紫(zǐ) - purple in Mandarin

紫 (zǐ) means purple. Like the other colour words it takes 是...的 (shì...de) or a degree adverb as a predicate: 这件毛衣是紫的 (zhè jiàn máoyī shì zǐ de), this jumper is purple, is the natural pattern.

Before a noun the fuller 紫色 (zǐsè), literally "purple colour", is the everyday choice: 紫色的大衣 (zǐsè de dàyī), a purple overcoat. 紫 (zǐ) on its own before a noun turns up mostly in fixed pairings, such as 紫菜 (zǐcài), laver seaweed.

In traditional Chinese culture, purple carries associations with nobility and the imperial court: 紫禁城 (Zǐjìnchéng), the Forbidden City, takes its name from the "purple" of the polestar's heavenly palace in old astronomy, not from the colour of its buildings.