旗色

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 旗色(はたいろ) literally means the color of a flag and figuratively means the tide or outlook of a contest or battle.
• Basic usage: For literal color it appears in 旗色が異なる; for an unfavorable situation it appears in 旗色が悪い.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Recognize the idiomatic sense
  • 旗色が悪い does not mean that a flag has a bad color; it means that the situation or chances look unfavorable.
• Difference from 形勢
  • 形勢(けいせい) directly describes how a situation is developing, while 旗色 figuratively presents the outlook through the image of a banner.