Colors in Japanese with readings
Colors in Japanese with readings: 赤 aka (red), 青 ao (blue), 白 shiro (white), 黒 kuro (black), 黄色 kiiro (yellow), 緑 midori (green). Four of them — 赤, 青, 白, 黒 — are ancient and can work as adjectives directly, the rest require the particle の.
Color in Japanese is not always what it seems. 青 (ao) once colored both the sky and young leaves, so the traffic light there is “blue” even though it glows green. Learning colors means seeing the world a little through their eyes, where the boundaries of shades are drawn differently.
Basic colors in Japanese
| Color | Japanese | Reading | As adjective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 赤 | aka | 赤い akai |
| Blue | 青 | ao | 青い aoi |
| White | 白 | shiro | 白い shiroi |
| Black | 黒 | kuro | 黒い kuroi |
| Yellow | 黄色 | kiiro | 黄色い kiiroi |
| Green | 緑 | midori | — |
Color as adjective or noun
The four “ancient” colors (red, blue, white, black) have an adjective form ending in -い: 赤い (red), 青い (blue). The other colors are nouns and connect to the word via の: 緑のシャツ (green shirt), 茶色の靴 (brown shoes). This is a common source of errors, so it's worth remembering which colors “can” take -い.
When the particle の is needed after a color
赤い車 — “red car” without a particle, because 赤い is an adjective. But 緑の車: 緑 is a noun “green”, and you can connect it to an object only through の. Same with 紫 (purple) and 茶色 (brown).
Say the colors out loud
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Interesting about 青 (blue and green)
In the past, 青 (ao) in Japanese denoted a wide range from blue to green. Traces of this remain in the language: green apple — 青りんご (aoringo), young leaves — 青葉 (aoba), and the “green” traffic light is officially called 青信号 (aoshingō). Modern 緑 (midori) emerged as a separate “green” later.
Why the green traffic light is called blue
Historically, 青 covered both blue and green, and this trace remains in the language: the green traffic light is 青信号, young leaves are 青葉, an inexperienced person is 青い. Modern 緑 appeared later and did not replace 青 everywhere.
FAQ
- What basic colors should I know?
- To start: red (赤), blue (青), white (白), black (黒), yellow (黄色), and green (緑). Then add brown (茶色), gray (灰色), pink (ピンク), and purple (紫).
- Why do some colors take -い and others don't?
- Ancient colors (赤, 青, 白, 黒) have an adjective form ending in -い. More “new” colors are nouns and are attached via の: 緑のシャツ (green shirt).
- Why is the “green” traffic light called blue?
- Historically, 青 (ao) covered both blue and green. Therefore, the green signal is traditionally called 青信号 (aoshingō), even though it is actually green.
- Are there colors from English?
- Yes, many modern shades are katakana borrowings: ピンク (pink), オレンジ (orange), グレー (gray). They are written in katakana and read close to English.
Updated: 2026-06-25