1.
pale pink; light crimson; soft rose
A soft, slightly warm pink — a lightened version of the traditional color 紅 ('crimson; safflower red'). Evokes cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, and the delicate tones of traditional Japanese cosmetics and kimono, and is felt as a distinctly refined, classical color name rather than a modern industrial color term.
Compound of 薄- ('thin; pale'), 紅 ('crimson; safflower red'), and 色 ('color'). One of the traditional Japanese color names (伝統色) that takes a base hue and modifies it with prefixes like 薄- or 濃-. Associated with cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, and classical aesthetics.
Usage
- Often used to describe natural scenes (sunsets, flowers, dawn skies) and traditional items such as kimono, 和紙 ('Japanese paper'), and porcelain.
- Common in literary and lyrical writing; less common in everyday conversation, where ピンク is the default.
- Frequently appears in fabric, paint, and cosmetics product names to evoke a refined, traditional feel.
- 薄紅色に染まる ('to be dyed a pale pink') is a stock phrase in descriptive writing.
Common collocations
- 薄紅色の花: pale pink flowers
- 薄紅色に染まる: to be dyed / tinged pale pink
- 薄紅色の空: a pale pink sky
- 薄紅色の頬: pale pink cheeks
- 上品な薄紅色: a refined pale pink
Similar words
- ピンク: pink — the everyday modern loanword; covers a wider range of pinks but lacks the traditional feel.
- 桜色: cherry-blossom pink — a very pale pink named after cherry petals; often overlaps with 薄紅色 but is slightly paler and cooler.
- 桃色: peach pink — slightly warmer and more vivid than 薄紅色; also has metaphorical associations with romance.
- 紅色: crimson — the deeper base color; 薄紅色 is its lightened version.
- 淡紅色: pale red; light pink — a more technical / literary Sino-Japanese synonym used in biology and medicine (e.g., flesh tones, blood-related descriptions).