真っ青
まっさお · massao · JLPT N2 · na-adj
deep blue
🫐 真 (ma, very) + 青 (ao, blue): very blue, which also covers ghastly pale
Sounds like 'mass-ow': the 'ma' is an intensifier, so the word is literally 'very blue'. Someone turning very blue from shock or illness looks ghastly pale, giving the second sense.
真 — 匕 (spoon) over 目 (eye) over 八 (eight/base)
真 originally depicted a person or vessel used in ritual, conveying the idea of something genuine or true. Over time the form was reanalyzed as components like 匕, 目, and a base, but the core meaning of 'real, true, genuine' has remained stable since early bronze inscriptions.
青 — 生 (growth/sprout) on top + 丹 (well/cinnabar) below
青 originally depicted young plants (生) growing above a mineral pit (丹, cinnabar well), suggesting the fresh blue-green color of new growth and natural pigments. Over time it came to cover a range of cool colors—green, blue, and even black—and by extension means 'young' or 'youthful.'