青い

• Reading: あおい
• Romaji: aoi
• Kanji breakdown: 青 (ao/sei) — blue, green (traditional)
• Pronunciation: /a.o.i/

Meaning

Blue; azure. Also used for green in certain traditional contexts like traffic lights.

An i-adjective for the color blue. In traditional Japanese color classification, 青 covered both blue and green — this is why green traffic lights are called 青信号 (blue signal) and unripe fruit is 青い. Modern Japanese distinguishes blue (青い) from green (緑), but the overlap persists in set expressions. The noun form is 青 (ao). Conjugates regularly: 青くない, 青かった.

Examples

1. 空が青いですね。 The sky is blue, isn't it?
2. 海は青くてきれいでした。 The ocean was blue and beautiful.
3. 青い鳥を見ました。 I saw a blue bird.

Usage Guide

Context: colors, nature, descriptions

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 青 originally depicted the color of growing plants, encompassing both blue and green. It was one of the four original color adjectives in Old Japanese, along with 赤, 白, and 黒.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal