What Does the Color Red Mean?

General Meanings of Red

• Red is believed to be the color of fire and blood, and it could represent a variety of feelings. It could mean love, desire, passion, lust, longing, romance, strength, courage, heat, rage, danger, anger, wrath, vibrancy, determination, leadership, joy, radiance, stress, sensitivity, sexuality, and vigor. 

• Red is daring, energetic, assertive, powerful, impulsive, enthusiastic, aggressive, and exciting. Red stands for passion and physical energy. It represents confidence and action. Red can also be connected with self-preservation and an emotional feeling related to financial needs.

• Red is an extreme color that is connected to emotional feelings such as violence, intense love and anger. It stands for both the devil and the cupid. It is a lively color that stimulates energy and excitement. Studies have found that red has physical effects on blood pressure, respiratory rates, metabolism, libido, confidence, and enthusiasm.

• What does the color red mean? Red is a very bright color that can hardly go unnoticed. People tend to make hasty decisions at the sight of red color, and that’s the reason why fire engines and fire trucks are painted in red color most times. Whenever you see a red light, it means an emergency or danger, while in traffic rule it means stop.

• Red color can present something very important, and people often use red to name some important issues such as the red carpet events. Since it is connected to courage and power, it is often seen in national flags and shields of most countries. It is also a sign of achievement, as can be seen in achievement patches.

• Too much red can cause oppressive behaviors, anger, agitation, loss of temper, and overbearing. While too little red may cause lethargic, whiny, and cautious feelings. An addition of green, which is the opposite of red, can help control your emotion, while you can reduce exhaustion by adding more red.

Meaning of Red in Different Cultures

What does the color red mean in different cultures? Here are some examples:

• In Russia, it symbolizes beauty.

• In Chinese culture. Red stands for fire, summer, and south. Chinese people also see it as a sign of fortune and good luck. People wear red dresses to celebrate the New Year, and they also decorate their houses with red color.

• Red colors play an important role in Japanese tradition. It is associated with some deities in Buddhist and Shinto traditions.

• Falun red is a special color that is reserved for the privilege classes in Sweden.

• The word "paise kokkino" which means “touch red” is often used in Greek whenever two people coincidentally say the same words at the same time. This is because they believe that if this happens, the two will have a quarrel in the future, but they can avoid a quarrel by touching something red near them. 

• In Jamaica, the word “red” is a slang for a drunk person.

• In Nigeria, it is a slang which means one is in a difficult situation.

• In England, as national icons, phone booths and double decker buses are printed red.

• The red mark on the forehead is believed to bring good luck in India.

• In Hindu, the color red is a symbol of life, joy, creativity, and energy.

• The Aztec culture associates red with blood.

• In Catholic Church, red represents feast days of martyrs.

• Some clothing stores in Israel like kosher banned red colored dress for women and sell-out only loose-fitting apparel as red is considered lustful in this culture.

Meaning of Different Shades of Red

What does the color red mean? Different shades of red also have different meanings:

• Light red color represents passion, love, sensitivity, and joy.

• Pink color represents love, friendship, and romance. It symbolizes feminine passiveness.

• Dark red has a connection with willpower, vigor, anger, rage, wrath, malice, courage, longing, and leadership.

• Brown color indicates stability, and it’s associated with masculine qualities.

• Reddish-brown is connected with harvest and fall.