Colors in Japanese

Colors are among the first words you learn — and in Japanese they hide a surprise: only four are true adjectives, and the line between blue and green isn't where you'd expect.

The full chart with kanji, reading and romaji, the usage rules, and the bits of culture that actually matter.

The colors

日本語	Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
赤	あか	aka	red
青	あお	ao	blue
白	しろ	shiro	white
黒	くろ	kuro	black
緑	みどり	midori	green
黄色	きいろ	kiiro	yellow
茶色	ちゃいろ	chairo	brown
紫	むらさき	murasaki	purple
水色	みずいろ	mizuiro	light blue
灰色	はいいろ	haiiro	gray
ピンク	—	pinku	pink
オレンジ	—	orenji	orange
金色	きんいろ	kin’iro	gold
銀色	ぎんいろ	gin’iro	silver

True adjectives and の colors

Only four colors are -i adjectives: 赤い akai, 青い aoi, 白い shiroi, 黒い kuroi (plus the derived 黄色い and 茶色い). These go straight before the noun: 赤い車 “a red car”. All the others connect with の: 緑のかばん, ピンクの花.

Examples

日本語	Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
赤い車	あかいくるま	akai kuruma	a red car
空は青いです	そらはあおいです	sora wa aoi desu	The sky is blue
緑のかばん	みどりのかばん	midori no kaban	a green bag
ピンクの花	ピンクのはな	pinku no hana	a pink flower

Why is “green” called ao?

Historically 青 ao covered both blue and green: that's why the green traffic light is 青信号 (ao shingō) and a green apple is 青りんご. 緑 midori entered common use later, for “botanical” green.

Learn the colors (with audio) on Yukigo

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Frequently asked questions

水色 mizuiro, “water color”. Blue is 青 ao.

赤 is the color's name (“red” as a noun), 赤い is the adjective: 赤が好き “I like red”, 赤い車 “a red car”.

They're English loanwords (pink, orange), hence katakana. Native equivalents exist, like 桃色 momoiro (“peach color”), but they're less common in daily life.

Yes: it's called 青信号 ao shingō. It's a historical leftover — 青 used to cover both blue and green.