English: blue
Spanish: azul
Tagalog: asul
Ao 青 (あお) vs. midori 緑 (みどり)
Blue ocean is aoi 青い（あおい）umi 海（うみ）and blue sky is aoi 青い（あおい）sora 空（そら）.
Beginners will be taught that ao 青 (あお) is blue and midori 緑 (みどり) is green. That’s correct, but not always.
Ao 青（あお）sometimes includes green.
The traffic blue light is ao-shingoo 青信号 (あおしんごう). It’s not that the Japanese can’t tell blue from green. They know the color is green but call the light ao.
Green apple is ao-ringo 青 (あお) りんご.
You may know an English proverb, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” Its Japanese translation is:
隣（となり）の芝生（しばふ）は青（あお）い。(Tonari-no shibahu-wa aoi.)
The following words all have a meaning “green.”:
● 青（せい）果（か） (sei-ka)
Vegetable and fruit
● 青（あお）物（もの） (ao-mono)
Greens or green vegetables
● 青物（あおもの）市場（いちば） (ao-mono ichi-ba)
Vegetable market
● 青（あお）葉（ば） (ao-ba)
Green leave(s)
Ao also means ‘young and lacking experience’ like green.
● あの研（けん）修（しゅう）生（せい）はまだすごく青（あお）いな。(Ano kensyu-see-wa mada sugoku aoi-na.)
The new trainee is still very green.
● 青（せい）年（ねん） (sei-nen)
Young boy(s) and/or girl(s)
● 青（せい）春（しゅん） (sei-shun)
Youth; springtime of life
● 彼女（かのじょ）は青春（せいしゅん）を旅（りょ）行（こう）に費（つい）やし、勉（べん）強（きょう）しなかったことを後（こう）悔（かい）している。 (Kanojo-wa sei-shun-o ryokoo-ni tsuiya-shi, benkyo-sinakatta koto-o koukai-shite-iru.)
She regrets that she spent her youth travelling and not studying.
Ao also means ‘pale.’
● 顔（かお）が青（あお）いよ。大（だい）丈（じょう）夫（ぶ）？ (Kao-ga aoi-yo. Daijoobu?)
You look pale. Are you OK?
Ao-ao 青々/青青（あおあお） puts emphasis on green/blue or shows the area which has such color is spacious.
● 稲（いね）が青青（あおあお）としている田（た）んぼ (ine-ga aoao-to shite-iru tambo)
A field which is filled with green rice plants
青（あお）魚（ざかな） (ao-zakana) is blueback like:
● Iwashi いわし: sardine
● Saba さば: mackerel
● Aji あじ: jack mackerel/horse mackerel
Some Japanese order blueback fish for their sushi 寿司（すし） every time they go there because they're irresistible.
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