黄色(きいろ)い

きいろい
adjective (i-adjective)
yellow
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present黄色(きいろ)い黄色(きいろ)くない
Past黄色(きいろ)かった黄色(きいろ)くなかった
て form黄色(きいろ)くて黄色(きいろ)くなくて
Adverbial黄色(きいろ)く—
Conditional ば黄色(きいろ)ければ黄色(きいろ)くなければ
Conditional たら黄色(きいろ)かったら黄色(きいろ)くなかったら
1. yellow
Describes the color yellow. This is one of the most common color adjectives in Japanese. Unlike many colors that are na-adjectives, きいろい is an i-adjective.
黄色(きいろ)い花(はな)がたくさん咲(さ)いています。
Many yellow flowers are blooming.
このバナナは黄色(きいろ)くなりました。
This banana has turned yellow.
Using the adverbial form
黄色(きいろ)い傘(かさ)を持(も)っています。
I have a yellow umbrella.
黄色(きいろ)いタクシーは目立(めだ)つので、見(み)つけやすいです。
Yellow taxis stand out, so they're easy to find.
秋(あき)になると、葉(は)っぱが黄色(きいろ)くなって、とてもきれい(きれい)です。
In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and are very beautiful.

きいろい is one of the basic color terms in Japanese. Unlike many color words that function as na-adjectives (like 緑(みどり)), きいろい is an i-adjective.

FORMS:

  • Noun form: 黄色(きいろ)
  • Adverbial form: 黄色(きいろ)く (as in 黄色(きいろ)くなる, to turn yellow)

COMMON EXPRESSIONS:

  • 黄色(きいろ)い声(こえ): shrill voice, high-pitched scream (especially of excited fans)
  • 黄色(きいろ)い信号(しんごう): yellow traffic light
  • 黄色(きいろ)っぽい: yellowish

CULTURAL NOTE:
Yellow is associated with caution in Japan, similar to Western cultures (traffic lights, warning signs). 黄色(きいろ)い声(こえ) is a distinctive Japanese expression referring to the shrill, excited screams of fans (typically female).

basic
Added 2026.1.7 21:21 · Revised 2026.3.26 23:47
00500/00959_kiiroi