Vocabulary List
色 (iro)
The everyday color words you need for describing clothes, objects, and the world around you.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 赤 | aka | red |
| 青 | ao | blue |
| 黄色 | kiiro | yellow |
| 緑 | midori | green |
| 黒 | kuro | black |
| 白 | shiro | white |
| 紫 | murasaki | purple |
| オレンジ | orenji | orange |
| ピンク | pinku | pink |
| 茶色 | chairo | brown |
| 灰色 | haiiro | gray |
| 金色 | kin'iro | gold |
| 銀色 | gin'iro | silver |
| 水色 | mizuiro | light blue |
Most Japanese color words ending in 色 (-iro, "color") are nouns, so to describe something directly you usually add の: 赤いオレンジ would be wrong, but オレンジ色のシャツ ("an orange-colored shirt") is correct. A handful of basic colors — 赤い (akai), 青い (aoi), 黒い (kuroi), 白い (shiroi), 黄色い (kiiroi), 茶色い (chairoi) — double as i-adjectives and can describe nouns directly, e.g. 赤い車 ("a red car"). Historically, 青 (ao) covered both blue and green, which is why traffic lights are still called 青信号 ("blue signal") even though they're green.
Many color kanji appear in our reference pages with readings, stroke order, and example words.