Japanese word

紅白

Pronunciation

Romajikōhaku

Meaning

  • nounred and white

Example

お祝いに紅白の花を飾ります。o iwa i ni kō haku no hana o kaza ri ma su

I decorate with red and white flowers for the celebration.

Illustration for 紅白 (red and white)

More examples

贈り物に紅白のリボンを結びました。oku ri mono ni kō haku no ri bo n o musu bi ma shi ta

I tied a red-and-white ribbon around the gift.

Core concept

It frames red and white as two complementary sides whose pairing carries a festive or oppositional meaning.

Common phrases

  • 紅白歌合戦kō haku uta kas sen

    Red and White Song Contest

Similar words

赤白akashiro: The colors red and white treated simply as a color combination without added symbolism.

Definition in Japanese

赤色と白色を組み合わせたもの。特に、祝い事の彩りや対抗する二組を表すもの。aka iro to haku shoku o ku mi a wa se ta mo no toku ni iwa i goto no irodo ri ya tai kō su ru ni kumi o arawa su mo no

Word origin

紅 (kō) means "crimson" and 白 (haku) means "white"; together, the Sino-Japanese compound denotes the pairing of these colors.

Usage tips

  • The annual Japanese television contest Kōhaku Uta Gassen uses 紅白 (kōhaku) for its red-team and white-team division, reinforcing the word's sense of a paired contrast.

Other meanings

  • red and white teamsnoun

Word lists with this word