藍(あい)

あい
noun
indigo; indigo plant
colornature
1. indigo plant; Japanese indigo
A plant (Persicaria tinctoria) from which indigo dye is extracted. Cultivated in Japan for centuries for textile dyeing.
藍(あい)を育(そだ)てる。
To grow indigo plants.
徳島(とくしま)は藍(あい)の産地(さんち)として知(し)られている。
Tokushima is known as an indigo-producing region.
祖母(そぼ)が藍(あい)の葉(は)を使(つか)って染料(せんりょう)を作(つく)るのを見(み)たことがある。
I once watched my grandmother make dye from indigo leaves.
2. indigo; indigo blue
The deep blue color or dye produced from the indigo plant. One of the most important traditional dye colors in Japan.
藍(あい)で染(そ)めた布(ぬの)。
Cloth dyed with indigo.
藍染(あいぞ)めの浴衣(ゆかた)を買(か)った。
I bought an indigo-dyed yukata.
深(ふか)い藍(あい)の色(いろ)は「ジャパン・ブルー」と呼(よ)ばれ、海外(かいがい)でも人気(にんき)がある。
The deep indigo color is called 'Japan Blue' and is popular overseas as well.

One of the most culturally significant colors in Japan. The indigo plant (蓼藍(たであい)) has been cultivated in Japan for over a thousand years, and indigo dyeing (藍染(あいぞ)め) remains an important traditional craft.

Common collocations

Proverb

青(あお)は藍(あい)より出(い)でて藍(あい)より青(あお)し — "Blue comes from indigo yet is bluer than indigo." Meaning: the student surpasses the master. One of the most well-known Japanese proverbs.

Cultural note

徳島県(とくしまけん) (Tokushima Prefecture) has been the center of indigo production in Japan since the Edo period. The deep blue of indigo-dyed textiles was so characteristic of Japan that visiting Westerners in the Meiji era coined the term "Japan Blue." Today, 藍染(あいぞ)め workshops are popular tourist experiences.

Related words

  • 紺(こん): dark blue, navy — a darker shade than 藍(あい)
  • 青(あお): blue — the general word for blue; 藍(あい) is a specific shade

Related Words

Related: 紺(こん) (dark blue, navy)
Related: 青(あお) (blue)
Related: 青紫(あおむらさき) (blue-purple)
general
Added 2026.3.28 21:54 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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