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Naming my motorbike!

Nick1984

後輩
22 Oct 2020
15
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Hello all, this is my first post here :)

I am the proud owner of a brilliant Honda motorbike, which is a lovely orange colour!

I would like to translate either:

"The orange 500" OR "The orange Honda" please. (Orange as an adjective, and "500" as a noun, if that works in Japanese?)

I have researched the Japanese for colours and have seen there are more than one language or dialect used in Japanese - which is more widely used and the more obvious choice for a modern Japanese citizen?

Thank you very much, Nick
 
Would オレンジのホンダ be okay?
This is perfectly fine. It uses the English "orange" in Japanese. However if you want to get more of a Japanese look using traditional characters you could use the traditional Japanese word (橙色) for orange. So some additional options are:
橙色ホンダ' (Orange Honda)
橙色500 (Orange 500)
橙色500型 (Orange 500-model)
橙色五百 (Orange 500) This is all in Japanese but in Japan they wouldn't actually write it this way. It would be with "500."

Does the bike have a name such as "Rebel" or something? You could consider using permutations that use that name as well.
 
Lothor, are you talking about the fruit or the colour? I think the colour is daidaiiro like I said.
The colour. You may have said it, but I couldn't read the kanji, which looked an unusual one.
 
The colour. You may have said it, but I couldn't read the kanji, which looked an unusual one.
Ah, ok. I was surprised when Torotoribe gave you info about the fruit. Maybe he wasn't paying attention to the topic.
Honestly it was probably years before I learned that word, orenji is so prevalent.
 
There are several hues of orange/yellow described here:

  • 玉子色 (Tamago-iro)
  • ]山吹色 (Yamabuki-iro)
  • 櫨染 (Hajizome)
  • 玉蜀黍色 (Tōmorokoshi-iro)
  • 藤黄 (Tōō)
  • 花葉色 (Hanaba-iro/kayou-iro)
  • 梔子 (Kuchinashi)
  • 玉蜀黍色 (Tōmorokoshi-iro)


Interestingly, it appears that until the 16th century, many European languages had no word for the colour orange either but referred to it as yellow-red, yellow-saffron, light red, etc.
 
I was surprised when Torotoribe gave you info about the fruit. Maybe he wasn't paying attention to the topic.
Ooops! Sorry for that!

As for the color, yes daidai-iro used to be used, but "orenji/orenji-iro" is more common nowadays.
 
This is perfectly fine. It uses the English "orange" in Japanese. However if you want to get more of a Japanese look using traditional characters you could use the traditional Japanese word (橙色) for orange. So some additional options are:
橙色ホンダ' (Orange Honda)
橙色500 (Orange 500)
橙色500型 (Orange 500-model)
橙色五百 (Orange 500) This is all in Japanese but in Japan they wouldn't actually write it this way. It would be with "500."

Does the bike have a name such as "Rebel" or something? You could consider using permutations that use that name as well.
Thank you so much! I see that the excellent alternatives you suggest don't include の - is that character unique to the "English Orange" when used as an adjective?

(Unfortunately there is no alternative name for the model of bike; interestingly, I tried to navigate the Japanese Honda website to see whether there is an alternative model name for my bike, but I found that most of the Japanese Honda motorbike range is very different to the European range!)
 
Not always, but it's OK especially for proper nouns. In other words, オレンジホンダ has a nuance of the name of a specific model of Honda, whereas オレンジのホンダ refers to a Honda motorbike/car whose (body) color is orange in general.
 
Not always, but it's OK especially for proper nouns. In other words, オレンジホンダ has a nuance of the name of a specific model of Honda, whereas オレンジのホンダ refers to a Honda motorbike/car whose (body) color is orange in general.
So even though Orange isn't the model name in this case, it's almost like saying "The orange Honda", which is more definitive than saying "A Honda which is orange" ?
If I understand that correctly, it's a great option!
 
So even though Orange isn't the model name in this case, it's almost like saying "The orange Honda", which is more definitive than saying "A Honda which is orange" ?
If I understand that correctly, it's a great option!
It's more like a proper name "Orange Honda" as opposed to "The orange Honda." Coincidentally, Honda has a program called Orange Dealer (オレンジディーラー)which are their dealers who have achieved the criteria to be Orange Dealers. (Elite dealers, or master dealers or whatever.)
Anyway I think オレンジホンダ in a cool font would be quite a good option.
 
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