sancai

S1A1N1C3A1I1

noun

A kind of decoration on Chinese pottery using glazes or slip, predominantly in the three colours of brown (or amber), green, and a creamy off-white, and particularly associated with the Tang dynasty (618–907) and its tomb figures.

OriginChinese 三彩 →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

nounsancai (uncountable)

alternative san ts'ai

  1. uncountableA kind of decoration on Chinese pottery using glazes or slip, predominantly in the three colours of brown (or amber), green, and a creamy off-white, and particularly associated with the Tang dynasty (618–907) and its tomb figures.

Origin

  1. Chinese三彩“three colours”
  2. Englishsancai

Borrowed from Chinese 三彩 (“three colours”).

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

ScaniaSacian
Cite this entry
APA

sancai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sancai

MLA

“sancai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sancai. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sancai,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sancai.

Source: sancai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.