Have you ever thought about how nice it is that we can perceive color?
I heard that some animals or insects can only see a few colors or no color. Maybe some of them can see just shadows and light.
Some people can sense colors when they hear sounds. They are called :
共感覚者(Kyou-kankaku-sha) = Synesthete
A synesthete is a person who experiences synesthesia, as by having a secondary sensation of sound as color or of color as sound. For example, when they hear a sound, they are sensing colors. I wonder what it is like to be like that. It could be tough.
Anyway, it’s kind of tricky to describe about the color since no one can tell what is the correct color.
I just heard about the different ways to describe traffic light’s color.
In Australia, people say red and orange/amber and green.
In America, we say red and yellow and green.
In Japan, we say 赤(aka) – “red” and 黄色(kiiro) – “yellow” and 青(ao) – “blue.”
There is no right and wrong, but it can be confusing.:)
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Now let’s talk about some words. You can’t perceive the color if there is no light.
transparent (it’s clear so you can see through everything.) － 透明(Toumei)
Sometimes, we say すけすけ(suke suke) when you can see through everything. Sounds conversational.
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translucent (you can only see light through the object.) － 半透明(Han-toumei) 半(Han) indicates “half.”
Sometimes, we say シースルー(see through).
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opaque (solid) － 不透明(Hu-toumei) 不(Hu) is a suffix and it indicates “to deny or negate something.”
How about if you want to describe reddish or pinkish? It’s easy. You can just add “っぽい(ppoi)” after the color.
Reddish － 赤っぽい (akappoi)
Pinkish － ピンクっぽい (pinkuppoi)
Greenish － 緑っぽい (midorippoi)
For example, if you see a group of colors like below, what do you say?
We say 青系(Ao-kei) in Japanese. Which indicates a group of blue colors (different shades).
どんな色が好きですか? (Donna iro ga suki desu ka?) ＝ What kind of color do you like?
青系が好きです。(Ao-kei ga suki desu.) = I like blue colors.(I like blue and shades of blue.)
How about this case? You don’t know the name of the color but you know this color is like the color of the “sky.”
You may say : 空色(Sora iro) or 空の色(Sora no iro). 色(iro) indicates color so it means sky color.
Or you can describe the color figuratively.
元気な色(Genki na iro.) ＝ An energetic color
女性的な色(Josei teki na iro.) ＝ a feminine color
More words related to colors :
蛍光色(keikou-shoku) ＝ fluorescent color
カラー(kara-) ＝ color
モノクロ(monokuro) ＝ monochrome / black and while
セピア(sepia) ＝ sepia
暖色(dan shoku) ＝ warm color
寒色(kan shoku) ＝ cold color
濃い色 (koi iru) ＝ strong color, dark color
淡い色 (awai iro) ＝ pale color, it’s like a soft color.
薄い色 (usui iro) ＝ light color
色調 (shiki chou) ＝ color tone
配色 (hai-shoku) ＝ color combination / coloration
明るい(akarui) ＝ blight
暗い(kurai) ＝ dark
鮮やか(な)(azayaka (na)) ＝ clear, bright, vibrant, brilliant, flamboyant…
濁った(Nigotta) ＝ murky
目立つ(Medatsu) ＝ eye-catching
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Enjoy your life by using colors smartly!
Miho
Japanese Study Now ! 