青(あお)

青(あお) covers a broader color range than English "blue" — it traditionally includes both blue and green.

Color range

In Japanese, 青(あお) historically covered both blue and green. Though 緑(みどり) now covers green, 青(あお) is still used for:

• 青信号(あおしんごう): green traffic light (called "blue")
• 青葉(あおば): green leaves
• 青(あお)りんご: green apple

Usage

青(あお) itself is a noun — the name of the color. It is what you use when the color is the topic or the thing being named: 青(あお)が好(す)き (I like blue), 色(いろ)は青(あお)です (the color is blue).

To describe a noun directly, Japanese normally uses the i-adjective 青(あお)い, not 青(あお)の: 青(あお)い車(くるま) is the ordinary way to say "a blue car". 青(あお)の + noun does occur, but it names the color as a category or shade (青(あお)の服(ふく) — the clothes in blue, e.g. picking one from several colors).

For traffic signals only the noun 青(あお) is used, with なる or 変(か)わる marked by に: 信号(しんごう)が青(あお)になる.

• 青(あお)い: also means inexperienced, immature (青(あお)い考(かんが)え — naive thinking)
• 青(あお)ざめる: to turn pale (with fear/shock)
• 青春(せいしゅん): youth (literally "blue spring")

Forms

• Noun: 青(あお) (the color blue)
• の-adjective: 青(あお)の空(そら) (blue sky)
• い-adjective: 青(あお)い空(そら) (blue sky)