灰色 huīsè gray
gray; ash gray; grizzly; pessimistic; gloomy; dispirited; ambiguous
How to remember 灰色: 灰 ashes + 色 color = gray.
Characters
How it is used
- Gray - the color (灰色的天空 a gray sky), and figuratively gloomy/ambiguous.
- Figurative 'gray zone': 灰色地带 (huīsè dìdài) a gray area (legally/morally ambiguous), 灰色收入 off-the-books income.
- Can describe a bleak mood: 灰色心情 a gloomy mood, tied to 灰 = ashes (dull, dispirited).
- For 'ash gray' specifically vs. other grays, 灰色 covers the general range.
Example sentences
- 我可以借你的灰色西装吗？ Wǒ kěyǐ jiè nǐ de huīsè xīzhuāng ma?Could I borrow your gray suit?
- 我的办公室在那幢灰色的六层楼的四楼。 Wǒ de bàngōngshì zài nà chuáng huīsè de liùcéng lóu de sìlóu.My office is on the fourth floor of that gray six-story building.