The Japanese color I’m going to teach you in this blog post is “red”. I will show you 6 common ways to say “red” in Japanese including the real meaning, kanji, hiragana, and English translations of each word. Let’s start with the most basic Japanese words for “red” and the “color red“.
Aka (赤, あか) is the basic Japanese word and kanji for the color “red”, while akai (赤い, あかい) is a Japanese adjective that translates as “red”. As an alternative, the word akairo (赤色, あかいろ) and the English loanword reddo (レッド) can be used to say “red” in Japanese. Other kanjis for “red” are 紅 and 朱.
Read on, if you want to know all 6 ways to say “red” in Japanese and also learn the words for “deep red“, “bright red“, and “dark red”. At the end of this post, I have attached a table where you can look up related words such as “red (traffic) light“, “red panda“, “red moon“, “red dragon“, and “red bean paste“.
How to Say “Red” in Japanese
- aka – 赤
- akai – 赤い
- akairo – 赤色
- reddo – レッド
- makka – 真っ赤
- ansekishoku – 暗赤色
1. Aka – Basic Japanese Word & Kanji for the Color “Red”
Aka (赤, あか) is the basic Japanese noun and Japanese kanji for “red”, “crimson“, or “scarlet” and is best translated as the “color red“. The word is mostly used when talking about colors and referring to the color “red” aka the color of strawberries, rubies, lobsters, tomatoes, and ladybugs.
aka
赤
red
crimson
scarlet
the color red
2. Akai – Japanese Adjective For “Red”
Akai (赤い, あかい) is an i-adjective and the most common way to say “red”, “crimson“, “scarlet” and “vermillion” or to describe that something “is red” in Japanese. You should use this word when you want to say things such as “strawberries are red”, “my sofa is red“, “a red car“, or “my red shoes”.
akai
赤い
red
crimson
scarlet
vermillion
3. Akairo – Alternative Way to Say “Red” in Japanese
The word akairo (赤色, あかいろ), which can also be read as sekishoku (赤色, せきしょく), is an alternative way that you can use to say “red” in Japanese. Generally speaking, it is a noun that translates as “red” or the “red color“, but it can also be turned into an adjective by adding the particle no (の).
akairo
赤色
red
red colour
sekishoku
赤色
red
red colour
4. Reddo – English Loanword Meaning “Red”
Reddo (レッド) is an English loanword that is used in Japanese for “red” or the “color red“. While you can use the word to refer to the color red in Japanese, it is most commonly found in video games, anime, and manga to give a cool-sounding name to places, monsters, spells, and heroes.
Sometimes the word is also associated with “hot” or “spicy“. To give you one example, Lawson, one of the most popular convenience stores in Japan, sells spicy fried chicken called karaagekun reddo (からあげクン レッド). Definitely try it if you are not vegetarian or vegan!
reddo
レッド
red
5. Makka – Japanese Word For “Deep Red” or “Bright Red”
Makka (真っ赤, まっか) is a Japanese noun and na-adjective that translates as “deep red“ or “bright red“. The word can be used to say “It is deep red” (Makka desu, 真っ赤です) or to refer to a bright red object by adding na (な) in between the two nouns. Makka na kuruma (真っ赤な車) means “bright red car“.
makka
真っ赤
deep red
bright red
The word has another meaning, too. It can also be translated as “downright“, “complete“, or “utter“. There is a cool song called “Makka na uso” (真っ赤な嘘) from a Japanese band called アルルカン (Arurukan, Arlequin) that I really like. The title translates as “A complete lie“, “Utter lie“, or “Total lie“.
6. Ansekishoku – The Word For “Dark Red” in Japanese
Last but not least, we have to Japanese word for “dark red” which is ansekishoku (暗赤色, あんせきしょく). You can use the word for really dark hues of red that are closer to the color black, which is called kuro (黒) or kuroi (黒い) in Japanese.
ansekishoku
暗赤色
dark red
Japanese Words & Translations Containing the Word “Red”
| red (traffic) light | aka shingou | 赤信号 |
| red panda | ressaa panda | レッサーパンダ |
| red dragon | sekiryuu | 赤竜 赤龍 |
| red bean paste (sweet bean paste) | anko | 餡こ |
| red spider lily | higanbana | 彼岸花 |
| red moon | akai tsuki buraddo muun | 赤い月 ブラッドムーン |
| red rose | akai bara | 赤いバラ |
| red fox | akagitsune | 赤狐 |
| red flower | akai hana | 赤い花 |
| Pokémon Red | poketto monsutaa aka | ポケットモンスター 赤 |
