青 means “blue”

あお · ao

Also: green

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

あお, あおい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セイ, ショウ

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 1 · 8 strokes

The story

Japan's 青 covers both blue and green: traffic lights "turn 青" even though they look green. The word carries the freshness of youth; 青春 (seishun, youth) literally means "blue spring."

Used in 青空 (aozora, blue sky) and 青春 (seishun, youth)

Words with 青

• 青空 (あおぞら, aozora): blue sky
• 青空 (あおぞら, aozora): blue sky

More from Colors & Shapes

• 白 white
• 黒 black
• 色 color
• 黄 yellow
• 緑 green
• 紫 purple
• 金 gold
• 銀 silver
• 丸 circle
• 角 angle
• 線 line
• 形 shape

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.