Colours in Japanese with pictures

Colors in Japanese are short, pretty words that young children pick up quickly: あか (aka, red), あお (ao, blue), しろ (shiro, white), くろ (kuro, black). This page has 12 colours with clear audio and romaji for grown-ups. Tap a colour to hear it in Japanese and English, then play Find it, where Golu asks for a colour and your child taps it.

Colour names in Japanese: the basic set

The word for colour is いろ (iro), and you can hear it inside several colour names. The 12 colours in the word list above are あか (red), きいろ (kiiro, yellow, "yellow colour"), あお (blue), みどり (midori, green), オレンジ (orenji, orange), むらさき (murasaki, purple), ピンク (pinku, pink), ちゃいろ (chairo, brown, "tea colour"), くろ (black), しろ (white), はいいろ (haiiro, grey, "ash colour") and みずいろ (mizuiro, light blue, "water colour"). Notice the little stories: brown is the colour of tea, grey the colour of ash, light blue the colour of water.

Orange and pink are written in katakana because they were borrowed from English. Older Japanese words exist, such as だいだいいろ for orange and ももいろ ("peach colour") for pink, and you will find them in crayon boxes and songs.

Ao and midori: why a green traffic light is "blue"

For a long time Japanese used あお for both blue and green, and traces remain today. The green traffic light is called あおしんごう, "blue signal", fresh green vegetables are あおもの, and a green apple is あおりんご (you will find it in the fruits in Japanese game). Modern Japanese uses みどり for green, but children hear both. If your child calls something green あお, they are not wrong; they are being very Japanese.

Colour words that change: akai, aoi, shiroi

Some Japanese colours become describing words by adding い: あかい りんご (a red apple), あおい そら (a blue sky), しろい くも (a white cloud), くろい ねこ (a black cat), きいろい バナナ and ちゃいろい くま. Other colours use の instead: みどりの はっぱ (a green leaf), ピンクの はな (a pink flower). You do not need to explain this to a child. Just describe things naturally while you play, and the pattern arrives on its own around age four or five.

"What colour is this?" in Japanese

Ask 「これは なにいろ？」 (Kore wa nani iro?). Your child can answer with just the colour: あか！ Use it while choosing clothes, building blocks or colouring. On the colouring pages, let your child ask you in Japanese which colour to use next.

Colours in Japanese culture

• Red and white (こうはく, kouhaku) mean celebration. Sports-day teams at Japanese schools are often split into red and white, and the big New Year's Eve song show is called Kouhaku.
• Sakura pink: cherry blossom season in spring turns parks pink, and families picnic under the trees.
• The rainbow (にじ, niji) has seven colours in Japan: あか、だいだい、きいろ、みどり、あお、あい、むらさき.
• Carp streamers for Children's Day come in black, red, blue and more. Draw and colour a family of koinobori together.

Red, blue, green: quick answers

Red in Japanese is あか (aka). Blue in Japanese is あお (ao). Green in Japanese is みどり (midori). Yellow in Japanese is きいろ (kiiro). Black in Japanese is くろ and white in Japanese is しろ. Pink in Japanese is ピンク, purple in Japanese is むらさき and brown in Japanese is ちゃいろ.

How to teach colours in Japanese at home

1. Age 2-3: one colour a week. Find everything あか in the house.
2. Age 3-4: colour sorting with blocks, socks or fruit, naming each pile.
3. Age 4-5: describe things: あかい くるま, しろい ねこ.
4. Age 5-6: paint the seven-colour rainbow and name each stripe.

Many children mix up colour names until three or four, in every language. Name colours often but never quiz until your child is upset. Praise looking carefully: "よく みてるね！"

If you are worried that your child cannot tell colours apart, talk to your paediatrician; colour vision differences are common and easy to support. In the game, the settings offer fewer choices and high contrast.

For heritage and bilingual families

Crayons are a lovely way to keep Japanese going at home: Japanese crayon boxes name each colour on the wrapper. The word list above prints from your browser if you want a colour chart for the wall. Compare with colours in Chinese, where every colour ends in 色, or colours in Korean.

いろの なまえで あそぼう

いろの なまえは、まいにちの あそびの なかで しぜんに おぼえられます。「これは なにいろ？」と きいて、こどもが「あか！」と こたえたら、「そうだね、あかい りんごだね」と かえしてあげましょう。

しんごうの「あお」が ほんとうは みどりいろなのは、ふしぎで おもしろい はなしです。はるには さくらの ピンク、あめの あとには にじの ななしょく。きせつの いろを いっしょに みつけて、いろの なまえを たくさん いってみてください。

How to use this page at home

Say it, then find it

Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: japanese words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.

Ten minutes is enough

Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.

Use both languages

Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.