This free printable Japanese color chart is a simple way to start learning Japanese colors with the kids. It includes 11 color words, their Japanese writing, romaji, and English meanings, with a colored dot beside each one to help you match everything up.
I love learning languages, both for myself and with the kids, and I wanted to make something that’s easy to pick up and use. You don’t need to plan a big lesson around it. A drawing, a few colored pencils, and a little curiosity are enough to get started.
The idea came from a Mandarin color chart I made as an extra for one of my Chinese New Year color-by-number posts. That little chart became really popular on Pinterest, which encouraged me to make more versions. This Japanese chart is part of the same collection, alongside Arabic, Welsh, and Korean which are coming up very soon.
What’s on the Japanese Color Chart?
The chart includes familiar everyday colors such as red, blue, yellow, and green, along with pink, orange, purple, white, gray, black, and gold.
Each word has a romaji reading beside it. Romaji means writing Japanese using Latin letters, so it’s helpful when you’re getting started and don’t yet read the Japanese writing on the page.
You’ll notice that the words don’t all use the same kind of script. The chart includes kanji, such as 赤 for red, and katakana, such as ピンク for pink. You can use it to learn the color names now and explore the writing in more detail later.
It’s not. mistake that some color words on this chart are written in kanji, while others use katakana. That’s because Japanese naturally uses different writing systems together! Words such as 赤 (aka, red) and 青 (ao, blue) are commonly written in kanji, while ピンク (pinku, pink) and オレンジ (orenji, orange) are borrowed from English and written in katakana. Japanese also has words such as 桃色 (momoiro, “peach color”) for pink, but this chart uses familiar everyday choices. The mix reflects how you’ll actually see these words written in Japanese, and the romaji beside each one helps beginners get started.
The loanword orenji is a good example of how the Japanese language adapts words from other languages. English speakers may recognize its sound, even though it’s written differently. For the color orange, you may also see オレンジ色 (orenjiiro), with 色 meaning “color” added to the end. Learning to spot these familiar pieces can make longer Japanese color names feel a little less intimidating.
Learning basic Japanese colors gives children words they can use straight away, whether they’re choosing pencils, describing a drawing, or spotting different colors around the house. Start with a few favorites, or practice red, yellow, and blue alongside an art activity about primary colors. This printable keeps the first set manageable rather than overwhelming beginners with an extensive list. Once those words feel familiar, you can gradually add more vocabulary and explore different shades together.
How to Say Colors in Japanese
These are the 11 Japanese colors included in the printable chart.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| Pink | ピンク | pinku |
| Red | 赤 | aka |
| Orange | オレンジ | orenji |
| Yellow | 黄色 | kiiro |
| Green | 緑 | midori |
| Blue | 青 | ao |
| Purple | 紫 | murasaki |
| White | 白 | shiro |
| Gray | 灰色 | haiiro |
| Black | 黒 | kuro |
| Gold | 金色 | kin’iro |
A Little Note About Japanese Color Words
Using Japanese Color Words to Describe Things
The chart shows each color in its noun form, which is useful for naming and matching. When you want to describe something, there are two main ways to use these words: an adjective form before the object, or a color noun followed by の (no).
Some basic colors have an i-adjective form, ending in the hiragana い. For example, 赤 (aka, red) becomes 赤い (akai). A red car is 赤い車 (akai kuruma), and white paper is 白い紙 (shiroi kami). These are useful little examples of Japanese adjectives in action.
Other color nouns use の before the thing they describe. A green book is 緑の本 (midori no hon), while orange flowers can be described as オレンジ色の花 (orenjiiro no hana). You might recognize の as the possessive particle, but Japanese particles have different jobs: here, it connects the color description to the object.
Don’t worry about learning all the grammar rules straight away. Start by naming a particular color, then try a short phrase when your child is ready. You can’t simply add い to every Japanese color word!
Why Is a Green Traffic Light Called Blue in Japanese?
Here’s one of those fun facts that children might remember long after the lesson! Japanese people commonly call the green light on a traffic signal 青信号 (ao shingō), using the word ao, which beginners usually learn as “blue.” You’ll also find it in 青りんご (ao ringo), meaning green apples.
Blue and green have a historical connection in Japanese vocabulary, and the older use of ao covered some things that English speakers would call green. Those expressions are still used in modern Japan, even though 緑 (midori) is the usual beginner word for green.
This doesn’t mean that every green thing should be called blue, or that Japanese traffic lights all have a blue light instead of a green one! It shows how familiar expressions can preserve older meanings. The Japanese language and the English language don’t always divide up color vocabulary in exactly the same way.
Japanese Color Activities to Try Together
These activities use the chart as a reference, so nobody needs to memorize the whole page before joining in.
Design a Character Color Palette
Ask your child to draw a character and choose three colors for their outfit or accessories. They can add small color swatches beside the drawing and label them using the Japanese chart.
It could be an animal, a superhero, or a character they’ve made up themselves. The point is to use a few new words while doing something they already enjoy.
Match Pencils to Japanese Words
Put the chart beside a pot of pencils and choose a row together. Read the color name, find the matching pencil, and make a little mark on scrap paper. Repeat with a few different words, then let your child choose the next one.
Make an Art Supply Label Sheet
Draw little boxes on a sheet of paper and label each one with a Japanese color word. Place matching crayons, paper scraps, or buttons beside the boxes. Older children can copy the Japanese writing, while younger children can use the color dots to help with sorting.
Name the Colors in a Picture
Open a picture book or look at a finished drawing. Choose a few colors you can see and find their Japanese names on the chart. You can keep it as simple as pointing to a red detail and saying aka together.
Exploring Color in Japanese Culture
Color vocabulary can also be a starting point for learning about Japanese culture. Look at the red and white of the Japanese flag, or explore photographs of traditional arts and Japanese clothing. Traditional indigo dyeing, known as aizome, is a lovely example of how color connects with craft, fabric, and everyday objects.
Ask your child which colors they notice and whether they can find them on the chart. Older children might enjoy exploring the cultural associations of a particular color or looking at how traditional dyeing techniques are still used today. Keep it curious and open-ended: a color doesn’t have just one meaning in every setting.
More Japanese Color Names to Explore
Once your child knows the basic Japanese colors, you can explore more specific colors together. Many names are compound words that connect a familiar object with 色 (iro), the Japanese word for color. These little connections can make new vocabulary easier to remember.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 茶色 | chairo | Brown, literally “tea color” |
| 水色 | mizuiro | Light blue, literally “water color” |
| 空色 | sorairo | Sky blue, literally “sky color” |
| 桃色 | momoiro | Pink, literally “peach color” |
| 紺色 | kon’iro | Navy blue or a deep, dark blue |
| 灰色 | haiiro | Gray, literally “ash color” |
These are established color names, so their meanings aren’t a description of every example of the object. Tea color means brown, even though your child might also be familiar with green tea!
Try making a small paint-swatch page with light blue, sky blue, and navy blue. Comparing the shades gives children something practical to do while they explore words beyond the most common color names.
Download the Free Japanese Color Chart
Download the Japanese colors printable below and print it in color. A clear, full-page copy makes it easier to see the Japanese writing and use the colored circles for matching activities.
Download the free Japanese color chart here. Because it’s just one page I have not made this into a PDF, it’s an image file you can just save and print this one image to make life easier.
Keep it with your drawing supplies or add it to a language folder so it’s ready whenever you want to practice a few words.
More Printable Language Color Charts
You can also explore our Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Welsh, and Korean color charts. They use the same straightforward layout, making it easy to build a collection or choose whichever language your family wants to try next.
Get the Mandarin Chinese Color Chart
The others will be coming soon and I’ll add links here when they are published.
I hope you enjoy learning these Japanese color names together. If this printable would be useful to another parent or teacher, please share the post, and save it to Pinterest so you can find it again!