Definition
绀 is a bound form (b.f.) meaning 'dark purple' or 'deep purple with a bluish tint'. It rarely appears alone in modern Chinese; you'll mainly encounter it in classical or literary contexts, or as part of compound words like 绀青 (gànqīng, 'dark blue') or 绀紫 (gànzǐ, 'dark purple'). As a bound form, it must attach to another morpheme to form a word — you cannot use it as a standalone adjective in everyday speech.
b.f.
(bound form) dark purpledeep bluish-purple
Examples
- 绀。Zhè jiàn gǔhuà shàng de gàn sè yǐjīng tuì le.The dark purple color on this ancient painting has faded.
- 绀。Tā chuān le yí jiàn gàn qīng sè de qípáo.She wore a dark blue cheongsam.
- 绀。Gǔjí zhōng cháng yòng gàn zǐ lái xíngróng wǎnxiá.Ancient texts often use dark purple to describe sunset clouds.
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