Blue in Japanese can work like green in English, explained

How to say “blue” in Japanese

In English, “blue” can work as both a noun and an adjective; in Japanese, we need the two words, “ao” and “aoi”. In this blog post, I will explain these two words. And then, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. These examples will show how “blue” in Japanese can work like “green” in English. This perhaps sounds weird to Japanese learners, but I believe this blog post will show their similarity. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Japanese words for ‘blue’
  • Definition and meaning of “ao”
  • Definition and meaning of “aoi”
• Example #1: how to say “you look green” in Japanese
• Example #2: how to say “you are still green” in Japanese
• Example #3: how to say “signal is green” in Japanese
• Summary

Japanese words for ‘blue’

To cover the roles of “blue” in English, we need the two Japanese words, “ao” and “aoi”. Let me explain them one by one.

Definition and meaning of “ao”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “ao”.

• ao – 青 (あお) : a noun meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese.

This corresponds well to the English noun, “blue”. Japanese people use this word to express the color of blue sky, blue sea, or such.

Definition and meaning of “aoi”

Next, let me explain the definition and meaning of “aoi”.

• aoi – 青い (あおい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese.

This corresponds well to the English adjective, “blue”. Japanese people use this word as a modifier before a noun or as a complement after a noun.

These two words are very similar, as they have the same root. Yet, they are grammatically different. So, we need to be careful with their usages. Then, let me explain how to use them and how “blue” in Japanese can work like “green” in English through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “you look green” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kao – 顔 (かお) : a noun meaning ‘face’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “kao” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or pronoun to make it polite. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, it is used after “aoi” to make it sound polite.
• yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to make a kind assertion. As its definition suggests, it is put at the end of the example sentence to make the kind assertion.

This is a typical usage of “aoi”. In the example, it is used as a complement to say “blue” in Japanese.

I have translated the Japanese sentence as “you look green”. From its components, however, we can figure that the original meaning can be more like ‘the face is blue’. And actually, it is. Interestingly, Japanese people say “aoi” to express a green face. To say “you look green” in Japanese, therefore, we can use the expression, “kao ga aoi”. It’s worth knowing, I think.

Example #2: how to say “you are still green” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after “anata” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• madamada – まだまだ : an adverb meting ‘still’ in Japanese. “Mada” is repeated twice to emphasize its meaning.
• ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to make a soft agreement. As its definition suggests, it is put at the end of the example sentence to make the soft agreement.

This is another typical usage of “aoi”. In this example, it is used as a complement to mean ‘less experienced’. For this purpose, we can say “green” in English. Again, these two words correspond well to each other.

Example #3: how to say “signal is green” in Japanese

Below are the new word, particle, and auxiliary verb used in the example sentence.

• shingou – 信号 (しんごう) : a noun meaning ‘signal’ or ‘traffic signal’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is used after “shingou” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• desu – です : the same as explained in the first example. In this example, it is used after “ao” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “ao”. In the example, it is used as a noun and works as a complement.

The original meaning of the Japanese sentence is “the signal is blue”, but this doesn’t mean that blue traffic signals are used in Japan. Japanese people say “ao” to call a green light. So, when we want to say “a traffic signal is green” in Japanese, “ao” would be the best choice.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the words, “ao” and “aoi”, and how to use them through the example sentences. I think that the examples have succeeded in showing how “blue” in Japanese can work like “green” in English. On the other hand, to avoid any possible misundersntadhing, I have to say that these examples are the main cases where “blue” in Japanese can be translated into English as “green”. In the other situations, “ao” and “aoi” can literally be translated as “blue”.

Then, let me summarize what I’ve explained as follows.

• ao – 青 (あお) : a noun meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese. This corresponds well to the English noun, “blue”. Japanese people use this word to express the color of blue sky, blue sea, or such.
• aoi – 青い (あおい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese. This word corresponds well to the English adjective, “blue”. Japanese people use it as a modifier before a noun or as a complement after a noun. This adjective can also be used to mean ‘less experienced’.
• kao ga aoi desu – 顔が青いです (かおがあおいです) : a typical Japanese expression for ‘you look green’.
• shingou wa ao desu – 信号は青です (しんごうはあおです) : a typical Japanese expression for ‘a traffic signal is green’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.