万ばん緑りょく叢そう中ちゅう紅こう一いっ点てん

Meanings

one red flower in a sea of green; one outstanding item among many; one woman among many men

A classical Chinese proverb used to describe a single striking element—often a woman—standing out in a group of otherwise uniform or mediocre members. The literal image is a single red blossom amid lush green foliage. Modern usage is somewhat literary or rhetorical.

Kanji

万ten thousand, 10,000
緑green
叢plexus, clump of bushes, thicket
中in, inside, middle
紅crimson, deep red
一one, one radical (no.1)
点spot, point, mark

Related words

万ばん緑りょく一いっ紅こう
A shorter variant of the same proverb, literally 'ten thousand green, one red.' It carries the same meaning but is less commonly used than 万緑叢中紅一点.
紅こう一いっ点てん
An abbreviated form meaning 'a single red dot' or 'the one red.' It is often used to refer to the sole woman in a group of men, and is more casual and common than the full proverb.

Etymology

Derived from a line in a classical Chinese poem by Wang Anshi (王安石) of the Song dynasty: 「万緑叢中紅一点、動人春色不須多」 (Amidst ten thousand green bushes, a single red blossom; to move one's heart, spring colors need not be many). The phrase entered Japanese as a yojijukugo-style proverb.