紫むらさき

む

ら

さ

き

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

purple; violet

The color purple or violet. Used as a noun and as a no-adjective.

彼かの女じょは紫むらさきのドレスを着きていた。

She was wearing a purple dress.

この花はなはきれいな紫むらさきですね。

This flower is a beautiful purple, isn't it?

2

noun

purple gromwell; Lithospermum erythrorhizon

usually written using kana alone

A plant whose root yields a purple dye. Usually written in kana in botanical contexts.

ムラサキの根ねは染せん料りょうとして使つかわれてきた。
The root of the purple gromwell has been used as a dye.

3

noun

soy sauce

Archaic or poetic term for soy sauce, from the color of the liquid. Modern term is 醤油.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が紫むらさきに染そまるfor something to be dyed/turn purple
夕ゆう焼やけで空そらが紫むらさきに染そまった。
The sky turned purple with the sunset.
顔かおが紫むらさきになるfor someone's face to turn purple (from cold, cyanosis, etc.)
寒さむさで唇くちびるが紫むらさきになった。
Her lips turned purple from the cold.

Kanji

紫purple, violet

Related words

紫むらさき色いろ sense 1
紫 can mean the color purple on its own, while 紫色 explicitly spells out 'purple color' and is used when clarity is needed.
醤しょう油ゆN4sense 3
紫 is an archaic, poetic word for soy sauce, while 醤油 is the everyday modern term used in speech and writing.
パープル
紫 is the traditional Japanese word for purple used in classical and everyday contexts, while パープル is a modern loanword favored in fashion and design.

Word family· 42

紫むらさき色いろ
purple; violet
ムラサキシキブ
Japanese beautyberry
薄うす紫むらさき
light purple; pale purple
大おお紫むらさき
giant purple butterfly; Sasakia charonda · Rhododendron oomurasaki; purple azalea

Written forms

紫むらさきUsage88%
Standard kanji spelling for the color and the plant. High priority.
むらさきUsage7%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for the color.
ムラサキUsage5%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is sometimes used for the plant name or in stylistic contexts.

Etymology

The word むらさき originally referred to the purple gromwell plant, from which a purple dye was extracted. The color name derived from the plant. The soy sauce sense is an archaic metonymy based on the dark purple color of the sauce.

京きょう紫むらさき

Kyoto purple; reddish purple

Show 9 more

内うち紫むらさき
purple Washington clam · red-fleshed pomelo
浅あさ紫むらさき
light purple; pale purple
深ふか紫むらさき
deep purple
濃こ紫むらさき
dark purple
ムラサキツバメ
powdered oakblue (butterfly) · purple martin (bird)
紫むらさき芋いも
purple sweet potato
ムラサキナ
hinona; Japanese purple turnip
ムラサキナズナ
purple rock cress
ムラサキガイ
Soletellina diphos (species of clam)

See all 42 in Explore →