Japanese Vocabulary: Colors 色 (iro)

20 comments

Japanese Vocab Lesson 11: Colors 色 – Review Notes

Today we learned some colors in Japanese! In these notes we will learn more Japanese colors and we will learn about the difference between colors used as adjectives or nouns.

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Number 1:

★　The Japanese word for color is 色 (iro).

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Number 2:

★　The Japanese word for red is 赤 (aka)!

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Number 3:

★　The Japanese word for blue is 青 (ao).

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Number 4:

★　The Japanese word for green is 緑 (midori).

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Number 5:

★　黄色 (kiiro) means yellow in Japanese!

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Number 6:

★　Purple in Japanese is murasaki.

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Number 7:

★　The Japanese word for black is 黒 (kuro).

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Number 8:

★　The Japanese word for white is 白 (shiro).

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Number 9:

★　The Japanese word for brown is 茶色 (chairo).

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Two words for “orange”

橙色 (Daidaiiro) – native Japanese word

OR

オレンジ (Orenji) – borrowed from English

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Two words for “pink”

桃色 (Momoiro) – native Japanese word

OR

ピンク (Pinku) – borrowed from English

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Two words for “grey”

灰色 (Haiiro) – native Japanese word

OR

グレー (Gurē) – borrowed from English

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More Colors:

　　　　紺色　　　　　koniro 　     　dark blue

　　　　水色　　　　　mizuiro 　   　light blue

　　　　金色　　　　　kiniro 　　 　 gold

　　　　銀色　　　　　giniro 　     　 silver

　　　　黄緑色　　　    kimidori 　　 yellow-green

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The Grammar of Japanese Colors

Japanese colors have two forms: adjective form and noun form. What we learned today was the noun form of colors. To make the adjective form of a color, there are a few rules.

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Primary Colors are i-adjectives

If you have learned about Japanese adjectives, then you probably already know about i-adjectives. But if you don’t, that’s ok. For these colors, just add い (i) to the end to make it an adjective.

　　　　赤い　　　　　akai 　　　 　red

　　　　黄色い　　　　kiiroi 　　  　yellow

　　　　青い　　　　　aoi　　　　　blue

　　　　黒い　　　　　kuroi　　   　black

　　　　白い　　　　　shiroi 　　 　white

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What’s the difference?

You use the adjective form right before the noun that it is modifying or describing. For example:

青い車がほしいです。

Aoi kuruma ga hoshii desu.

I want a blue car.

Here’s how you would use the noun form of the color.

車は青です。

kuruma wa ao desu.

The car is blue.

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Other Colors are no-adjectives

All the other colors have a different way of being turned into an adjective. These colors require that you add the particle の (no) after them to turn them into an adjective. For example:

紫の鞄を買いました。

Murasaki no kaban o kaimashita.

I bought a purple bag.

The noun usage is the same for any color.

鞄は紫です。

kaban wa murasaki desu.

The bag is purple.

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Exception:

The words 黄色 (yellow) and 茶色 (brown) can actually be turned into adjectives either way.

黄色い (kiiroi) OR 黄色の (kiiro no)

茶色い (chairoi) OR 黄色の (chairo no)

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Note: The word for blue (青 – Ao) can also be used for green in many cases. The most famous example is for the traffic light – What would be called a green light for an English speaker would be called 青信号 (aoshingo) or blue light in Japanese.

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Conclusion:

We learned a lot of colors in Japanese today! What is your favorite color? Tell us in Japanese in the comments below!

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Get Japanese dictionary!

Do you want to know a lot of Japanese words? I recommend you to get a dictionary!

If you have dictionary, you can always look up new Japanese words\(◕ω◕)/♥

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Do you want a Japanese tutor?

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20 comments

  1. 私は紫も緑もすきです！
    I hope that’s right. I was trying to say “I like purple and green!”
    Thank you, ぷにぷに！I would not have learned so much if not for your website. <3

    Comment by Alex on 10/27/2012 at 10:39 pm

  2. どういたしまして！\(◕ω◕)/♥ Yes, that is correct! Keep up the good work! がんばってね！

    Comment by PuniPuni on 10/28/2012 at 9:18 am

  3. Kuro desu. 🙂

    Comment by Kiley on 10/28/2012 at 10:53 am

  4. 黒です I think that’s right? haha..

    Comment by Kiley on 10/28/2012 at 10:54 am

  5. はい！That is correct! \(◕ω◕)/♥ いいね！私も黒が好きです☆ I like black too!

    Comment by PuniPuni on 10/28/2012 at 3:55 pm

  6. Kuro to shiro desu 🙂

    Comment by Robert on 10/29/2012 at 10:17 am

  7. 水色は好きです… 青はきれいなぁぁ…

    ~w~

    Comment by Chip on 10/31/2012 at 3:22 pm

  8. Shiro desu.

    Comment by Lucy on 11/06/2012 at 1:26 pm

  9. Just a quick question. Does it matter if an “iro” is added to any color? Will it change the meaning of the word?? Because I know that in the “Crimson Hero” manga, “beniiro” is the Japanese word for “crimson”, but doesn’t “beni” alone mean “crimson?”

    Comment by Joy on 12/28/2012 at 11:33 am

  10. Adding iro to the color is basically like saying “the color ___”. For example: akairo is like “the color red”. So, it doesn’t really change the meaning. However, certain colors like kiiro (yellow) need to have iro. Hope that helps (◕ω<)♡

    Comment by PuniPuni on 12/28/2012 at 10:44 pm

  11. Ok, thanks. (:

    Comment by Joy on 01/01/2013 at 10:50 pm

  12. Which is more common when speaking in Japanese, although I know it is important to know both, the native Japanese form of a word, or the word borrowed from English?

    Comment by MewQueen on 01/07/2013 at 8:23 pm

  13. It depends on the speaker, but generally the words borrowed from English are more common. So, more people would probably say オレンジ (orenji) compared to people who would say 橙色 (daidaiiro) for example. Older people are more likely to use the native Japanese word than young people. But of course it’s good to know both (◕ω<)♥

    Comment by PuniPuni on 01/07/2013 at 10:26 pm

  14. Kuro to aka desu 😀

    Comment by Emmy on 03/30/2013 at 5:21 pm

  15. How would I say “My favorite color is purple.” ?

    Comment by Michelle on 02/20/2014 at 9:21 am

  16. You can say: 一番好きな色は紫です。(ichiban sukina iro wa murasaki desu.) (◕ω◕)♪

    Comment by PuniPuni on 02/23/2014 at 2:36 am

  17. 青が一番好きです！

    Comment by maverek on 06/10/2014 at 10:04 pm

  18. 私のは赤です。血の色　
    （はい、私はゴアですよ　笑う）

    Comment by カテリヌ on 06/11/2014 at 8:41 pm

  19. 私は　ももいろと　あかと　緑が　だいすきです！！！！
    I hoped I used proper grammar….sigh
    This is the first time I have commented on your website, but you are a really big help for me. Thank you, I appreciate you せんせい！

    Comment by シンディ　ペレス on 06/16/2014 at 12:42 am

  20. Is Momoiro used more regulary than Pinku or the other way around? :s

    Comment by Brylee on 06/17/2014 at 10:42 pm

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