赤(あか)い

Usage

赤(あか)い works both before a noun (赤(あか)い車(くるま)) and as a predicate (顔(かお)が赤(あか)い). It covers a wider range of shades than English "red," reaching into orange and pink: ripe fruit, a sunset, and a flushed face are all 赤(あか)い.

Forms

• Noun form: 赤(あか) (the color red)
• Adverbial: 赤(あか)く (赤(あか)くなる = to become red)

Common collocations

• 顔(かお)が赤(あか)くなる: to blush, to turn red (from embarrassment or anger)
• 赤(あか)ちゃん: baby (literally "red one" — newborns look reddish)
• 赤(あか)の他人(たにん): complete stranger
• 赤字(あかじ): deficit, "in the red"
• 赤信号(あかしんごう): red light

The last three take the noun 赤(あか), not the adjective. Set compounds of this kind normally use the noun form, so a traffic light is 赤信号(あかしんごう) rather than 赤(あか)い信号(しんごう), though the adjective is fine in a full sentence (信号(しんごう)が赤(あか)い).

Similar words

• 赤(あか)い: red
• 青(あお)い: blue — but also "green" for traffic lights and fresh leaves
• 黄色(きいろ)い: yellow
• 黒(くろ)い: black

Cultural note

Red symbolizes celebration and good fortune in Japan. 紅白(こうはく) (red and white) is the standard festive pairing, used for everything from ceremonial curtains to the New Year's Eve song contest.