While the visual world is enriched by the meanings carried by colors, the symbolism of these colors also holds deep significance across different cultures. Colors, as reflections of cultural codes and beliefs, take on different meanings in various societies and even carry special significance in different religions. In this article, we will explore in detail how colors are perceived and interpreted within cultural diversity.

Cultural Meanings of Colors

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes death, evil, dignity, and mourning

• Represents power and authority

• Evokes strong emotions

• Represents the absence of light and the presence of darkness

• A symbol of strength and sophistication

Meanings in Different Cultures

China: The color of young boys

Japan: The unknown, bad luck, perfection, and class

India: Untouchability (to be avoided)

Thailand: Pain and decay

Great Britain: Mourning, appropriate attire, taxis

Spain: Wealth

Yugoslavia: Traditional/old clothing

Egypt: Rebirth (opposite of Western culture)

Aztec: War and religion

United States: Power, death, evil, and authority in business attire

Western cultures: Funerals, death, mourning, Valentine’s Day (together with orange), bad company, and rebellion

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes purity, snow, surrender, and positivity

• Doctors wear white coats, and traditional wedding dresses are white

• White fences represent a happy and safe home

• The color of the dove of peace

• Evokes sterility and delicacy

• Off-white is considered a neutral color

• Pure white is perceived as a bright color

• Can cause visual fatigue

• Highly visible to the human eye

• Many religions use white to symbolize spirituality, hope, and innocence

• Universally, a white flag is waved as a sign of surrender

Meanings in Different Cultures

Asia: In many Asian countries, it represents mourning

China: Death and mourning (should be used with caution)

India: Extreme happiness

Japan: Carnations symbolize death; white is sacred and associated with purity and brides

Africa: Victory and purity

Italy: Worn at children’s funerals

East: Funerals, benevolent people and children, marriage, mourning, peace, and travel

West: Brides, angels, good friends, hospitals, doctors, and peace (white dove)

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes warmth, passion, anger, aggression, and blood

• The color of blood and a symbol of life

• Represents fire, energy, passion, and love

• Evokes war and anger

• The color with the longest arc in the rainbow

• The first color to disappear at twilight

• Has the longest wavelength of visible light

• Among the Aztecs, red dye was more valuable than gold

• A highly attention-grabbing color

• One of the first colors to be named, after black and white

• Represents danger and can provoke conflict

• Red is unavoidable, but it is a color that requires caution

Meanings in Different Cultures

China: Good luck, happiness, celebration

Japan: Spirituality, abundance

Judaism: Sacrifice and sins

Hinduism: Joy, life, energy, and creativity

India: Purity, fertility, and wealth

South Africa: Mourning

Russia: Bolsheviks, communism, and beauty

USA: Republican Party

East: The color worn by brides

West: Excitement, danger, love, passion, and stop signals

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes calmness, peace, the sky, and sadness

• One of the most preferred colors by nearly half of the world’s population

• Considered a relatively weak symbolic color, as it does not convey threat

• The least disliked color across cultures and regarded as the most trustworthy among global colors

• In Greece, doors are painted blue to protect against evil spirits

• In Israel, light blue and white are national colors, and their commercial exploitation is generally not welcomed

• In China and the USA, the term “blue film” is used to mean obscene or adult movie content

Meanings in Different Cultures

China: Immortality; “blue film” is used to mean obscene content

Japan: Everyday life

Korea: Mourning

Iran: Heaven and spirituality

Egypt: Virtue and protection against evil

Mexico: Trust, silence, mourning

Belgium: Contrary to most Western cultures, blue is preferred for baby girls and pink for baby boys

USA: Loyalty, trust, authority

West: Depression, sadness, conservatism, reliability, cooperation

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes the sun, light, and optimism

• Positive: intellect and intelligence

• Negative: falseness, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, deceit, illness, harm, and old age

• In China, this color is given an importance unlike anywhere else in the world

• In Western cultures, it primarily represents joy and happiness

• The “Smiley Face,” popular since the 1960s, is still widely used as an icon of happiness

Meanings in Different Cultures

China: Food, royalty

Poland: Royalty and divinity

Egypt: Mourning

Japan: Courage, life

India: Merchants; yellow and saffron (yellow-orange) are considered sacred and benevolent colors

Israel: In the Middle Ages, it was used to classify Jews; Hitler revived this practice in the 20th century

Islam: Perfect faith

Greece: Sadness

France: Jealousy

Russia: Traditional wedding color

West: Hope, harm, and cowardice

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes nature, calmness, hope, fertility, spring, rebirth, money, and grass

• It is the second most preferred color after blue

• Represents silence, tranquility, and naturalness

• Deep-rooted traditions may attribute negative meanings to this color

• Can signify illness

• In the United States, there is a “Green Card” system for immigrants

• In Spain, bottles made of green glass are not considered desirable

Meanings in Different Cultures

China: Wearing a green hat creates a negative impression; green also represents warding off evil spirits, jade, virtue, and beauty

Japan: Represents freshness, youth, new life, and is also a symbol of eternal life

India: Islam

Ireland: A symbol of the entire country and of Irish Catholics in the south

Islamic World and the Middle East: Life and Islam

Israel: Bad news

Saudi Arabia: Wealth and prestige

England: “British racing green” (dark green symbolizes high-speed and high-performance cars)

West: Spring, new birth, progress, Saint Patrick’s Day, and a New Year’s color (together with red)

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes spirituality, dignity, and mourning

• A balanced combination of blue’s calmness and red’s stimulation

• If not clearly defined, it can cause restlessness and discomfort

• Frequently used by creative and unconventional individuals

• One of the favorite colors among adolescents

• Purple is the color of both love and hate

• Pakistani and Mexican men generally dislike the color purple

• Symbolizes high status, culture, elegance, passion, spirituality, magic, and royalty

• Can also represent arrogance, cruelty, and mourning

Meanings in Different Cultures

China and Peru: Not a highly favored color

Japan: Wealth, status, and privilege

Thailand, Brazil, Mexico: Color of mourning (especially for widows)

Tibet: Sacred

Iran: The color of mysticism

India: Softening, sadness

Ukraine: Endurance, patience, and trust

Egypt: Virtue and faith

Brazil: Death

Italy: Death, martyrdom, suffering

England: Prestige, royal funerals

Latin America: Ordinary and plain

USA: Courage and bravery (military)

East: Wealth and prosperity

West: Royalty

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes warmth, sunset, energy, and creativity

• The color of sunsets, oranges, and pumpkins; it generally conveys a sense of warmth and friendliness

• A color that tends to provoke much more debate than others

• In the United States, it is often associated with a cheap or low-quality image

Meanings in Different Cultures

China and Japan: Happiness and love

India: Humility and self-sacrifice

Hinduism: A state of greatness, sacredness

Ireland and England: Religious associations (Protestantism)

The Netherlands: The color of the royal family’s emblem and celebrations

USA: Generally an unpopular color (except for Halloween)

Latin cultures and France: Strong attractiveness and appeal

West: Halloween (together with black), creativity, and autumn

Generic Meaning

• Represents cuteness, morality, and love

• Symbolizes love, friendship, harmony, sincerity, compassion, and relaxation

• An expression of gentle and tender emotions

• Seen as a sign of overcoming evil; represents honor, love, morality, friendship, and overall success

• In Feng Shui, it is known as a color that calms and soothes energy

• The color of the international Breast Cancer Awareness symbol

Meanings in Different Cultures

Korea: Trust

Japan: Represents a healthy life and masculinity

Belgium: Associated with baby boys (the opposite of most Western cultures)

Hinduism: The center of the heart and life

East: Marriage

West: Love, babies (especially baby girls), and Valentine’s Day

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes cunning, balance, wisdom, and coldness

• Associated with intellect and knowledge

• Conveys durability and a classic meaning; also seen as fashionable and refined

• Evokes seriousness, conservatism, and authority

• Represents control and does not draw excessive attention

• Expresses compromise, as it lies between black and white

• Considered a perfect neutral color

• Also associated with simplicity, artificiality, and poverty

• In many cultures, it aligns with modern technology and architecture

• The most popular color used for cars worldwide

Meanings in Different Cultures

Asia, Pacific Rim: Cheapness

Japan: Maturity, conservatism, and old age

East: Assistants, travel

Germany: A nationally distinctive product

United States: Expensiveness, calmness, and politeness

West: Boredom, monotony, simplicity, melancholy

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes stability, comfort, seriousness, and monotony

• Represents steadiness, reliability, and approachability

• Brown is closely associated with the earth and nature

• Symbolizes durability, security, friendship, warmth, home, and wholeness

• Conveys a lack of humor and simplicity, without complexity

Meanings in Different Cultures

Japan: Liked as a natural color

India: Mourning

Australian Aboriginal cultures: The color of the earth

Colombia: Indicates poor sales performance

Buddhism & Christianity: Humility

Native Americans: Inner discipline and strength

West: Health, physicality, reliability, and loyalty

Generic Meaning

• Symbolizes the sun, treasure, and wealth

• Represents wealth

• Perfection

• Prestige, success, and nobility

• Divinity

• Extravagance

• Vanity

Meanings in Different Cultures

East: Wealth and power

Japan: Extravagance and showiness

China & Tibet: Wealth and prestige

Iran: A highly preferred color

United Kingdom: Royalty and, in some contexts, may symbolize second place

West: Wealth

---

The Meaning of Colors in Different Religions

Islam

Although green is often thought to hold a special significance in Islam, neither the Qur’an nor the hadiths specify an official color that represents Islam. However, over time, certain colors and symbols have become closely associated with Islam and Muslim identity. In the Qur’an, the color green is linked to paradise and has historically been emphasized by Shia Islam, while the color black was regarded as sacred by the Abbasids. Green is frequently used in the national flags of Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

During the period of the Islamic Caliphate, different factions adopted specific colors to represent themselves. For example, the Abbasid Caliph wore black garments and used black banners to symbolize his struggle against the Umayyads. Today, this tradition continues in Iran, where religious women wear black chadors and supporters of the Ayatollahs use black coverings. Some individuals who claim descent from the Prophet wear black turbans.

White, on the other hand, is considered the color of purity and peace in Islam and is especially preferred in clothing worn during Friday prayers and the Hajj. White is the color of the ihram worn by Muslims during the pilgrimage to Mecca and symbolizes spiritual purity. Therefore, green and white hold a special place and meaning within Islam.

Christianity

As Christianity developed and spread, the association of colors with ancient pagan traditions gradually faded. For example, the color green was initially prohibited by Christians because it was used in pagan ceremonies, but over time it became associated with the liturgical season. The color yellow, on the other hand, was considered undesirable because Greek gods were often depicted with yellow hair or yellow garments; it was also rejected by Christians as it symbolized joy and splendor.

In the classical period, red and yellow were among the most popular colors. Red maintained its popularity despite the spread of Christianity, whereas yellow came to symbolize jealousy and betrayal. Judas Iscariot was portrayed wearing yellow garments. In 16th-century France, the doors of traitors were painted yellow, and in Spain, heretics were punished by being forced to wear yellow crosses. Until the fourth century, white was considered the appropriate color in Christianity. The Holy Scriptures state that, besides white, red, green, and black are suitable for general use, while purple is reserved for special occasions. Purple later gained importance in the Catholic Church as the color of fasting and worship.

Green became associated with sacred love and liturgical rites, while candidates for the priesthood wore white garments, a color regarded as holy by the congregation. Purple, together with white and green, creates a sense of balance. Black, which for a long time symbolized the pagan concept of hell, later became the color worn by priests and a symbol of a clergyman’s devotion. Pope Pius V (1566–1572) designated red, white, green, purple, and black as the official colors of the Catholic Church, emphasizing that each color carries a specific meaning.

In the Roman Catholic Church, colors are also used to indicate clerical rank: cardinals wear entirely red garments, while the Pope wears white. When a new Pope is elected, the white smoke rising from the Vatican symbolizes purity and goodness. Christian emperors commonly used gold and blue, colors associated with power, prestige, and rank.

Although Christianity has many denominations, the color conventions established by the Catholic Church have generally been adopted by other orders as well. Since World War II, many medieval symbols have gradually been abandoned, and a broader range of colors has begun to be used in official vestments and church decorations.

Judaism

Judaism is one of the oldest religions, with its history and doctrines rooted in the ethical principles of the Torah. Jewish history and teachings have influenced other religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Samaritanism. In the Torah, colors are frequently used to symbolize important principles and moral values.

The color blue holds a special place in Judaism as the color of the sky and the sea, representing holiness, elevation, depth, and balance. It symbolizes the divine light of God and is used in the fringes of the Tallit worn by Jewish men during morning prayers, as well as in the Tallit Katan worn by observant Jews. On the flag of Israel, the blue Star of David is placed between two blue stripes. In modern Judaism, the colors “blue and white” are often used synonymously, especially to emphasize locally produced goods in contrast to imported ones.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, colors carry deep symbolic meanings, with the primary colors being red, yellow (turmeric), green, and white. Red represents emotion and purity and is widely used in wedding ceremonies and religious festivals. Saffron, considered the most sacred color, symbolizes fire, purity, and religious devotion, and also represents the spiritual quest. Green signifies life and happiness and is regarded as a festive color, while yellow represents knowledge, happiness, and spiritual development. White symbolizes purity, peace, and knowledge, and is worn as the color of mourning after death. Blue is associated with creativity and the natural world (the sky and oceans) and symbolizes the protective qualities of the Hindu gods Rama and Krishna.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, during Vesakha celebrations commemorating the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, devout Buddhists wear white garments. These garments symbolize a mental and spiritual state known as the “rainbow body,” which encompasses all colors. This state represents the attainment of all worldly knowledge on the path to Nirvana. In Buddhism, colors are not merely decorative elements but symbols of profound spiritual and mental states. The primary colors include blue, white, red, green, and yellow, each associated with key teachings and figures in Buddhism.

Blue represents calmness and wisdom; white symbolizes purity and knowledge; red signifies life force and protection; green represents youth and energy; and yellow symbolizes humility and the importance of the non-material. These colors are also linked to specific Buddha figures and reflect fundamental aspects of Buddhist belief. For example, blue is associated with Akshobhya Buddha, white with Vairocana, red with Amitabha, green with Amoghasiddhi, and yellow with Gautama Buddha. In Buddhism, colors play a vital role in religious ceremonies, meditation practices, and monastic robes, serving as important elements that encourage spiritual transformation and reflect the essence of the faith.

---

Resources

• Handbook CrossCultural Marketing; Paul A. Herbig 1997

• What does culture have to do with color? SherwinWilliams

• Human Color Perception, Cognition, and Culture: Why “Red” is Always Red Timothy King Department of Anthropological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California

• Color: Cross Cultural Marketing Perspectives As To What Governs Our Response To It. Sable, Paul, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

• Colours Across Cultures: Translating Colours in Interactive Marketing Communications Mario De Bortoli & Jesús Maroto

• Website Design and Culture: An Empirical Investigation1 Dianne Cyr, Joe Ilsever, Carole Bonanni, and John Bowes Simon Fraser University