What does “murasaki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “murasaki” to mean ‘purple’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain its definition, meaning, and usages with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “murasaki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “murasaki”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “murasaki”.
- murasaki – 紫 (むらさき) : a noun meaning ‘purple’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to a color between blue and red. Unlike the English word, this can work only as a noun. When we want to use it as an adjective to describe something purple, we have to add the case particle, “no”.
“Murasaki” originally came from the name of the grass which was used to dye things purple in Japan.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “purple” in Japanese
murasaki wa boku no sukina iro desu – 紫は僕の好きな色です (むらさきはぼくのすきないろです)
Purple is my favorite color.
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 “murasaki” to make the subject word in the 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.
- sukina – 好きな (すきな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘favorite’ in Japanese.
- 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. In the example, this is used after “boku no sukina iro” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “murasaki”. In the example, it works as the subject in the sentence and refers to the color of purple itself. When we want to say “purple” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “murasaki”
kanojo wa murasaki no kaban wo kat ta – 彼女は紫の鞄を買った (かのじょはむらさきのかばんをかった)
She bought a purple bag.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “murasaki” and “kaban”. The formed phrase literally means a ‘purple bag’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “murasaki no kaban” to make the object in the sentence.
- kat – 買っ (かっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kau”, which means ‘to buy’ or ‘to purchase’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “kat” to make its past tense form, “kat ta”.
This is another typical usage of “murasaki”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “no”, to describe the following noun, “kaban”. When we want to use “murasaki” as an adjective, we have to add “no” after it.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “murasaki” and how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- murasaki – 紫 (むらさき) : a noun meaning ‘purple’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this to refer to a color between blue and red. Unlike the English word, this can work only as a noun. When we want to use this as an adjective to describe something purple, we have to add the case particle, “no”, after it.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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