青(あお)い

あおい
i-adjective
blue, green
color
See also: 青(あお) (noun form)
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present青(あお)い青(あお)くない
Past青(あお)かった青(あお)くなかった
て form青(あお)くて青(あお)くなくて
Adverbial青(あお)く—
Conditional ば青(あお)ければ青(あお)くなければ
Conditional たら青(あお)かったら青(あお)くなかったら
1. blue
Having the color of a clear sky.
空(そら)が青(あお)い。
The sky is blue.
青(あお)い海(うみ)が見(み)えます。
I can see the blue sea.
海(うみ)が青(あお)くてきれいです。
The sea is blue and beautiful.
目(め)が青(あお)い人(ひと)を見(み)ました。
I saw a person with blue eyes.
今日(きょう)は空(そら)がとても青(あお)くて、いい天気(てんき)です。外(そと)に出(で)かけたいです。
Today the sky is very blue and the weather is nice. I want to go out.
2. green (for vegetation)
Traditionally used for green things like traffic lights and unripe fruit.
信号(しんごう)が青(あお)いですね。渡(わた)りましょう。
The light is green. Let's cross.
バナナがまだ青(あお)いです。
The banana is still green/unripe.
青(あお)い葉(は)がきれいですね。
The green leaves are beautiful.
このりんごはまだ青(あお)いので、食(た)べられません。
This apple is still green/unripe, so it can't be eaten.
信号(しんごう)が青(あお)くなったら、渡(わた)ってください。日本(にほん)では緑(みどり)の信号(しんごう)を青(あお)と言(い)います。
Please cross when the light turns green. In Japan, they call the green light 'blue'.

Usage

青(あお)い works both before a noun (青(あお)い海(うみ)) and as a predicate (空(そら)が青(あお)い). Its range is wider than English "blue": it reaches into green, and it also describes a face gone pale.

Forms

SIMILAR ADJECTIVES — BLUE VS. GREEN:
Traditionally, Japanese used 青(あお)い for both blue and green. Modern Japanese distinguishes:

  • 青(あお)い: blue (sky, sea, eyes)
  • 緑(みどり): green (grass, trees)

However, 青(あお)い is still used for:

Common collocations

Cultural note

The blue-green overlap reflects historical Japanese color perception, where 青(あお) covered a broader spectrum than English "blue."

Related Words

Related: 赤(あか)い (red)
Related: 白(しろ)い (white)
Related: 黒(くろ)い (black)
Compare: 緑(みどり) (green)
Compare: 青信号(あおしんごう) (green traffic light (the set compound…)
Compare: 青(あお)りんご (green apple)
Compare: 若気(わかげ) (youthful impetuousness)
basic
Added 2026.1.8 0:35 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:31
00500/00586_aoi