How to say “yellow” in Japanese
Native speakers say “kiiro” or “kiiroi” to mean ‘yellow’ 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 say “yellow” more confidently in Japanese. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kiiro”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kiiro”.
- kiiro – 黄色 (きいろ) : a noun meaning ‘yellow’ in Japanese.
Japanese people use this noun to refer to the color of a ripe lemon or such. So, the usage of this noun is very similar to that of the English one, “yellow”, I think.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Kiiro in kanji
The kanji expression of “kiiro” consists of the following two characters:
- 黄 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘yellow’.
- 色 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘color’.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kiiro” literally means a ‘yellow color’ in Japanese. What the kanji characters express is completely in line with the meaning.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kiiro” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “kiiro” through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “yellow” in Japanese
boku no sukina iro wa kiiro desu – 僕の好きな色は黄色です (ぼくのすきないろはきいろです)
My favorite color is yellow.
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.
- 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.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku no sukina iro” to make the subject in the sentence.
- 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 “kiiro” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “kiiro”. When we want to refer to the color of yellow itself in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Definition and meaning of “kiiroi”
Next, let me explain the Japanese adjective for ‘yellow’.
- kiiroi – 黄色い (きいろい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘yellow’ in Japanese.
In English, the word, “yellow” 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. “Kiiroi” explained here is an i-adjective and can describe something yellow.
Then, let me explain how to use “kiiroi” through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to describe something yellow in Japanese
boku tachi wa taiyou no kiiroi hikari wo mi ta – 僕達は太陽の黄色い光を見た (ぼくたちはたいようのきいろいひかりをみた)
We saw the yellow light of the sun.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
- taiyou – 太陽 (たいよう) : a noun meaning ‘the sun’ 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 “taiyou” and “kiiroi hikari”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the yellow light of the sun’ 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”.
- hikari – 光 (ひかり) : a noun meaning ‘light’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “taiyou no kiiroi hikari” to make the object in the sentence.
- mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru”, which means ‘to see’, ‘to watch’, or such 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. In the example, this is used after “mi” to make its past tense form, “mi ta”.
This is a typical usage of “kiiroi”. In the example, this i-adjective works as a modifier to describe the color of the light. When we want to describe something yellow in Japanese, “kiiroi” is a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the two ways to say “yellow” in Japanese: “kiiro” and “kiiroi”. And in addition, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kiiro – 黄色 (きいろ) : a noun meaning ‘yellow’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this noun to refer to the color of a ripe lemon or such. When we want to refer to the color of yellow itself, this noun is a very good option.
- kiiroi – 黄色い (きいろい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘yellow’ in Japanese. When we want to describe something yellow in Japanese, this i-adjective is a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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