Color words are especially handy for shopping and travel
Knowing the word for a color makes it much easier to describe what you're looking for at an overseas shop or market, or to ask for a specific item while traveling. Along with numbers and basic greetings, color words are some of the most frequently used everyday vocabulary.
Color boundaries are not identical across languages
Where one language draws the line between two colors is not universal. Vietnamese "xanh," for instance, historically covers both blue and green as one broad concept, and gets specified further with xanh dương (blue) or xanh lá (green) only when a clearer distinction is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all languages divide colors the same way?
No. Some languages have a single word that covers a range Westerners think of as two separate colors — Vietnamese xanh (blue/green) is a well-known example — and where the dividing line falls between colors can differ noticeably from language to language.
Why does Japanese sometimes call a green traffic light "ao" (blue)?
By convention, Japanese speakers often refer to a green traffic light as "ao" (blue) rather than "midori" (green). This is a holdover from a time when shades of green were commonly grouped under the broader category of blue in Japanese.