is not what is meant in the sentence. A word out of context can mean anything.

[yohosuff]

I appreciate your input HashiriKata, but I think rhetoric makes sense in this case.

I would translate it as "rhetorical and emotional colourings." I wouldn't use stylistic considerations because,

one, its a mouthful

and two, the dictionary, my "bible", clearly lists only one meaning, "rhetorical," for 修辞. And it's a BIG dictionary.