Colors in Japanese: Everything you need to know

Did you know that colors in Japanese often have unique meanings and origins? This makes sense because dyeing fabric has been a Japanese tradition since the 8th century. There are also the beautiful Japanese woodblock prints calle Ukiyo-e, which have been around since the 17th century. 

 

The Japanese word for color is 色いろ (iro). Color names often reflect nature and objects in real life. For example, the word for grey is 灰色はいいろ(hai iro) meaning “ash color” and pink is 桃色ももいろ (momo iro) meaning “peach blossom color”. 

 

The shades of Japanese colors can be slightly different from the concept in English. Throughout the article there will be color blocks to show the exact color in Japanese.

 

Tanuko will be guiding you through everything you need to know about colors in Japanese! 

Common Colors

 

Here are some common colors that you’ll want to know in Japanese. It’s easier to remember and more interesting when you know the backstory behind each color. 

 

Note: Some colors have a parenthesis with the word 色いろ(iro), meaning color. In Japanese, colors often have the word “color” or iro used in their name. When they are in parenthesis, it means that you can refer to the color with or without 色いろ(iro).

 

黒くろ – kuro – black

This word works in the same way as the color “black” in English. However, there are instances where kuro is used as something similar to “dark”. 

For example, Japanese dark brown sugar is 黒砂糖くろざとう(kurozatou) even though it’s not black.

 

白しろ– shiro – white

Shiro originally comes from 著いちじるしい(ichijiru shii) which means “striking” or “remarkable”. This word used to be pronounced ichishiroshi, and came to describe the striking color of white. 

The idea that white is “striking” shows when Japanese people say 白黒しろくろさせる (shirokuro saseru). This means to get clarity. 

White can also means “blank”. For example,  頭あたまの中なかが真まっ白しろ (atama no naka ga masshiro). This means you’ve completely blanked out.

 

灰色はいいろ – hai iro – grey

灰, Hai, means “ash”. This name describes the grey color of ashes. It can also be called 鼠色ねずみいろ (nezumi iro) which means “mouse color”.

 

黄色きいろ – kiiro – yellow

There are different ideas on the origin of the word kiiro, but some say that it came from the word for gold which is 金色きんいろ (kin iro). Before the word kiiro existed, people categorized yellow with red because it was associated with autumn leaves.

 

赤あか – aka – red

Aka comes from the word 明あきらか (akiraka) which means “obvious” or “apparent”. This is why there are some uses of aka that might be confusing for Japanese learners. 

For example, 赤あかの他人たにん(aka no tanin) means “A complete(obvious) stranger” or 真まっ赤かな嘘うそ(makka na uso) means “obvious lie”.

When used as the meaning of red color, some interesting words are 赤あかちゃん (akachan) which means baby. This comes from the way that babies often look red when they are born. 

 

緑みどり (色いろ) – midori (iro) – green

The word midori comes from the “fresh” image of green. 瑞々みずみずしい(mizumizu shii) meaning fesh, young, and vibrant was the word origin. 

In Japan, there’s also an association of green with “beginners”. New drivers in Japan must put a sticker on their cars that are yellow and green.

 

青 あお– ao – blue

Blue is an important color for Japanese people because it is associated with indigo dye. Japan has been dyeing with indigo for more than one thousand years. Indigo is called 藍あい(ai) which is said to have eventually morphed into the word for blue, ao. 

Ao also has an image of youth in Japan. For example, 青春せいしゅん(seishun) meaning “springtime of youth” is written with the kanji for “blue spring”. There is also 青臭あおくさい(aokusai) meaning “inexperienced” using the kanji that translates to “blue smell”.

 

紫むらさき (色いろ) – murasaki (iro) – purple

Murasaki comes from ムラサキ草くさ(murasaki kusa), which is a plant that was used to make a purple dye. In old Japanese history, it was a color that was special and could only be used by the imperial family.

 

オレンジ色いろ / 橙だいだい色いろ – orenji iro / daidai iro – orange

Orange can be found in two different ways. オレンジ (orenji) is the katakana spelling of the word “orange”.  橙だいだい色いろ (daidai iro) is named after a type of Japanese bitter orange called 橙だいだい (daidai).

The two color  names have slightly different shades due to the Japanese bitter orange  having a lighter shade than a generic orange.

 

ピンク(色いろ) / 桃もも色いろ – pinku (iro) / momo iro – pink

There are also two ways to say “pink” . Pinku iro refers to the concept of “pink” in English. Momo iro uses the word for “peach” and it’s the color of peach flowers. 

 

茶色ちゃいろ – cha iro – brown

This is a color that uses the word “tea” or 茶ちゃ in its name. This might be confusing since Japanese people drink huge amounts of green tea. The reason behind the naming comes from the use of tea leaves as dye, which produced the color brown.

 

金色きんいろ – kin iro – gold

Although not exactly a color, kin iro, expresses the metallic gold color. The name comes from the kanji for gold, 金きん(kin).

 

銀色ぎんいろ – gin iro – silver

This is also a metallic color, using the word for silver which is 銀ぎん(gin).

 

 

Light and Dark colors

Unlike in English, lighter and darker colors often have their own names. Here are some common color names that are darker or lighter.

 

水色 みずいろ– mizuiro – light blue

Mizuiro translates to the color of water. Japanese people associate light blue with water.

 

黄き緑みどり – kimidori – yellow green (light green)

Instead of light green, Japanese people tend to use kimidori which is actually a yellowish green.

 

紺色こんいろ – kon iro – dark (navy) blue

This color has been around in Japan for a long time. It’s considered the deepest color that you can get from dyeing with indigo.

 

焦茶こげちゃ – kogecha – dark brown

This word translates to “burnt brown” in Japanese. It indicates a darker brown color as if it was burned.

 

 

Describing different shades

Lighter and darker colors can also be expressed by adding words that describe the main color. 

 

Light colors 

薄うすい(usui – light or weak), 明あかるい (akarui – bright) or 鮮あざやか (azayaka – vivid) can describe lighter colors. Simply add this description before the color name. 

For example, you can say “vivid red” with the phrase 鮮あざやかな赤あか (azayaka na aka). When using these words make sure to follow the rules of Japanese adjectives.

In particular, the most common way you’ll encounter light color names is using 薄うすい (usui – light or weak). This is added to the name of the color in the form of 薄うす(usu) without the い. 

 

For example: 

薄紫うすむらさき – usumurasaki – light purple

薄桃色うすももいろ – usumomoiro – light pink

薄橙色うすだいだいいろ– usudaidai iro – light orange

 

 

Dark colors

深ふかい (fukai – deep), 暗くらい (kurai – dark), or 濃こい (koi – dark and concentrated) can be used to indicate darker shades of colors. For example, you could talk about a dark yellow by saying 濃こい黄色きいろ (koi kiiro).

You’ll also sometimes see dark color names with 深ふかい (fukai – deep) without the い.

 

For example:

深緑ふかみどり – fukamidori – dark green

深紫ふかむらさき – fukamurasaki – dark purple

 

 

Combined colors

In English we sometimes combine two color names. This can also be done in Japanese.

 

Here are some examples:

赤紫あかむらさき – aka murasaki – red purple (cherry pink color)

赤橙色あかだいだいいろ – aka daidai iro – red orange

青緑あおみどり – ao midori – blue green

青紫あおむらさき– ao murasaki – blue purple

 

 

Blue (ao) can be used for green (midori) in Japanese

Blue, ao, can sometimes stand for green, midori, in Japanese. This is because there were not many words for colors in old Japan. Only black, white, red, and blue existed. Green was a color in the blue category. This tradition has stayed into the modern language. 

You’ll find that some objects are described by blue even though they are green.

For example:

青信号あおしんごう – ao shingou – green traffic light

青あおリンゴ – ao ringo – green apple

青紫蘇あおじそ – ao jiso – perilla plant 

青葉 あおば– aoba – fresh leaves

 

 

When Colors in English are used in Japan

Marketing purpose

Japanese people find the English language as trendy and cool. This is why the English names of colors are often seen in katakana for marketing purposes. 

The best example of the use of English color names are when new products come out. 

 

For example, the iPhone color names are written on Apple’s website as:

グリーン – guriin – green

ブルー – buruu – blue

ブラック – burakku – black

ホワイト – howaito – white

 

Younger generation

The old names of colors are being replaced by English names for the younger generation. This can be seen in the words such as ピンク(pinku -pink) and オレンジ (orenji – orange). These days, the English names are used more frequently than the old Japanese names of momo iro and daidai iro.

 

In fashion

Since the English names are more trendy, fashion items are usually described by English color names. However, if you’re describing something that’s traditionally Japanese it makes sense to use the Japanese word.

 

Here’s an example where you might use the word purple, パープル (paapuru), in English.

パープルのドレス
Paapuru no doresu
Purple dress

 

If describing a kimono, it’s best to use the Japanese purple name, 紫(murasaki).

紫むらさきの着物きもの
Murasaki no kimono
Purple kimono

 

 

Some unique Japanese colors

Perhaps due to the tradition of fabric dyeing and old Japanese art, there are some  uniquely Japanese color names. Be sure to check out this website which has a list of all the Japanese traditional colors and names.

 

小豆色あずきいろ – azuki iro – red bean color

If you’ve ever had Japanese desserts you may have tasted sweet azuki beans. These beans are a distinct reddish brown color which has given the name of this color.

 

月白げっぱく – geppaku – moon white

This is a beautiful name for a color that is slightly blue white. It depicts the soft glow of moonlight.

 

わさび色いろ – wasabi iro – wasabi color

This color is a soft green that describes the color of wasabi, a Japanese horseradish. It’s often eaten with sushi.

 

撫子なでしこ色いろ – nadeshiko iro – nadeshiko flower color

The nadeshiko flower is a pink colored flower that has a strong symbolism in Japan. It describes the ideal traditional Japanese woman.

 

古代こだい紫むらさき – kodai murasaki – old purple

This is a purple color which has a slightly reddish tinge. During the Edo period there was a brighter purple that became popular. This word was used to differentiate the “old” purple. 

 

溝鼠どぶねずみ色いろ – dobunezumi iro – sewer rat color

Grey is often described by the word for nezumi, meaning rat. This color is the color of a sewer rat. 

 

 

How to use colors to describe things in a sentence

 

っぽい – ppoi – ish

You can add this word ending to colors to say “ish”. For example, a yellowish house would be 黄色きいろっぽい家いえ (kiiroppoi ie) and a greenish house could be  緑みどりっぽい家いえ(midorippoi ie).

 

真まっ – Ma – completely one color

This is used before the color name to describe when something is covered in that color. A cat covered in black fur could be described as 真まっ黒くろい猫ねこ(makkuroi neko). 

 

Colors can be i-adjectives  or no-adjectives

It’s important to know that some colors function as i-adjectives and others as no-adjectives. This is crucial when you’re using it in a sentence. 

 

い (i) – adjective colors

Colors which function as i-adjectives are 黒くろ (kuro – black),  白しろ (shiro – white), 黄色きいろ(kiiro – yellow), 赤あか (aka – red), and 青あお (ao – blue). 

To describe things, you simply need to add い (i) after the color. 

 

For example:

白しろい家いえが見みえた
Shiroi ie ga mieta
I saw a white house.

 

赤あかい家いえが欲ほしい
Akai ie ga hoshii
I want a red house.

 

の (no) – adjective colors

All other colors are no – adjective. Simply add a の after the  color to describe things.

 

For example:

緑色みどりいろの家いえが見みえた
Midori iro no ie ga mieta
I saw a green house

 

金色きんいろの家いえが欲ほしい
Kin iro no ie ga hoshii
I want a gold house

 

Note that 黄色きいろ (kiiro – yellow) and 茶色ちゃいろ (chairo – brown) can function as either kind of adjective.

 

Use as a Noun 

You can also use colors as a noun. In this case, the color word is unmodified. Use colors as a noun when you want to say something is a certain color. 

 

For example:

コーヒーは茶色ちゃいろです。
Koohii wa chairo desu.
The coffee is brown.

 

好すききな色いろは赤あかです。
Suki na iro wa aka desu.
My favorite color is red.

 

I hope that this article gave some insight on everything you need to know about colors in Japanese! If you’re interested in other Japanese learning articles check out Filler words in Japanese: How to use them! or Aizuchi: A special Japanese conversation technique!

~ Tanuki

 

Sources for this article:

https://irocore.com/　Site with list of Japanese colors and explanations
Wikipedia in Japanese
http://gogen-allguide.com/  (a japanese resource that tells you word origins)
My own Japanese knowledge