Colors in Japanese – How to Use Japanese Color Words

Last Updated on 28.12.2021 by Coto Academy

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In Japanese, the words for specific colors are used differently depending on their parts of speech. Having two sets – one set is the Japanese – the other being a katakana loan word version of their English counterparts – i.e. Blue as buru.

This can be very confusing for beginners in Japanese as to what context is appropriate to use which version.

Also, these are words that will appear on the JLPT N5 and N4 levels. So if you are planning on taking the JLPT at some point, you may find this useful!

In this article, we will explain to you how to describe objects with colors in Japanese.

Nouns for Basic Colors in Japanese

These words above are nouns that refer to different colors.  As a result, the particle “の(no)” is used when describing the color of something.  If you are not familiar with particles in Japanese, we recommend you to take a look at our Basic Japanese Grammar Guide

The basic sentence pattern for describing colors is :

color + の + subject

E.g:

みどりの窓口(まどぐち)
Midori no madoguchi
Green Window(usually referring to the ticket office at a train station in Japan)

紫(むらさき)の靴下(くつした)
Murasaki no kutsushita
Purple socks.

Japanese Adjectives to Describe Colors

Color can also be described using adjectives. Surprisingly, there are only 4 colors that will become an adjective when “い” is added directly to the back.

They are:

Why are these colors so special? It is because these were the basic forms of color in ancient Japanese language.  Every color was broadly categorized under and these 4 colors back then. (Sounds quite rough, isn’t it?)

Example of How to Use Japanese Colors:

Use directly in front of the subject

あおい海(うみ)
Aoiumi
Blue sea

or

海(うみ)はあおいです。
Umiwa aoidesu
The sea is blue.

“黄色い” and “茶色い”

There are 2 more colors that can become adjective -黄色 and 茶色. Why did I not put them together with the 4 colors above? This is because although meaning yellow and brown color, “黄” and “茶” cannot be on themselves when used as colors.

They have to be put together with the word “色 (iro colors) to become nouns for yellow and brown. As a result, when they become adjectives, they are “黄色い” and “茶色い” instead “黄い” or “茶い”

Blue and Green: 青い

In the past, Japanese people considered blue and green as one color called 青い. Because there was no seperation between the two until recently, even in modern times, the word “aoi” is still used to describe objects that are green, like green apples (青りんご) or green traffic lights (青信号).  

To learn more about the differences and fun historical facts, check out our exploration on the difference between aoi and midori! 

How to Say Other Colors In Japanese

If you feel that the basic colors are too general, here are some Japanese words for more specific colors.

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