No Words for Blue

What color is the sky? Most kids who speak English answer without hesitation—it’s blue. Isn’t that obvious? Maybe not.

Forget that the sky sometimes appears gray during a storm, or white with clouds, or even pink and orange at sunrise or sunset. Picture a perfect, clear blue expanse. Many languages have no specific word for this color. It ends up grouped with green. Other languages use just three color words: usually “black” for all dark shades, “white” for all light or bright shades, and “red” for all reddish shades.

I first learned about the unusual world of color names while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan. In my Kyrgyz language lessons, I learned the word for blue is kok, pronounced a lot like the English word “cook.” The country’s unofficial national anthem, “Kyrgyz Jeri,” opens with line about mountains touching the blue sky. But to my surprise, I also heard