黄色い

• Reading: きいろい
• Romaji: kiiroi
• Kanji breakdown: 黄 (ki/ō) — yellow; 色 (iro/shoku) — color
• Pronunciation: /ki.i.ɾo.i/

Meaning

Yellow. Used to describe the color yellow in everyday objects, nature, and signals.

An i-adjective for the color yellow. Unlike most color adjectives which are formed from a single kanji plus い, 黄色い uniquely combines two kanji (黄色 = yellow color) plus い. The noun form is 黄色 (kiiro). Conjugates regularly: 黄色くない, 黄色かった. The shorter form 黄色の is also used before nouns.

Examples

1. 黄色い花がたくさん咲いています。 Lots of yellow flowers are blooming.
2. 信号が黄色くなったので止まりました。 The light turned yellow, so I stopped.
3. 妹は黄色いかばんを持っています。 My little sister has a yellow bag.

Usage Guide

Context: colors, nature, daily life

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 黄 means yellow and 色 means color. In ancient Japan, yellow was associated with the earth element and was considered a noble color in the imperial court.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal