Yellow
Turmeric, gold-bright sun and imperial robes: ochre, chrome, Indian yellow and more. 105 colours written up on Rang so far.
What yellow means, country by country
37 countries. The same colour, read differently.
The yellow disc of the Aboriginal flag is the sun, giver of life. The flag was designed by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas and first flown in Adelaide in 1971.
Sacred and holySource: Australian Aboriginal flagAt the gaye holud, held a day or two before a wedding, relatives rub turmeric paste on the bride and groom. Guests dress in yellow and orange.
Weddings and marriageFestival and celebrationJoySource: Gaye holudOn Pohela Falgun, the first day of spring, young women wear yellow and orange saris, a shade called basanti, with flowers in their hair.
Festival and celebrationNature and renewalJoySource: Pohela FalgunThe Flemish flag is a black lion on yellow, and the Walloon flag a red cockerel on yellow. The language communities are often shown by these colours.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of FlandersThe flag is yellow, the colour of the Sultan. By custom, ordinary people did not wear yellow in the ruler's presence.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: Flag of BruneiThe national football team plays in a yellow shirt with green trim, the canarinho. It was chosen in a newspaper contest after the 1950 World Cup final was lost in white.
Festival and celebrationPrideJoySource: Brazil national football teamThe yellow diamond of the flag is commonly said to stand for gold. It came from the House of Habsburg, the family of the first empress.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of BrazilMen wear a long scarf, the kabney, on formal occasions, and its colour shows rank. Saffron yellow is kept for the King and the Je Khenpo, the chief abbot.
Royalty and powerSacred and holyAweSource: KabneyMany First Nations use the medicine wheel, a circle in four parts. A common form has yellow, red, black and white quarters for the four directions, though the colours vary between nations.
Sacred and holySource: Medicine wheel (symbol)Yellow was the emperor's colour. Under the Ming and Qing dynasties bright yellow robes and yellow glazed roof tiles, as on the Forbidden City, were reserved for him.
Royalty and powerAweSource: Color in Chinese cultureThe flag is yellow, blue and red, with the yellow band twice as wide. Yellow is read as the gold and riches of the land, blue as the two oceans and red as the blood of independence.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ColombiaGabriel Garcia Marquez kept a yellow rose on his desk for luck, and yellow butterflies follow a lover in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Readers mourned him with yellow paper butterflies.
Luck and prosperityLove and desireNostalgiaSource: One Hundred Years of SolitudeYellow is the colour of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, patron of Cuba, and of Ochun, the Santeria spirit of rivers and love. Pilgrims bring her sunflowers.
Sacred and holyLove and desireJoySource: Our Lady of CharityYellow is the colour of the liberal Free Democrats. To be "yellow with envy", gelb vor Neid, is the usual German phrase where English says green.
Politics and protestSource: Free Democratic PartyYellow daisies called adey abeba cover the highlands at the end of the rains in September. Children give bunches of them at Enkutatash, the New Year.
Festival and celebrationNature and renewalHopeJoySource: Bidens macropteraThe yellow band of the flag stands for peace and hope. The three colours have flown together since the 1890s, in the reign of Menelik II.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Flag of EthiopiaFrom late 2018, protesters against fuel taxes and living costs wore the yellow high-visibility vests that every driver must carry. They became known as the gilets jaunes.
Politics and protestAngerSource: Yellow vests protestsThe leader of the Tour de France wears the yellow jersey. It was introduced in 1919 and matches the yellow paper of L'Auto, the newspaper that ran the race.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: General classification in the Tour de FranceIn Maya thought each direction has a colour: red for east, white for north, black for west and yellow for south. They match the four colours of maize.
Sacred and holySource: Maya civilizationIn the 2014 street protests for democracy, people used umbrellas against pepper spray. Yellow umbrellas and ribbons became the movement's sign.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Umbrella MovementYellow is the colour of Golkar, the party that ruled through the Suharto years. Its banyan tree symbol sits on a yellow ground.
Politics and protestSource: GolkarSince the attack of 7 October 2023, yellow ribbons and yellow chairs have stood for the hostages taken to Gaza and for the demand to bring them home.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Yellow ribbonPeople wear yellow for Vasant Panchami, the spring festival of the goddess Saraswati. Before many weddings, turmeric paste is rubbed on the bride and groom in the haldi ceremony.
Sacred and holyFestival and celebrationWeddings and marriageJoySource: Vasant PanchamiA crime novel or thriller is called a giallo, a yellow. The name comes from the yellow covers of a series of mysteries that Mondadori began publishing in 1929.
Danger and warningFearSource: GialloObangsaek is the set of five traditional colours: blue, red, yellow, white and black, one for each direction and the centre. Yellow is the centre. Children's striped saekdong sleeves use the set.
Protection and healingHopeSource: ObangsaekParties are known by their colours: yellow for Hezbollah, orange for the Free Patriotic Movement, light blue for the Future Movement, and green for Amal.
Politics and protestSource: HezbollahThe flag is yellow, green and red: yellow for the sun and fields of grain, green for the forests and red for the blood shed for freedom.
Politics and protestNature and renewalHopeSource: Flag of LithuaniaThe luzzu, the traditional fishing boat, is painted in bright yellow, blue, red and green. A pair of eyes on the bow is said to guard the fishermen at sea.
Protection and healingLuck and prosperitySource: LuzzuOn New Year's Eve many people wear yellow underwear to bring money in the year ahead, and red to bring love.
Luck and prosperitySource: New Year's EveYellow is the colour of Malay royalty. Under old court rules commoners were forbidden to wear it, and the crescent and star on the flag are yellow for the rulers.
Royalty and powerAweSource: Flag of MalaysiaMarchers calling for clean elections wear yellow shirts. The movement is called Bersih, which means clean, and before its 2011 rally the government outlawed the shirts.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Bersih 2.0 rallyOn New Year's Eve, street stalls in Lima sell yellow underwear, yellow flowers and yellow paper garlands. Wearing yellow at midnight is held to bring good luck.
Luck and prosperityOptimismSource: New Year's EveThe yellow bird on the flag is the Raggiana bird of paradise, the national emblem. Its long plumes are worn in headdresses at sing-sings, gatherings where groups dance in full decoration.
Politics and protestFestival and celebrationPrideSource: Raggiana bird-of-paradiseYellow became the colour of opposition to Ferdinand Marcos after Benigno Aquino Jr was killed in 1983. Yellow ribbons and confetti filled Manila in the People Power revolt of 1986.
Politics and protestHopeSource: People Power RevolutionBasant, the spring kite festival of Lahore and the Punjab, is marked with yellow clothes, the colour of the mustard fields in flower.
Festival and celebrationJoySource: Basant (festival)The flag is blue, yellow and red. In the 1848 revolution the three were read as liberty, justice and fraternity.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of RomaniaEach day of the week has a colour, and Monday's is yellow. King Bhumibol and King Vajiralongkorn were both born on a Monday, so yellow is worn to honour the monarchy.
Royalty and powerLuck and prosperityPrideSource: Colors of the day in ThailandThe lower band of the flag is yellow, read as fields of ripe wheat under the sky. The two colours go back to the arms of Lviv and medieval Galicia.
Nature and renewalPolitics and protestPrideSource: Flag of UkraineYellow is the colour of the National Resistance Movement, in power since 1986. At election time its supporters wear yellow shirts and buildings are painted yellow.
Politics and protestSource: National Resistance MovementA yellow ribbon tied round a tree or pinned to a coat means someone is waiting for a loved one to come home. It spread during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981.
Protection and healingLove and desireHopeSource: Yellow ribbonSchool buses across the country are painted one shade of yellow, agreed at a conference in 1939 because black lettering on it is easy to read in early morning light.
Protection and healingSource: School bus yellowThe flag is yellow and white, for the gold and silver keys of Saint Peter. It is one of only two square national flags.
Sacred and holyPolitics and protestSource: Flag of Vatican CityThe flag is yellow, blue and red, designed by Francisco de Miranda. Yellow is read as the wealth of the land, blue as the sea that separates it from Spain, and red as blood.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of VenezuelaYellow was the colour of the emperors. The Nguyen rulers at Hue wore yellow robes, and yellow was the main colour of their flags.
Royalty and powerSource: Nguyแป n dynastyIn the south, families bring home branches of yellow apricot blossom, hoa mai, for Tet. A tree that flowers on New Year's morning is taken as a good sign.
Festival and celebrationLuck and prosperityOptimismSource: Ochna integerrimaYellow in the swatch book
117 named values.
#B0BF1AAmber#FFBF00Arylide yellow#E9D66BAureolin#FDEE00Banana Mania#FAE7B5Beige#F5F5DCBitter lemon#CAE00DCanary#FFFF99Chinese yellow#FFB200Citrine#E4D00ACitron#9FA91FCorn#FBEC5DCosmic latte#FFF8E7Cream#FFFDD0Cyber yellow#FFD300Dandelion#FED85DDark khaki#BDB76BEcru#C2B280Eggshell#F0EAD6Flax#EEDC82Safety yellow#EED202Golden yellow#FFDF00Gold (web) (Golden)#FFD700Golden poppy#FCC200Goldenrod#DAA520Hansa yellow#E9D66BIvory#FFFFF0Jasmine#F8DE7ELaser lemon#FFFF66Key lime#E8F48CKhaki (X11) (Light khaki)#F0E68CLemon#FFF700Lemon chiffon#FFFACDLemon curry#CCA01DLemon meringue#F6EABELemon yellow#FFF44FLemon yellow (Crayola)#FFFF9FLight goldenrod yellow#FAFAD2Light yellow#FFFFE0Lion#DECC9CMaize#FBEC5DMaize (Crayola)#F2C649Mango#FDBE02Maximum green yellow#D9E650Maximum yellow#FAFA37Medium champagne#F3E5ABMellow yellow#F8DE7EMetallic gold#D3AF37Middle yellow#FFEB00Gold (metallic)#D4AF37Mikado yellow#FFC40CMinion yellow#F5E050Misty moss#BBB477Mustard#FFDB58Naples yellow#FADA5EOld gold#CFB53BOlive green#B5B35COrange-yellow#F5BD1FOrange-yellow (Crayola)#F8D568Pale spring bud#ECEBBDPear#D1E231Xanthic#EEED09Prairie gold#E1CA7ARoyal yellow#FADA5ESaffron#F4C430Sage#BCB88ASand#C2B280School bus yellow#FFD800Selective yellow#FFBA00Sizzling Sunrise#FFDB00Spring green (Crayola)#ECEBBDStil de grain yellow#FADA5EStraw#E4D96FSunglow#FFCC33Yellow (Munsell)#EFCC00Titanium yellow#EEE600Lemon glacier#FDFF00Vegas gold#C5B358Unmellow yellow#FFFF66Vanilla#F3E5ABYellow (NCS)#FFD300Xander#44500CYellow#FFFF00Yellow (Crayola)#FCE883Yellow (Pantone)#FEDF00Yellow (process)#FFEF00Yellow (RYB)#FEFE33Yellow Sunshine#FFF700Nanohanacha่ใฎ่ฑ่ฒ#E3B130Kariyasu่
่ฑ#E2B13CKihada้ป่#F3C13AOminaeshiๅฅณ้่ฑ#D9B611Hiwa-iro้ถธ่ฒ#BDA928Koke-iro่่ฒ#8B7D3AKamenozoki็ถ่ฆ#C6C2B6beige#F5F5DCcornsilk#FFF8DCdarkkhaki#BDB76Bgold#FFD700goldenrod#DAA520ivory#FFFFF0khaki#F0E68Clemonchiffon#FFFACDlightyellow#FFFFE0palegoldenrod#EEE8AAyellow#FFFF00Or#FCDD09Canary yellow#FFEF00lightgoldenrodyellow#FAFAD2Spectral yellow#FFFF00Jonquil#F4CA16Satin sheen gold#CBA135Yellow Rose#FFF000Urahayanagi่ฃๆณ#BCB58CBlond hair#FF9361Cadmium pigments#006B3CChrome yellow#FFA700
#FFFDD0
Cream
A soft yellow-white named after the top layer of milkNamed shade
#C2B280
Ecru
A pale, greyish yellow once named for unbleached linenNamed shade

#FFF700
Lemon
A vivid yellow named for the colour of lemon fruitNamed shade
#FFA700
Chrome yellow
A bright yellow pigment made from lead chromate, once popular in art and industryPigment
#006B3C
Cadmium pigments
A family of strong yellow, orange, red and green pigments made from cadmium compoundsPigment
#F4F0EC
Isabelline
A pale grey-yellow or fawn colour seen in animal coats and old fashionNamed shade

#FFD800
School bus yellow
A yellow made for North American school buses to stand out and be seenNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +2
#CFB53B
Old gold
A deep, dark yellow seen in sport, politics and traditionNamed shade ยท ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia

Yellow
Palomino
A golden-coated horse with a pale mane and tail, prized for its striking lookNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States
#FFC680
Buff
A pale brownish yellow named for the colour of natural leatherNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +3

#FBEC5D
Maize
A yellow named for the colour of maize grains, ranging from pale to goldenNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +1

#FFDB58
Mustard
A muted yellow shade named after the condimentNamed shade

#FFBA00
Selective yellow
A yellow defined for car headlamps and fog lamps to cut glare in bad weatherNamed shade ยท ๐ซ๐ท France +2
#E4D96F
Straw
A pale yellow shade named after dried stalks of grainNamed shade
#F8DE7E
Jasmine
A pale yellow shade named after the jasmine flowerNamed shade ยท ๐น๐ณ Tunisia

#F3E5AB
Vanilla
A pale yellow tint named after the colour of vanilla beans and ice creamNamed shade

#FFFACD
Lemon chiffon
A pale yellow web colour named after a light, airy cakeScreen colour ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States

#FAF2C5
Champagne
A very pale yellow-orange named after the sparkling wineNamed shade

#E4D00A
Citrine
A golden yellow colour named after the citron fruit and seen in quartz gemstonesNamed shade
#FFDEAD
Navajo white
A pale yellow-orange paint shade named for the Navajo Nation flagโs backgroundNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States
#DAA520
Goldenrod
A strong yellow named for the goldenrod flowerNamed shade

#F2E8D7
Magnolia
A soft cream shade named for the magnolia flower, common in British interiorsNamed shade ยท ๐ฆ๐บ Australia +1
#FED85D
Dandelion
A yellow crayon colour named after the dandelion flowerNamed shade
#FFEF00
Canary yellow
A bright yellow named after the canary bird and used as a printing primaryNamed shade
#FFDF00
Golden yellow
A bright colour between amber and yellow, used by the United States Air ForceNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States
#FFFF66
Laser lemon
A fluorescent yellow shade introduced by Crayola in 1990Named shade
#FDFF00
Lemon glacier
A fluorescent yellow-green shade released by Crayola in 2009Named shade
#F8DE7E
Mellow yellow
A soft yellow first listed in the Plochere colour system in 1948Named shade
#FADA5E
Royal yellow
A yellow shade linked to the robes of Chinese emperorsNamed shade ยท ๐จ๐ณ China
#EED202
Safety yellow
A bright yellow chosen for safety signs and high-visibility gearNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +1
#EEED09
Xanthic
A yellow shade named for its link to xanthic acids and Greek rootsNamed shade
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Buff: Johan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cadmium pigments: Marco Almbauer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Citrine: J.M.Garg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maize: en:User:Pratheepps, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Cream: Aleksey Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Goldenrod: Huw Williams ( Huwmanbeing ), Public domain, source
- Jasmine: Magialuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lemon chiffon: Kimberly Vardeman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Magnolia: Magnolia_Watsoni.JPG : WibblyWibby derivative work: Wikiklaas ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Mustard: Jamie, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Selective yellow: Scheinwerfermann at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Straw: Jan Ulrich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vanilla: Everglades National Park, Public domain, source
- Champagne: Jon Sullivan/PDPhoto.org, Public domain, source
- Palomino: (a friend of) Kvetina-Marie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ecru: Xabier Cid, Public domain, source
- Chrome yellow: FK1954, CC0, source
- School bus yellow: BMRR ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Isabelline: Josรฉ Reynaldo da Fonseca, CC BY 2.5, source
- Lemon: Andrรฉ Karwath aka Aka, CC BY-SA 2.5, source