藍色
aiiro[a̠iːɾo̞]
The Japanese word for indigo is 藍色 (aiiro). Wiktionary also lists インジゴ (injigo).
Meaning: colour (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 藍色 | aiiro | [a̠iːɾo̞] (narrow) |
| インジゴ | injigo | [ĩɲ̟d͡ʑiɡo̞] (narrow) |
Both 藍色 and インジゴ can be used as nouns to mean the color indigo, and both can also function as adjectives. The term ai (the first part of 藍色) can also independently refer to the indigo plant or indigo dye.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 藍色 is a compound word made of 藍 (ai), meaning indigo and 色 (iro), meaning color.
Which one should you use?
藍色 refers specifically to the traditional Japanese color. In contrast, the loanword インジゴ is used more frequently in modern contexts, such as in fashion or when providing chemical descriptions.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
aiiro
Did you know?
- Samurai wore ai dyed under-clothing because the dye was believed to have antibacterial properties and helped clot wounds during battle.
- The word ai is a homophone for the Japanese word for 'love', which is also pronounced ai, though they use different kanji characters.
- While 藍色 describes the deep blue, the actual dye paste used in the process is called sukumo and looks like dark compost before it is applied to fabric.
Examples in context
- 藍色は日本の伝統色のひとつです。Indigo blue is one of Japan's traditional colours.This sentence is useful for noting that 藍色 is one of the traditional colors of Japan.Tatoeba #10177372 by small_snow, translation #10250143 by terrywallwork
- Watashi no sukina iro wa aiiro desu. (私の好きな色は藍色です。)My favorite color is indigo.
- Ai ga watashi no ichiban suki na iro desu. (藍が私の一番好きな色です。)Indigo is my favorite color.
- このシャツは藍色ですね。Kono shatsu wa aiiro desu ne.This shirt is indigo, isn't it?
- 藍色の絵の具が欲しいです。Aiiro no enogu ga hoshii desu.I want some indigo paint.
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are looking at fabric samples.
- 蓮 Renどの色が一番いいと思う？Dono iro ga ichiban ii to omou?Which color do you think is the best?
- 陽葵 Himari私はこの藍色が素敵だと思います。Watashi wa kono aiiro ga suteki da to omoimasu.I think this indigo is lovely.
- 蓮 Ren確かに、落ち着いた色だね。Tashika ni, ochitsuita iro da ne.True, it is a calm color.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮さんもそう思うなら、これにしましょう。Ren-san mo sou omou nara, kore ni shimashou.If you think so too, Ren, let's go with this one.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “indigo” translations and entries 藍色, インジゴ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
