Mastering Japanese Colors for JLPT N5 – Day 33

Welcome back to Day 33 of our 100-day JLPT N5 challenge!

Colors are a fun and practical part of everyday Japanese, helping you describe everything from a red sunset to a green matcha latte.

This lesson focuses on the color vocabulary taught to Japanese kids from kindergarten to second grade (ages 5–8), perfect for JLPT N5 prep.

Let’s dive in and make learning Japanese for beginners exciting!

Main Lesson: Japanese Color Vocabulary

Some colors are nouns (used with の) and others become i-adjectives (ending in ～い) when describing things.

For this lesson, we’ll list the base noun forms of colors (e.g., あか, あお), then explain how to use them as adjectives (e.g., あかい, みどりの).

Color Vocabulary List

Here’s the list of colors.

Hiragana	Romaji	English
あか	aka	red
あお	ao	blue/green (context-dependent)
きいろ	ki-iro	yellow
みどり	midori	green
しろ	shiro	white
くろ	kuro	black
ちゃいろ	cha-iro	brown
むらさき	murasaki	purple
ピンク	pinku	pink
オレンジ	orenji	orange
はいいろ	hai-iro	gray
みずいろ	mizu-iro	light blue

Using Colors as Adjectives

To describe nouns, colors transform based on their category:

Colors that take ～い:
Add ～い to form i-adjectives.

Structure:

• あか → あかい + [noun]
• あお → あおい + [noun]
• きいろ → きいろい + [noun]
• しろ → しろい + [noun]
• くろ → くろい + [noun]
• ちゃいろ → ちゃいろい + [noun]

Example:

• あかい くるま (a red car)
• あおい へや (a blue room)
• きいろい ペン (a yellow pen)
• しろい いぬ (a white dog)
• くろい ねこ (a black cat)
• ちゃいろい いす (a brown chair)

Colors that use の:
Use の to connect to nouns.

Structure:

• みどり → みどり の + [noun]
• むらさき → むらさき の + [noun]
• ピンク → ピンク の + [noun]
• オレンジ → オレンジ の + [noun]
• はいいろ → はいいろ の + [noun]
• みずいろ → みずいろ の + [noun]

Example:

• みどり の ペン (a green pen.)
• むらさき の ふく (a purple dress)
• ピンク の はな (a pink flower)
• オレンジ の ボール (an orange ball)
• はいいろ の ねずみ (a grey rat)
• みずいろ の かべ (a light blue wall)

Negation: For ～い colors, drop い and add くない (e.g., あかくない – not red). For の colors, use じゃない (e.g., みどりじゃない – not green).

あおい そら vs. そら が あおい

1. あおい そら (Aoi sora) – A blue sky

Structure: [Color adjective] + [noun]

Usage: This is a noun phrase where あおい (blue/green, an i-adjective) directly describes the noun そら (sky). It’s used to label or identify something as having a certain quality, like saying “a blue sky” in English.

Context: Use this when you’re simply describing the car’s color, often as part of a larger sentence or as a standalone phrase.

Example: あおい そら が きれい です。 (Aoi sora ga kirei desu.) – The blue sky is beautiful.

2. そら が あおい (Sora ga aoi) – The sky is blue

Structure: [Noun] + が/は + [i-adjective]

Usage: This is a full sentence (or clause) where が marks そら (sky) as the subject, and あおい (blue/green) is the predicate, describing the car’s state or quality. It emphasizes that the sky is blue. In English, it translates to “The sky is blue”.

Example: そら が あおい です。 (Sora ga aoi desu.) – The sky is blue.

Why not くるま が あおい?

As we learned in Day 23 with おおきい and ちいさい, saying くるま が あおい (The car is blue) feels unnatural because くるま (car) is a general concept, not a specific car.

Cars come in many colors, so stating “a car is blue” without context sounds odd, just like saying “a room is big” (へや は おおきい) is incorrect.

Instead, use a specific marker like この (this) or あの (that) to refer to a particular car:
この くるま は あおい です。 (Kono kuruma ga aoi desu.)

この くるま “が” or この くるま “は”？
For describing a specific car’s color in a straightforward way (e.g., “This car is blue”), “は” is more natural because it sets the car as the topic and describes its attribute (being blue).

This aligns with Japanese’s preference for は in neutral, descriptive sentences about known items, as seen in Day 23’s explanation about おおきい and ちいさい.

Using が isn’t wrong, but it implies emphasis or contrast (e.g., “This car, unlike others, is blue”), which may feel unnatural without such contex.

Example Sentences

Here are example sentences using colors to describe objects:

あかい くるま が あります。 (Akai kuruma desu.)
– There is a red car.

そら が あおい です。 (Sora ga aoi desu.)
– The sky is blue.

きいろい バナナ を たべます。 (Kiiroi banana o tabemasu.)
– I eat a yellow banana.

あの みどり の き は おおきい です。 (Ano midori no ki wa ōkii desu.)
– That green tree is big.

ゆき は しろい です。 (Yuki wa shiroi desu.)
– Snow is white.

この くろい ねこ は かわいい です。 (Kono kuroi neko wa kawaii desu.)
– This black cat is cute.

ちゃいろい くま を みました。 (Chairo no kuma o mimashita.)
– I saw a brown bear.

むらさきの はな が あります。 (Murasaki no hana ga arimasu.)
– There’s a purple flower.

ピンクの ドレス を きます。 (Pinku no doresu o kimasu.)
– I wear a pink dress.

オレンジの みかん を かいます。 (Orenji no mikan o kaimasu.)
– I buy an orange mandarin.

Practice Section: Interactive Color Quiz

Test your skills with this interactive quiz! Choose the correct answer for each question.

Conclusion

Great job on Day 33! You’ve learned the 12 core Japanese colors taught to kids, from あか to みずいろ, using their base noun forms.

You can now describe things like a くろい ねこ (black cat) or ピンクの ドレス (pink dress) with ease. These skills are key for JLPT N5 prep and add flair to your conversations. Keep practicing daily – consistency is your secret weapon.

Tomorrow, get ready for Day 34: “Introduction to Japanese Adjectives for JLPT N5.” We’ll build on today’s lesson to describe even more about the world around you.

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