Ao (color)

Encyclopedia : A : AO : AOC : Ao (color)

It has been suggested that the section [Japanese] from the article [Distinguishing "blue" from "green" in language] be [Merging and moving pagesmerged] into this article or section. ([Discuss])

Ao is a Japanese word including what Westerners would call, separately, blue and green. For example, in Japan, green traffic lights are described as ao shingo, and blue skies are described as ao zora, as in aozora bunko. Ao also appears in the name of Aomori Prefecture.

In writing, ao appears in Japanese as あお in hiragana and 青 in kanji. As an adjective, it becomes

The color ao can also indicate youth, as in the song aoi kajitsu (a song about a young girl) by singer Momoe Yamaguchi, a meaning that stems from the on'yomi (Chinese-based reading) sei of the kanji for ao. Yamaguchi's biography about her youth was called aoi toki (my young days). Fresh fruit in Japan is sometimes written .

Japanese also has a separate native word for green, midori.

Other meanings

The word Aoi can also mean a hollyhock. In writing, this form of "aoi" appears in Japanese as hiragana あおい , or あふひ in historical kana usage, and kanji 葵.

Ao (color)

Other meanings

See also