What does “iro” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “iro” to mean ‘color’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “iro” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “iro”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “iro”.
- iro – 色 (いろ) : a noun meaning ‘color’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Japanese native speakers use this noun normally to refer to a color of something. In addition, they sometimes use this as a metaphor for a character or personality of someone.
The definition and meaning of “iro” are very simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this noun through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “color” in Japanese
boku wa umi no iro ga suki desu – 僕は海の色が好きです (ぼくはうみのいろがすきです)
I love the color of the ocean.
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.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘ocean’ or ‘sea’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “umi” and “iro”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the color of the ocean’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
- 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 “umi no iro” to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part 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.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “iro”. In this example, it works together with “umi” and “no” to mean ‘the color of the ocean’ in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “iro”
sono iro wa koi ao desu – その色は濃い青です (そのいろはこいあおです)
Its color is deep blue.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- sono – その : a determiner used before a noun which refers to something not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “iro” to mean ‘its color’ in Japanese.
- koi – 濃い (こい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘thick’, ‘deep’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works as a modifier in front of “ao”.
- ao – 青 (あお) : a noun meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “iro”. In this example, it works together with the determiner, “sono”, to mean ‘its color’ in Japanese. When we want to mean a ‘color’ or ‘colors’ in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “iro” and how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- iro – 色 (いろ) : a noun meaning ‘color’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Japanese native speakers use this noun normally to refer to a color of something. In addition, they sometimes use this as a metaphor for a character or personality of someone.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
