黄色

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 黄色の花がきれいです。▶ —
   The yellow flowers are pretty.
2. 彼の声は黄色い。▶ —
   His voice is shrill (lit. yellow).

Collocations

Mnemonic

きいろ — 黄色, a yamato-based compound. The other four colours (赤 · 青 · 白 · 黒) work as standalone nouns; 黄 usually needs 色 attached ── 黄 (yellow) + 色 (colour). The same pattern shows up in ── 茶色 chairo (brown = 'tea + colour'), 灰色 haiiro (grey = 'ash + colour'). The reason: 黄, 茶, 灰 joined the colour lexicon after the ancient four, so their grammar is different from the older layer. The adjectival form is 黄色い kiiroi. A striking idiom ── 黄色い声 kiiroi koe ('yellow voice') = a shrill, high-pitched cry (often girls or fans cheering). A cross-modal metaphor — the yellow of vision crosses over into the shrillness of sound. One colour reaches past colour into hearing.

Quick check

1. What sound quality does 黄色い声 describe?

   • High-pitched, piercing cheer
   • Low, deep voice
   • Rough cursing
   • Sleepy mumbling