Iro – Color Guide in Japanese

Do you know the colors in Japanese? Talking about colors in nihongo can be more complicated than it seems. There are a couple of important points regarding their usage. There can be various ways to say a certain color in Japanese.

Some colors have been adapted from another language with their writing in katakana. Not to mention the way to use them as an adjective or not. In this article, we will try to explain quickly and basically the colors in the Japanese language.

The Colors in Japanese – Primary

The primary colors in Japanese are adjectives that end with the letter “i” [い]. However, it is not wrong to write the colors without the “i”; there are some rules that we will see. First, let’s look at the table of primary colors:

Hiragana	Kanji	Rōmaji	Portuguese
あかい	赤い	akai	Red
あおい	青い	aoi	Blue / Green
きいろい	黄色い	kiiroi	Yellow
しろい	白い	shiroi	White
くろい	黒い	kuroi	Black

We can notice the use of the kanji Iroi [色] in the color yellow, which means color, while the other colors do not require this. So basically, it’s as if you were saying: Yellow color instead of yellow. We won’t discuss these little peculiarities.

You must have noticed that green and blue are the same thing; wait, we will explain later.

Adjective of colors in Japanese

To give color to things, like any adjective that ends with “i“, you simply place the noun in front.

Hiragana	Kanji	Rōmaji	Portuguese
あかいくるま	赤い車	akai kuruma	A red car
きいろいほん	黄色い本	kiiroi hon	A yellow book
しろいマグ	白いマグ	shiroi magu	A white mug
くろいペン	黒いペン	kuroi pen	A black pen

However, when you want to say that something “is” a certain color, you must remove the “i” from the word. Example:

Kanji	Rōmaji	Portuguese
車は赤です	kuruma wa aka desu	The car is red
本は黄色です	hon wa kiiro desu	The book is yellow
マグは白です	magu wa shiro desu	The mug is white
ペンは黒です	pen wa kuro desu	The pen is black

This rule applies only to primary colors, as there are other colors that are not “i” adjectives. You can also use the form without “i” to refer to the color.

You are not required to use the “i” adjective to refer to some things, such as:

Kana	Kanji	Rōmaji	Portuguese
あかワイン	赤ワイン	akawain	Red Wine
くろねこ	黒猫	Kuroneko	Black Cat

Blue and Green in Japanese

In fact, there is the word Midori [緑] which means green. However, the word [青い] can mean both “blue” or “green” depending on the occasion. “Aoi” refers to all shades of green and blue as a whole spectrum.

You may even notice the similarity between the colors blue and green, as in a car; some say it is green while others say it is blue, that is the purpose of the word.

So, occasionally, when we are going to call something green, the Japanese people use Ao.

Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
くさはあおです.	Kusa wa Ao desu.	The grass is green.
あおしんごう	aoshingo	Green light (traffic signal)

Curiosity: Japanese traffic lights are actually a bit bluish compared to those in the West.

The Japanese also consider the ocean “Ao,” which makes sense considering that the sea water is as green up close as it is blue from a distance.

But don’t forget that there is a word to refer to Green: “Midori” [緑].

Other Colors in Japanese

The other colors are not “i” adjectives and have no complications.

Kana	Kanji	Rōmaji	Portuguese	Notes
こん- いろ	紺色	kon ou koniro	dark blue	a shade of Ao (blue / green)
みずいろ	水色	mizuiro	light blue	literally “the color of water,” a shade of Ao.
みどり	緑	midori	green	same as in English – bright green and dark green, a shade of Ao
むらさき	紫	murasaki	violet / purple	there is no distinction between “violet” and “purple” in Japanese
オレンジ (オレンジいろ)		orenji (orenjiiro)	orange	a similar color is daidaiiro (dark orange)
ピンク		pinku	pink	a similar color is Momoiro “peach color”
ちゃいろ	茶色	chairo	brown	literally “tea color”
はいいろ	灰色	Haiiro	gray	literally “gray color,” another word is nezumiiro “mouse color”
きんいろ	金色	kin’iro	gold	kin is the “gold” metal
ぎんいろ	銀色	gin’iro	silver	gin is the “silver” metal
せいどう		seidou	Scarlet
しゅいろ	深緑	shuiro	green	Dark green
あかねいろ		akaneiro	Bronze
ももいろ	桃色	momoiro	Pink	momo means peach, and the peach is pink.
ベージュ	黄緑	be-ju kimidori	Beige	Kimimidori means yellow green
グレー		Gure	Gray
だいだいいろ	橙色	Daidaiiro	Dark orange
あいいろ	藍色	Aiiro	Indigo Blue
こげちゃいろ	焦げ茶色	Kogechairo	Brown
やまぶきいろ	茶色	Yamabukiiro	Bright yellow
ターコイズ	銅色	Ta-koizu	Purple	(Kanji is Akaganeiro)

Many colors, it is a normal word (like Gold and Peach) + [color 色]. So if you want to say that something has the color of another, you say [Word] + [Iro 色.]

Example Sentences of Colors in Japanese

Unlike colors that have the “i” adjective, in most cases, you will need to use the particle “no” の to say that something has a certain color. Examples:

Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
みどりのかばん	Midori no kaban	Green bag
紫の自転車	Murasaki no jitensha	Purple bicycle

Remembering that the way to say that something is a certain color remains the same. Example: 自転車は紫です- Jitensha wa murasaki desu.

And to ask “what color” something is, you can use the question word nani-iro.

Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
何色ですか.	Nani-iro desu ka?	What color is this?
オレンジです.	Orenji desu.	It is orange.

Well, that was a brief explanation of colors in Japanese. I hope you enjoyed it; leave your comment, share, and follow us on social media.

Watch a Video of the pronunciation of colors, for you to practice: