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Bright Holi color powders arranged in a circle of small dishes, from red and orange to green, blue, and purple.
Bright Holi color powders arranged in a circle of small dishes, from red and orange to green, blue, and purple. Photo by Shrey Chapra / Pexels. Image source
A1 · Beginner
NewGlobal · Culture & Everyday Life

Why Colors Mean Different Things

Created by dabai laoshi · 28 Aug 2026

Key Vocabulary

funeral

a meeting after a person is not living

In China, white is a funeral color.

wedding

the day two people start a family together

In many cities, women wear white at a wedding.

lucky

bringing a good result

In China, red is often a lucky color.

wear

to have clothes on your body

Women wear white on their wedding day.

choose

to pick one thing from more than one

When you choose a gift, think about color.

Article

You see a white dress and think of a wedding. You see black clothes and think of a funeral. These color ideas feel like home in your city. They are not the same in every city.

People learn color ideas from family. The eye sees red and white in the same way. The people around you teach what that color should say. [1][2]

White is a good example. In many cities, women wear white on their wedding day. In China, white is a funeral color. People in China think white is more sad. [1][2]

Red also changes. In China, red is a lucky color for weddings and gifts. In many other cities, red can mean love. It can also mean a person who feels angry. [1][2]

In Greece, purple is a more sad color. You see dark purple in church at funerals. [1][2]

A red stop sign tells you to stop. A red wedding dress can be a happy day. White at a funeral can look sad. The color does not work alone.

When you choose a gift, ask a small question. What does this color mean here?

Discussion Questions

  1. What colors do people use for weddings where you live?
  2. If you give a gift to a friend from another city, which colors do you pick?
  3. Which color story in the article is new for you?
  4. Do you have a lucky color? Where did that idea come from?
  5. Would you wear white to a wedding? Why?

References

  1. Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz, "Colors evoke similar feelings around the world," ScienceDaily, summarizing a 30-nation color-emotion study. Source
  2. Domicele Jonauskaite et al., "Universal Patterns in Color-Emotion Associations Are Further Shaped by Linguistic and Geographic Proximity," Psychological Science, 2020. Source

Finished reading? Mark this lesson as done.

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