Ao vs. Aoi: which should we use to say “blue” in Japanese?

How to say “blue” in Japanese

Native speakers say “ao” or “aoi” to mean ‘blue’ in Japanese. The first one is a noun; the second one is an adjective. In this blog post, I will explain these two words and how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand which one to use more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “ao”
  • Example #1: how to use “ao”
• Definition and meaning of “aoi”
  • Example #2: how to use “aoi”
• Ao vs. Aoi: which to use
• Summary

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.

Japanese people use this noun to refer to the color of deep water or a fair sky. So, the usage of this noun is very similar to that of the English one, “blue”, I think.

The definition and meaning are simple and clear. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to use “ao”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “ao” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• fukai – 深い (ふかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘deep’ in Japanese.
• mizu – 水 (みず) : a noun meaning ‘water’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns or noun equivalent words. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “fukai mizu” and “iro”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the color of deep water’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is very similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
• iro – 色 (いろ) : a noun meaning ‘color’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “fukai mizu no iro”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “ao”. When we want to refer to the color of blue itself in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

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.

In English, “blue” can work as both a noun and an adjective; in Japanese, we need to learn a different word for each part of speech. This fact would be a bit confusing to Japanese learners, but this is the Japanese language. “Aoi” explained here is an i-adjective and can describe something blue.

Then, let me explain how to use “aoi” through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to use “aoi”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its possessive case, “boku no”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• kaban – 鞄 (かばん) : a noun meaning ‘bag’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “boku no aoi kaban” to make the object in the sentence.
• suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, actually, this is used to mean ‘to love’.

This is a typical usage of “aoi”. In the example, this i-adjective works as a modifier to describe the color of the bag. When we want to describe something blue in Japanese, “aoi” is a very good option.

Ao vs. Aoi: which to use

So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “ao” and “aoi” and how to use them through the example sentences. Then, which one should we use to say “blue” in Japanese? When we want to use a noun to refer to the color of blue itself, we should say “ao”. When we want to use an adjective to describe something blue, we should pick “aoi”. Again, but we need to learn a different word for each part of speech in Japanese. We always have to be careful with the difference between these two words.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the two different ways to say “blue” in Japanese: “ao” and “aoi”. And in addition, I’ve explained how they are different. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ao – 青 (あお) : a noun meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese. Japanese people use this noun to refer to the color of deep water or a fair sky. When we want to use a noun to refer to the color of blue itself in Japanese, this is a very good option.
• aoi – 青い (あおい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese. When we want to use an adjective to describe something blue in Japanese, this is a very good option.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.