What would you call this colour? Japanese netizens can't decide

Many online optical illusions have become Internet sensations, such as strawberries that look red but actually are not, or the raging debate over the blue-black or white-gold dress. Our brains are wired to process things relative to their surroundings so as to maintain consistency and keep us sane… Or are they?

Japanese Twitter user @ Hyouhonbako has brought us yet another chromatic puzzle to be solved, as netizens argue over what this colour should be called.

There are two schools of thought. One says “blue” and another calls it “green”. This is understandable, as the colour has hues from both.

Even a colour-naming app could not tell for sure.

Fans of popular Korean group SHINee will be quick to say that the colour is called “pearl aqua green”, which was their official fandom colour.

Some chose to go with elegant-sounding kanji that says “byakuguniro”. But, we think this has more blue to it and is less luminous.

Then, there are the trolls of the Internet, or those who simply gave up. (The image says “black”.)

But perhaps, the colour is closer to what they call “emerald green”, like a sparkling green lake.

Yes, some would say it’s “turquoise”. But such a term does not exist in Japanese culture, unlike in the West.

A poll on Twitter also pointed out that the majority thinks the colour is green with 79 per cent in favour, as opposed to 21 per cent for blue.

But the best answer of all is probably this kanji:

“Let’s go with “碧”. It can be read as “ao” (blue) or “midori” (green).”

People who studied Japanese would know the agonies of learning kanji, or you would have heard your friends complain how a single kanji can be read differently in different context. The concept is similar here. If you think the colour is more blue than green, read “碧” as ao. If you think the opposite is true, read it as midori. Simple as that!

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