Japanese Lesson 17 – Colours · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Colours

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
なにいろがすきですか？	Nani-iro ga suki desu ka?	あおがすきです Ao ga suki desu	Asking favourite colour
あかいシャツはありますか？	Akai shatsu wa arimasu ka?	はい、あります Hai, arimasu	Shopping — asking about colour
このいろはきれいですね	Kono iro wa kirei desu ne	そうですね Sou desu ne	Complimenting a colour
みどりのかばんをください	Midori no kaban wo kudasai	はい、どうぞ Hai, douzo	Requesting by colour
なにいろですか？	Nani-iro desu ka?	あかです Aka desu	Asking what colour

CASUAL — カジュアル (KAJUARU)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
なにいろがいい？	Nani-iro ga ii?	ピンク！ Pinku!	Choosing a colour
このいろ、かわいいね	Kono iro, kawaii ne	ほんとだね！ Honto da ne!	Reacting to colour
きいろいふうせんもいれよう	Kiiroi fuusen mo ireyou	いいね！ Ii ne!	Suggesting an addition

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — STANDARD · Shopping for Clothes

てんいん

いらっしゃいませ。どんないろをおさがしですか？

Irasshaimase. Donna iro wo osagashi desu ka?

Welcome. What colour are you looking for?

エマ

あおいシャツはありますか？サイズは Mです。

Aoi shatsu wa arimasu ka? Saizu wa M desu.

Do you have a blue shirt? Size M.

[COLOR-い] [ITEM] はありますか？

[COLOR-i] [ITEM] wa arimasu ka?

[colour-adj] [item] [topic] exist [question]?

→ "Do you have a [COLOUR] [ITEM]?"

てんいん

はい、あおとみどりがあります。こちらをどうぞ。

Hai, ao to midori ga arimasu. Kochira wo douzo.

Yes, we have blue and green. Please look here.

B — STANDARD · Art Class

せんせい

みきさん、すきないろはなんですか？

Miki-san, suki na iro wa nan desu ka?

Miki, what is your favourite colour?

みき

むらさきがすきです。きれいないろだとおもいます。

Murasaki ga suki desu. Kirei na iro da to omoimasu.

I like purple. I think it's a beautiful colour.

せんせい

いいですね。では、むらさきではなをかいてください。

Ii desu ne. Dewa, murasaki de hana wo kaite kudasai.

Nice. Then please draw a flower in purple.

[COLOR] で [OBJECT] をかいてください

[COLOR] de [OBJECT] wo kaite kudasai

[colour] [with/in] [object] [obj] draw please

→ "Please draw a [OBJECT] in [COLOUR]."

C — CASUAL · Party Decorations

ゆうと

パーティーのかざり、なにいろがいい？

Paatii no kazari, nani-iro ga ii?

What colour should the party decorations be?

はな

ピンクとしろがかわいいよ！

Pinku to shiro ga kawaii yo!

Pink and white are cute!

[COLOR] と [COLOR] がかわいい

[COLOR] to [COLOR] ga kawaii

[colour] and [colour] [subj] cute

→ "[COLOUR] and [COLOUR] are cute!"

ゆうと

じゃあ、きいろいふうせんもいれよう。

Jaa, kiiroi fuusen mo ireyou.

Then let's add yellow balloons too.

[COLOR-い] [ITEM] もいれよう

[COLOR-i] [ITEM] mo ireyou

[colour-adj] [item] also let's-add

→ "Let's add [COLOUR] [ITEM] too."

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

い-adjective colour + noun vs noun colour + の + noun

🔴 い-ADJECTIVE COLOURS

あかいくるま

akai kuruma

"a red car"

あかい、あおい、しろい、くろい、きいろい — add directly before noun.

🟢 NOUN COLOURS

みどりのかばん

midori no kaban

"a green bag"

みどり、オレンジ、ピンク、むらさき — use の to connect to noun.

Asking favourite colour

STANDARD

なにいろがすきですか？

Nani-iro ga suki desu ka?

→ "What colour do you like?"

CASUAL

なにいろがすき？

Nani-iro ga suki?

→ "What colour do you like?"

Asking what colour something is

STANDARD

これはなにいろですか？

Kore wa nani-iro desu ka?

→ "What colour is this?"

CASUAL

これ、なにいろ？

Kore, nani-iro?

→ "What colour is this?"

Requesting by colour

STANDARD

あかいシャツをください

Akai shatsu wo kudasai

→ "The red shirt, please."

CASUAL

あかいのちょうだい

Akai no choudai

→ "Give me the red one."

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

い-adjective Colours + Noun

Five colours are い-adjectives and attach directly before a noun: あかい (red), あおい (blue), しろい (white), くろい (black), きいろい (yellow). No particle needed.

[COLOR-い] [NOUN]

[COLOR-i] [NOUN]

→ "[COLOUR] [NOUN]" — い-adjective directly before the noun

あかいくるまがすきです。

Akai kuruma ga suki desu.

I like red cars.

Noun Colours + の + Noun

Colours that are nouns use の to modify a noun: みどり (green), オレンジ (orange), ピンク (pink), むらさき (purple). Pattern: [colour] の [noun].

[COLOR] の [NOUN]

[COLOR] no [NOUN]

→ "[COLOUR] [NOUN]" — noun colour connected with の

みどりのかばんをください。

Midori no kaban wo kudasai.

The green bag, please.

なにいろですか？ (What Colour?)

なにいろ = "what colour." Use it as a question word: なにいろですか？ = "What colour is it?" or なにいろがすきですか？ = "What colour do you like?"

なにいろですか？ / がすきですか？

nani-iro desu ka? / ga suki desu ka?

→ "What colour is it?" / "What colour do you like?"

そらはなにいろですか？

Sora wa nani-iro desu ka?

What colour is the sky?

～いろ Suffix (Colour Names)

Add いろ to some nouns to make colour names: ちゃいろ (brown, from ちゃ = tea), みずいろ (light blue, from みず = water), はいいろ (grey, from はい = ash). ちゃいろい is also an い-adjective.

[NOUN] いろ

[NOUN] iro

→ "[NOUN] + いろ = colour name"

このテーブルはちゃいろいです。

Kono teeburu wa chairoi desu.

This table is brown.

[COLOR]で + Verb (Using a Colour)

The particle で after a colour means "with/in (this colour)." Used for drawing, painting, writing, etc.

[COLOR] で [VERB]

[COLOR] de [VERB]

→ "[VERB] in/with [COLOUR]"

あかでなまえをかいてください。

Aka de namae wo kaite kudasai.

Please write your name in red.

～がすきです with Colours

To state colour preference: [colour] がすきです. Remember: が (not を) marks what you like. For questions: なにいろがすきですか？

[COLOR] がすきです

[COLOR] ga suki desu

→ "I like [COLOUR]."

ピンクがだいすきです！

Pinku ga daisuki desu!

I love pink!

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
いろ	iro	colour
あかい / あか	akai / aka	red
あおい / あお	aoi / ao	blue
しろい / しろ	shiroi / shiro	white
くろい / くろ	kuroi / kuro	black
きいろい / きいろ	kiiroi / kiiro	yellow
みどり	midori	green
オレンジ	orenji	orange
ピンク	pinku	pink
むらさき	murasaki	purple
ちゃいろい / ちゃいろ	chairoi / chairo	brown
なにいろ	nani-iro	what colour
シャツ	shatsu	shirt
ふうせん	fuusen	balloon