万緑叢中紅一点

Japanese

Kanji in this term
万	緑	叢	中	紅	一	点
ばん Grade: 2	りょく Grade: 3	そう Jinmeiyō	ちゅう Grade: 1	こう Grade: 6	いち > いっ Grade: 1	てん Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
萬綠叢中紅一點 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Borrowed from Literary Chinese. Compare Chinese 萬綠叢中一點紅／万绿丛中一点红. Both are derived from a line in Ode to a Pomegranate Flower (咏石榴花) by Wang Anshi:

濃綠萬枝紅一點，動人春色不須多。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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浓绿万枝红一点，动人春色不须多。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Nónglǜ wàn zhī hóng yīdiǎn, dòngrén chūnsè bùxū duō. [Pinyin]

A single red flower blooms amidst a field of greenery. No extra spring scenery is needed to make it more lovely.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /banryoku soːchuːkoː itteɴ/

Idiom

万(ばん)緑(りょく)叢(そう)中(ちゅう)紅(こう)一(いっ)点(てん) • (banryokusōchū kōitten) 

1. (literally) a beautiful single red flower that blooms within a field of trees and grass
2. (figuratively) something unique that stands out among many other things
3. (figuratively) a single woman among many men

See also

• 紅一点 (kōitten)