What Is Anzu (Apricot) Color? Swatches, Color Codes, and Differences from Similar Colors
Anzu-iro, the Japanese name for apricot color, is a soft orange-like shade inspired by ripe apricot fruit. It can resemble peach, Japanese peach pink, or mandarin orange at first glance, but the samples differ in how yellow, red, light, or saturated they appear. This guide compares the color names and actual codes, then demonstrates an accessible way to use apricot tones on a product page.
Anzu color is a soft yellow-red named after the ripe apricot
Wairo Daijiten lists #F7B977 as an example of anzu-iro, with RGB values red 247, green 185, and blue 119. The I-IRO color-name reference gives a different example, #DAA274, with RGB values red 218, green 162, and blue 116. RGB describes a digital color using the red, green, and blue components of light. HEX expresses those components using a hash sign and six hexadecimal digits.
Anzu-iro translates to apricot color in English. You therefore do not need to treat Japanese “anzu color” and English “apricot” as two inherently different colors. However, color names may be used descriptively, and every color chart does not necessarily assign the same precise value. When building a website, communicate the selected HEX code as well as the name.
Compare apricot with peach, Japanese peach pink, and mandarin orange
The four examples below use codes published by color-name references. Seeing swatches of the same size makes it easier to recognize how the hue and lightness change. Each HEX code is displayed on its own corresponding color with dark lettering.
| Color name | Swatch and HEX | RGB (red, green, blue) | How the color differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anzu (apricot) color | #F7B977 | 247, 185, 119 | A soft yellow-red inspired by ripe apricot fruit |
| Peach | #FBD8B5 | 251, 216, 181 | A paler yellow-red inspired by peach flesh |
| Momo-iro (Japanese peach pink) | #F09199 | 240, 145, 153 | A pinker shade named for peach blossoms |
| Mikan-iro (mandarin orange) | #F18D00 | 241, 141, 0 | A more saturated orange inspired by mandarin peel |
Anzu color #F7B977 and peach #FBD8B5 are both named after fruit, but the peach swatch here is paler and less strongly orange. Momo-iro #F09199 is the Japanese peach-blossom color, not a color based on peach flesh, so it is distinctly pinker than apricot. Mikan-iro #F18D00 is a more saturated orange associated with the peel of a mandarin.
These comparisons can help you decide what to emphasize: an apricot-like fruit color, a paler peach tone, a more pinkish floral color, or a vivid orange. They are not a ranking of universally correct colors. Test the exact samples alongside the photograph and other colors in your design.
Keep color swatches separate from the text and button colors on the web
On a product page selling apricot jam, one possible combination is a warm off-white #FFF8EF background, deep brown #604232 product headings, and dark charcoal #332E2A descriptions. The contrast ratios against the warm background are about 8.58:1 for the headings and 12.73:1 for body text. A contrast ratio measures the difference in relative brightness between two colors; check it for each actual text-and-background pair.
- Flavor and origin labels: Fill a small label with apricot #F7B977 and use charcoal #332E2A lettering. The text contrasts against the apricot fill at about 7.77:1. Include words such as “Apricot jam” or “Origin” rather than relying on the color alone to communicate meaning.
- Product photo card: Keep the card white #FFFFFF with warm off-white #FFF8EF around it. These backgrounds differ by only about 1.05:1. If the card needs a visible edge, use a muted gray-brown #766B5D outline. That line contrasts at about 5.21:1 with white and 4.94:1 with the off-white background.
- Purchase button: Use deep brown #604232 for the button fill with white #FFFFFF text. The label contrasts against the button at about 9.04:1, while the button itself contrasts with the surrounding warm off-white #FFF8EF at about 8.58:1. Keep the lighter apricot shade for the descriptive label and reserve the darker fill for purchasing.
White #FFFFFF lettering on apricot #F7B977 has only about 1.73:1 contrast. Using apricot-colored text on white gives the same insufficient ratio. Under WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 Level AA, normal text generally needs at least 4.5:1 and large text at least 3:1. The soft apricot shade works better as a background behind dark lettering than as ordinary copy on a light background.
HueRoll lets you enter HEX values, adjust colors, inspect RGB and other formats, explore palette suggestions, and compare a selected color with white or black. It does not accept color names as direct input, calculate contrast between any arbitrary pair, or automatically determine WCAG compliance. Check the exact colors for custom text, card, and button combinations separately.