いろいろ

いろいろな〈物もの〉various kinds of (things)
店みせにはいろいろな商しょう品ひんが並ならんでいる。
The shop has all sorts of products lined up.
いろいろ〈動どう詞し〉to do (something) in various ways
彼かれはいろいろ調しらべてから決きめた。
He looked into it in various ways before deciding.
〈事こと〉のいろいろthe various aspects of (something)
子こ育そだてのいろいろについて話はなし合あった。
We talked about the various aspects of child-rearing.
いろいろとお世せ話わになりましたthank you for all your help with various things
この一いち年ねん、いろいろとお世せ話わになりました。
Thank you for all your help over the past year.

Expressions

いろいろあってwhat with this and that; for a number of reasons

Kanji

色color

Related words· 13

様さま々ざまN3sense 1
様々 is more formal and literary than いろいろ, which sounds more casual and conversational.
多た様ようN1sense 1
多様 stresses diversity or variety in a formal/academic sense, while いろいろ is a general, everyday word for 'various'.
種しゅ々じゅN1sense 1
種々 is a stiff, written synonym for いろいろ, rarely used in spoken Japanese.
色いろんな
色んな is a casual, spoken pre-noun form used only before nouns, while いろいろ can also function as an adverb or na-adjective in more neutral or formal contexts.

Show 9 more

あれこれN2
いろいろ is the common, neutral word for 'various things', while あれこれ often carries a nuance of picking through a scattered or worrying list of matters.
諸しょN2
色々 is a common, colloquial adjective/adverb for 'various', while 諸 is a formal written prefix attached directly to nouns (諸国, 諸説).
諸もろ々もろ
色々 is the common everyday word for 'various' and can work as an adverb or na-adjective, while 諸々 is more formal and typically used as a noun modifying の-phrases.
各かく種しゅN1
色々 is a casual, everyday way to say 'various', while 各種 is a stiffer, formal word typical of business or official documents.
まちまちN1
色々 is a general, neutral word for 'various', whereas まちまち adds a nuance of things being scattered or not aligned.
数かず々かず
色々 stresses variety ('various kinds'), while 数々 stresses a large quantity, often of noteworthy things.
あらゆるN3
色々 emphasizes variety or diversity among things, while あらゆる emphasizes exhaustiveness, covering every single instance without exception.
何なにかとN2
色々 is a general word for 'various' usable as noun or adverb, while 何かと specifically stresses multiple unspecified ways or reasons for something happening.
そんなこんな
いろいろ simply means 'various' and can describe things or actions broadly, whereas そんなこんな specifically refers back to a jumble of prior happenings, often as そんなこんなで.

Don't confuse with

いろいろあって
色々 simply means 'various' as an adjectival noun, while 色々あって is a fixed phrase meaning 'due to various circumstances', often used to gloss over details.

Written forms

いろいろUsage83%
Usually written in kana; the kanji spellings 色々 and 色色 are also used but less common.
色いろ々いろUsage17%
Common kanji spelling, but kana is preferred in most writing.
イロイロUsage<1%
色いろ色いろUsage<1%
Rare kanji spelling; 色々 is the more common kanji form.
色いろいろUsage<1%
search-only kanji form

Etymology

Reduplication of 色 (iro, 'color'), originally meaning 'various colors', which extended to mean 'various things' in general. The kana spelling いろいろ is now standard.