Introduction
In Japanese, color words can exist in two forms:
- i-adjective form (e.g., 赤い)
- noun form (e.g., 赤)
The usage varies accordingly:
- i-adjective form are simply placed in front of the noun (e.g., 赤い車)
- noun form requires a の before the noun (e.g., 赤の車)
Basic Colors
Some of the basics.
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 白(しろ) | #FFFFFF |
| ピンク | #FFC0CB |
| 赤(あか) | #FF0000 |
| オレンジ | #FFA500 |
| 黄色(きいろ) | #FFFF00 |
| 緑(みどり) | #008000 |
| 青(あお) | #0000FF |
| 紫(むらさき) | #800080 |
| 茶色(ちゃいろ) | #8B4513 |
| 灰色(はいいろ) | #808080 |
| 黒(くろ) | #000000 |
More Colors
Pink Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| ピンク | #FFC0CB |
| 桃色(ももいろ) | #F47983 |
| 桜色(さくらいろ) | #FCC9B9 |
Red Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 赤(あか) 丹色(にいろ) |
#FF0000 |
| 赤紅(あかべに) | #CB4042 |
| 黒 くろ |
#000000 |
Orange Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| オレンジ 橙色 (だいだいいろ) |
#FFA500 |
| 白 しろ |
#FFFFFF |
Yellow Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 黄色 (きいろ) | #FFFF00 |
| 白 しろ |
#FFFFFF |
Green Series
黄緑 - yellow green;
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 緑 みどり |
#008000 |
| 白 しろ |
#FFFFFF |
Blue Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 青(あお) ブリュー |
#0000FF |
| 紺(こん) | #192236 |
| 空色(そらいろ) | #4D8FAC |
| 水色(みずいろ) | #86ABA5 |
| 藍色(あいいろ) | #182028 |
Violet Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 紫 (むらさき) パープル |
#800080 |
Brown Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 白 しろ |
#FFFFFF |
Achromatic Series
| Name | RGB* |
|---|---|
| 灰色 (はいいろ) グレー |
#808080 |
| 赤 あか |
#FF0000 |
Metallic Colors
Some colors are named based on the metals they represent:
- 金色(きんいろ) - Golden
- 銀色(ぎんいろ) - Silver
External Links
- Traditional colors of Japan in the English Wikipedia.
- JIS Colors in the Japanese Wikipedia.
- Nippon Colors.
- Traditional Japanese Colors in Nihongo Master.
- Colors in Japanese, a page from Japanese with Anime.
Page last modified December 07, 2019.

