How to say "red" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 赤あかno-adjectiveThe plain noun for the color itself: talking about red as a color, naming it, or contrasting it with other colors. It covers red, crimson and scarlet alike.
- 赤いあかいi-adjectiveThe adjective for describing something as red: things whose color is red, crimson, scarlet or vermilion. This is the word you reach for to say that an object or surface is red.
- no-adjectiveThe borrowed English word: it turns up where the English term is carried over as-is — names, labels, color listings — rather than serving as the ordinary word for describing something as red.
- 赤色あかいろno-adjectiveExplicitly 'the color red': use it when the color is being named, specified or listed as a color in its own right, rather than when simply describing something as red.
- 朱あけno-adjectiveReally a color name for the vermilion, cinnabar shade — a bright red tinged with orange — rather than the everyday word for red. Unless that specific shade is meant, 赤 or 赤い is what you want.
Use 「赤い」 to describe things as red and 赤 for the color itself; 赤色 names the color explicitly; 「レッド」 is the borrowed English word for names and labels; 朱 is the vermilion shade, not general red.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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