What is the difference between 色素{しきそ} and 色{いろ}? Is there a major difference?
According to Jisho they both seem to mean basically the same thing.
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2020-10-05T17:43:50.183
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meaning
Is there really a difference between 色素 and 色
I would say there is a definite difference. 色 is a generic abstract noun for
color. 色素 is a concrete noun which refers to a physical substance that gives
color to another object. I think the clearest English word pair to
differentiate these is 'pigment' and 'color'. A pigment produces a specific
color in an object. Likewise, 色素 produces 色 in objects.
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2020-10-05T19:16:53.467
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I didn't realize until now that there is no straight translation of 色素 in
English, although they are very different in concept.  
( _Pigment_ seems to cover it according to @Nanigashi, but also seems to
usually stand for a certain type of painting material we call 顔料.)

**色** is a _stimulation_ a ray of certain frequency gives to eye.

**色素** is a _material_ that takes on a certain 色. It is found in dyes, paints,
flower petals, or your skin (melanin). WP has an article [Biological
pigment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_pigment), which defines them
"substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from
selective color absorption". Remove the "produced by living organisms" part
and that is the definition of 色素.
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