How to Write 姹 (chà) — Meaning “beautiful; colorful”

Imagine a beautiful woman (女) standing inside a colorful house (宅) filled with bright flowers — the whole scene is "chà" (colorful). You can also think of the sound "chà" like "cha-cha" and picture a dancer in a vibrant dress. This links the visual of a woman in a house with the idea of brilliant color.

Write the left radical 女 first, making it narrow and balanced, then add the right part 宅. The top of 宅 (宀) should be wide enough to cover the lower 乇, and the final vertical stroke of 乇 must curve slightly left and then hook right. A common mistake is making the two sides too wide or not aligning the top cover properly.

姹 means "colorful" or "gorgeous beaut" and uses 宅 on the right, while 妊 means "pregnant" and has 壬 (rèn) on the right — a different component. 妍 (yán) means "elegantly beautiful" and uses 开 (kāi) on the right, focusing on a refined look rather than bright color. Visually, the right-side parts are all distinct: 宅, 壬, and 开.

姹 is rarely used alone in daily conversation, but appears in the classic idiom 姹紫嫣红 (chà zǐ yān hóng), which describes a riot of brilliant colors, especially spring flowers. It can also be found in literary terms like 姹女 (chà nǚ, beautiful girl) but this is old-fashioned. You will mostly encounter 姹 in poetry, essays, or descriptions of vibrant natural scenes.

Common words containing 姹 include: 姹紫嫣红 (chà zǐ yān hóng) — a riot of brilliant colors (of flowers); 姹女 (chà nǚ) — beautiful girl; 娇姹 (jiāo chà) — beautiful and colorful.