Language/Japanese/Vocabulary/Colors

Hi Japanese learners! 😄

In today's lesson, we will give you some tips for learning colors in Japanese. As in many situations, Japanese people use Japanese or English words depending on the context. This rule also applies to colors. Once you've mastered the colors, you might want to explore other areas of Japanese vocabulary, such as Japanese animal names, Japanese sewing terms, and Japanese transportation vocabulary. Keep up the great work, and happy learning! 🌈

Main colors in Japanese with Audio

English	Japenglish	Japanese (nouns)	Audio	Appearance
Color	カーラー　Karaa	色(いろ)　Iro
Red	レッド　Reddo	赤(あか) Aka
Blue	ブルー　Buruu	青(あお)　Ao
Green	グリーン　Guriin	緑(みどり)　Midori
Yellow	イエロー　Ierou	黄色(きいろ)　Kiiro
Pink	ピンク　Pinku	桃色(ももいろ)　Momoiro
Brown	ブラウン　Buraun	茶色(ちゃいろ)　Chairo
Purple / Violet	パープル　Paaparu	紫(むらさき)　Murasaki
Black	ブラック　Burakku	黒(くろ)　Kuro
White	ワイト　Waito	白(しろ)　Shiro
Silver	シルバー　Shirubaa	銀色(ぎんいろ)　Gin'iro
Gold	ゴルドー　Gorudou	金色(きんいろ)　Kin'iro
Orange	オレンジ　Orenji	オレンジ　Orenji

Examples

Sometimes you add "iro" to the name of the color = Momo ... iro // Cha... iro

• Cha is tea and iro is color, so "chairo" means "color of tea".

• Momo means peach (check the lesson about fruits). So "Momoiro" is "color of peach".

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Sometimes you add " i " letter to the name of the color : Aka...i // Kuro...i // Shiro...i

• This last case mainly concerns the na-adjective (an article will come later about).

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"Omae ha mada aoi" = You are still green.

• There is an expression in french saying "etre un bleu", meaning don't be experienced.

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"Shingouki ga ao dake no aida ha douro wo watarette ne" = You can cross the line / street only when traffic lights are blue.

"Kyou ha aozora desu" = Today the sky is blue.

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As you can see Ao ( i ) can sometimes means blue, sometimes green. But if you ask Japanese people how to say "blue" the answer will be "ao".

• Baby supposed newborn is called "akachan", literally "little red". Refers to the color of the skin when a baby is born.

• In the Japanese popular culture, there is an annual TV show for kids using a "color code" called "Sentai". Better known as "Power Rangers".

Illustrations

Here is a screenshot of the 2011 sentai show : Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger = Gokaiger the Pirate Squadron. 2017 show name's Uchuu Sentai Kyuuranger, and refers to the number of members in the starter team. For the first time, there is 9 (kyuu) people. Usually only 3 or 5.

There is a famous idol group called Momoiro Clover Z, sometimes shorten as only Momoclo. The name means Peach-colored clover. It interesting because they are usually clothed as a sentai team with a personal color.

About colors in Japanese color:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_colors_of_Japan

Other Lessons

• House
• Nationalities
• City
• Colors 色
• Count to 10
• Metal
• Fishies
• Counting and Numbers
• Feelings and Emotions
• Greetings