běn sè

All readings
Source form: 本色
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
inherent qualities / natural qualities / distinctive character / true qualities
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-11b7ec15616323a9. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

本色 本色 [ben3 se4] /inherent qualities/natural qualities/distinctive character/true qualities/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

běn shǎi

All readings
Source form: 本色
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
natural color
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-371e7b0a6fdf3f24. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

本色 本色 [ben3 shai3] /natural color/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 本
    běn

    (bound form) root / stem / (bound form) origin / source / (bound form) one's own / this / (bound form) this / the current (year etc) / (bound form) original / (bound form) inherent / originally / initially / capital / principal / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

  • 色
    sè

    color / CL:種|种[zhǒng] / look / appearance / sex

    shǎi

    (coll.) color / used in 色子[shǎi zi]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.

Audio uses a Mandarin voice available on your device. For entries with several readings, the voice chooses the pronunciation.