Colors in Japanese: 25 Words with Kanji, Kana and Romaji
🇯🇵 Japanese · 25 cards · A1 · by Haruka Sato
When my students learn colors, the words go in easily and the grammar trips them up. Japanese colors come in two shapes. 赤, 青, 白, 黒, 黄色 and 茶色 have i-adjective forms, so 赤いりんご works with nothing in between. Everything else — 緑, 紫, ピンク, 水色, 灰色, 紺 — is a noun, so you need の: 緑の車. Say 緑い and it sounds like a small child. Every card here has kanji, kana and romaji, plus 濃い and 薄い for shades and 何色 for asking. Learn each noun and adjective pair together, and read the example sentences out loud.
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 25 cards
| # | Japanese | Pronunciation | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 色 Kana: いろ. Noun. Inside compounds it is normally read -iro: 黄色 kiiro, 水色 mizuiro. | iro | color | 好きな色は何ですか。 What color do you like? | |
| 2 | 赤 Kana: あか. Noun form — use it alone or with の: 赤のセーター. The adjective is 赤い. | aka | red | 赤が一番好きです。 I like red best. | |
| 3 | 赤い Kana: あかい. I-adjective; put it straight in front of the noun, no の. | akai | red (adjective) | 赤いりんごを買いました。 I bought a red apple. | |
| 4 | 青 Kana: あお. Noun. 青 traditionally covered blue and some greens, so a green traffic light is 青信号. Example is casual (…よ). | ao | blue | 信号が青になったよ。 The light has turned green. | |
| 5 | 青い Kana: あおい. I-adjective. 顔が青い means someone looks pale. Example is casual (…ね). | aoi | blue (adjective) | 今日は海が青いね。 The sea is blue today, isn't it. | |
| 6 | 白 Kana: しろ. Noun; very common in clothes shops as 白の〜. Example is casual plain form. | shiro | white | 白のTシャツが欲しい。 I want a white T-shirt. | |
| 7 | 白い Kana: しろい. I-adjective. | shiroi | white (adjective) | あの白い建物は病院です。 That white building is a hospital. | |
| 8 | 黒 Kana: くろ. Noun; 黒のスーツ and 黒いスーツ are both fine. | kuro | black | 面接には黒のスーツを着ます。 I'll wear a black suit to the interview. | |
| 9 | 黒い Kana: くろい. I-adjective. | kuroi | black (adjective) | 黒い猫が目の前を横切った。 A black cat crossed right in front of me. | |
| 10 | 黄色 Kana: きいろ. Noun; before another noun use 黄色の or 黄色い. The kanji 黄 alone is rarely used by itself. | kiiro | yellow | 黄色はよく目立つ色です。 Yellow is a color that really stands out. | |
| 11 | 黄色い Kana: きいろい. I-adjective built on the noun 黄色. | kiiroi | yellow (adjective) | 電車に黄色い傘を忘れました。 I left my yellow umbrella on the train. | |
| 12 | 緑 Kana: みどり. Noun only — say 緑の車, never 緑い. It also means "greenery, plants". | midori | green | この町は緑が多いですね。 This town has a lot of greenery. | |
| 13 | 茶色 Kana: ちゃいろ. Noun. Literally "tea color". | chairo | brown | 髪を茶色に染めました。 I dyed my hair brown. | |
| 14 | 茶色い Kana: ちゃいろい. I-adjective; 茶色の靴 is equally natural. Example is casual — say 似合っていますよ to be polite. | chairoi | brown (adjective) | 茶色い靴、似合ってるよ。 Those brown shoes look good on you. | |
| 15 | 紫 Kana: むらさき. Noun only; 紫色 (murasakiiro) is also common. There is no 紫い. | murasaki | purple | 紫のドレスがきれいですね。 That purple dress is lovely. | |
| 16 | ピンク Katakana loanword from English. Noun; use ピンクの before nouns. 桃色 (momoiro) sounds old-fashioned. | pinku | pink | 庭にピンクの花が咲いている。 Pink flowers are blooming in the garden. | |
| 17 | オレンジ色 Kana/kanji: オレンジいろ. オレンジ on its own usually means the fruit, so add 色 for the color. 橙色 (daidaiiro) is the older word. | orenjiiro | orange (color) | オレンジ色のバッグを探しています。 I'm looking for an orange bag. | |
| 18 | 灰色 Kana: はいいろ. Noun. Literally "ash color". For clothes and cars people usually say グレー (gurē). | haiiro | gray | 空が灰色で、寒そうですね。 The sky is gray; it looks cold out. | |
| 19 | 水色 Kana: みずいろ. Noun. Literally "water color"; very common in everyday speech. Example is casual plain form. | mizuiro | light blue, pale blue | 水色の方がかわいいと思う。 I think the light blue one is cuter. | |
| 20 | 金色 Kana: きんいろ. Also read こんじき (konjiki) in literary or Buddhist contexts. 金 (kin) alone means the metal gold. | kin'iro | gold (color) | 父から金色の時計をもらいました。 I got a gold watch from my father. | |
| 21 | 銀色 Kana: ぎんいろ. Noun. 銀 (gin) alone means the metal silver. Example is casual. | gin'iro | silver (color) | あの銀色の車、かっこいいね。 That silver car is cool. | |
| 22 | 紺 Kana: こん. Noun; 紺色 (kon'iro) also works. Very common for school uniforms and suits. | kon | navy blue | 制服は紺のブレザーです。 The uniform is a navy blazer. | |
| 23 | 何色 Kana: なにいろ (なんいろ is also heard). Careful: なんしょく means "how many colors", not "what color". | naniiro | what color | その傘は何色ですか。 What color is that umbrella? | |
| 24 | 濃い Kana: こい. I-adjective. Also used for strong-tasting food and strong coffee. Example is casual (…な). | koi | dark, deep (of color) | もう少し濃い青がいいな。 A slightly darker blue would be better. | |
| 25 | 薄い Kana: うすい. I-adjective, the opposite of 濃い. It also means "thin" for flat objects. | usui | pale, light (of color) | この色、薄すぎませんか。 Isn't this color too pale? |
Osaka-born, Tokyo-based. I help English speakers get past hiragana into real conversation. Every card has kanji, kana and romaji, because you need all three at the start.
Questions about this deck
- Which Japanese colors are i-adjectives?
- Only six color words have a true i-adjective form: 赤い (akai), 青い (aoi), 白い (shiroi), 黒い (kuroi), 黄色い (kiiroi) and 茶色い (chairoi). Everything else — 緑, 紫, ピンク, 水色, 灰色, 紺, オレンジ色 — is a noun, so you link it to the next noun with の: 緑の車, 紫のドレス. 緑い and ピンクい do not exist.
- Should I say 赤い車 or 赤の車?
- 赤い車 (akai kuruma) is the normal way to describe a red car. 赤の車 sounds like you are picking one option out of several — the red one rather than the blue one — so you hear it when shopping: 赤のセーターをください. Both are grammatical; for plain description, use the adjective.
- Why is a green traffic light called 青 in Japanese?
- Historically 青 covered everything from blue to green, and that older usage survives in fixed expressions: 青信号 (green light), 青りんご (green apple), 青菜 (leafy greens). For anything else that is green, use 緑: 緑の車, 緑のカーテン.
- Is it オレンジ or オレンジ色 for the color orange?
- Use オレンジ色 (orenjiiro) for the color, because オレンジ on its own is usually the fruit. 色 works the same way in 紫色 (murasakiiro) and 茶色 (chairo), and 水色 and 灰色 always include it. For gray clothes and cars, everyday speech usually prefers the loanword グレー (gurē).
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