Green vs. Turquoise — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 9, 2024
Green is a primary color in light and a secondary in pigment, representing nature, while turquoise is a greenish-blue, symbolizing calm and sophistication.
Difference Between Green and Turquoise
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Green is a color that occupies its own unique place on the visible spectrum, associated with nature, growth, and renewal. It is considered a primary color in additive color systems (such as light) and secondary in subtractive systems (such as pigment, where it is created by mixing blue and yellow). Turquoise, on the other hand, is a blend of blue and green, often described as a greenish-blue or cyan. It evokes feelings of tranquility and sophistication, and is frequently associated with tropical waters and the gemstone of the same name.
In terms of symbolism, green is widely recognized for its association with environmental awareness, health, and vitality. It symbolizes the natural world, freshness, and fertility. Turquoise, while also evoking nature through its resemblance to clear tropical seas, carries additional meanings of calmness, clarity, healing, and protection, particularly in cultures that value the turquoise gemstone for its beauty and supposed healing properties.
The use of green is pervasive in branding and design, chosen for its connections to health, sustainability, and nature, making it popular among companies wishing to emphasize these values. Turquoise, while also popular, tends to be used more selectively, often to evoke a sense of luxury, sophistication, or a connection to the sea. It can provide a refreshing, yet serene visual experience, making it a favored choice for design elements intended to stand out without overwhelming.
Green's versatility is seen in its many shades, each conveying different emotions and associations—from the deep, rich greens of a forest that speak to opulence and depth, to the light, bright greens that communicate energy and youthfulness. Turquoise, with its blend of blue and green, bridges the gap between the tranquility of blue and the energy of green, creating a balance that is both calming and revitalizing. Its unique shade can make a statement in fashion and interior design, where it is often used to create a focal point or accent.
In art and culture, green has a long history, symbolizing everything from fertility and rebirth in ancient civilizations to envy and illness in more modern contexts. Turquoise, with its distinctive hue, has been prized as a gemstone and artistic medium for centuries, particularly in the jewelry and decorative arts of the Southwestern United States, Ancient Egypt, and Persia, where it was believed to offer protection and bring luck.
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Comparison Chart
Color Spectrum
Primary in light, secondary in pigment.
Blend of green and blue.
Symbolism
Nature, growth, freshness, environmentalism.
Calm, sophistication, clarity, protection.
Usage in Design
Widely used for natural, health, and sustainability themes.
Used selectively for luxury, calmness, and connection to sea.
Emotional Impact
Evokes vitality, renewal, and energy.
Conveys tranquility and balance.
Cultural Significance
Associated with fertility, rebirth, and sometimes envy.
Prized in jewelry and art for its beauty and supposed healing properties.
Compare with Definitions
Green
Nature's Hue.
The lush green foliage after the rain seemed to rejuvenate the entire forest.
Turquoise
Symbol of Tranquility.
The room's turquoise accents created a calming oasis in the bustling city.
Green
Indicator of Environmentalism.
The company's green logo underscores its commitment to sustainability.
Turquoise
Historical Significance.
Turquoise has been revered for its beauty and supposed protective qualities since ancient times.
Green
Cultural Associations.
In many cultures, green is the color of prosperity and health.
Turquoise
Balancing Effect.
Turquoise elements in art can provide a refreshing yet soothing visual experience.
Green
Symbol of Growth.
The green sprouts in the garden symbolized the beginning of spring.
Turquoise
Gemstone Color.
The turquoise sea was a mesmerizing blend of blue and green.
Green
Variety of Shades.
From olive to neon, green's shades encapsulate a broad spectrum of emotions and themes.
Turquoise
Luxury and Sophistication.
The designer's use of turquoise brought an unexpected level of sophistication to the collection.
Green
Green is the color between blue and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495–570 nm.
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. Like most other opaque gems, turquoise has been devalued by the introduction onto the market of treatments, imitations and synthetics.
Green
The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between yellow and blue, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 490 to 570 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation and whose hue is that of the emerald or somewhat less yellow than that of growing grass; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.
Turquoise
A greenish-blue colour
The turquoise waters of the bay
Green
Something green in color.
Turquoise
A semi-precious stone, typically opaque and of a greenish-blue or sky-blue colour, consisting of a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium.
Green
The branches and leaves of plants used for decoration.
Turquoise
A blue to blue-green mineral of aluminum and copper, mainly CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O, prized as a gemstone in its polished blue form.
Green
The leaves of certain plants eaten as vegetables.
Turquoise
A light to brilliant bluish green.
Green
A grassy area located usually at the center of a city or town and set aside for common use; a common.
Turquoise
(countable) A sky-blue, greenish-blue, or greenish-gray semi-precious gemstone.
Green
(Sports) A putting green.
Turquoise
A pale greenish-blue colour, like that of the gemstone.
Green
Greens A green uniform
"a young ... sergeant in dress greens" (Nelson DeMille).
Turquoise
Made of turquoise (the gemstone).
Green
(Slang) Money.
Turquoise
Having a pale greenish-blue colour.
Green
Green A supporter of a social and political movement that espouses global environmental protection, bioregionalism, social responsibility, and nonviolence.
Turquoise
A hydrous phosphate of alumina containing a little copper; calaite. It has a blue, or bluish green, color, and usually occurs in reniform masses with a botryoidal surface.
Green
Of the color green.
Turquoise
Having a fine light blue color, like that of choice mineral turquoise.
Green
Abounding in or covered with green growth or foliage
The green woods.
Turquoise
A blue to gray green mineral consisting of copper aluminum phosphate; blue turquoise is valued as a gemstone
Green
Made with green or leafy vegetables
A green salad.
Turquoise
A shade of blue tinged with green
Green
Characterized by mild or temperate weather
A green climate.
Green
Not mature or ripe
Green tomatoes.
Green
Not grown up; young
Still at a green age.
Green
Vigorous or robust
Keeping one's memory green.
Green
Lacking training or experience.
Green
Lacking sophistication or worldly experience; naive.
Green
Easily duped or deceived; gullible.
Green
Not dried or aged
Green wood.
Green
Not cured or tanned
Green pelts.
Green
Beneficial to the environment or less harmful to the environment than others
Green technology.
Recyclable green products.
Green
Favoring or supporting environmentalism
Green legislators who strengthened pollution controls.
Green
Having a sickly or unhealthy appearance.
Green
Envious or jealous.
Green
Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a green circle, indicating the easiest level of difficulty.
Green
To become green
The rains came, and the grass greened.
Green
To make green
Grass greened the hills.
Green
To design or organize so as to be beneficial or less harmful to the environment, especially in reducing the amount of pollution created
Efforts to green the economy.
Green
Having green as its color.
Green
Sickly, unwell.
Sally looks pretty green—is she going to be sick?
Green
Unripe, said of certain fruits that change color when they ripen.
Green
(figurative) Inexperienced.
John's kind of green, so take it easy on him this first week.
Green
(figurative) Full of life and vigour; fresh and vigorous; new; recent.
A green manhood
A green wound
Green
Naive or unaware of obvious facts.
Green
Overcome with envy.
He was green with envy.
Green
(figurative) Environmentally friendly.
Green energy
Green New Deal
Green
(cricket) Describing a pitch which, even if there is no visible grass, still contains a significant amount of moisture.
Green
(dated) Of bacon or similar smallgoods: unprocessed, raw, unsmoked; not smoked or spiced.
Green
(dated) Not fully roasted; half raw.
Green
Of film: freshly processed by the laboratory and not yet fully physically hardened.
Green
Of freshly cut wood or lumber that has not been dried: containing moisture and therefore relatively more flexible or springy.
That timber is still too green to be used.
Green
(wine) High or too high in acidity.
Green
(particle physics) Having a color charge of green.
Green
Being or relating to the green currencies of the European Union.
The green pound
The green lira
Green
The colour of growing foliage, as well as other plant cells containing chlorophyll; the colour between yellow and blue in the visible spectrum; one of the primary additive colour for transmitted light; the colour obtained by subtracting red and blue from white light using cyan and yellow filters.
Green
A member of a green party; an environmentalist.
Green
Islamist.
Green
(golf) A putting green, the part of a golf course near the hole.
Green
(bowls) The surface upon which bowls is played.
Green
(snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 3 points.
Green
(British) a public patch of land in the middle of a settlement.
Green
A grassy plain; a piece of ground covered with verdant herbage.
Green
Fresh leaves or branches of trees or other plants; wreaths.
Green
Any substance or pigment of a green colour.
Green
A green light used as a signal.
Green
Marijuana.
Green
Money.
Green
(particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.
Green
(transitive) To make (something) green, to turn (something) green.
Green
To become or grow green in colour.
Green
(transitive) To add greenspaces to (a town, etc.).
Green
(intransitive) To become environmentally aware.
Green
(transitive) To make (something) environmentally friendly.
Green
Having the color of grass when fresh and growing; resembling that color of the solar spectrum which is between the yellow and the blue; verdant; emerald.
Green
Having a sickly color; wan.
To look so green and pale.
Green
Full of life and vigor; fresh and vigorous; new; recent; as, a green manhood; a green wound.
As valid against such an old and beneficent government as against . . . the greenest usurpation.
Green
Not ripe; immature; not fully grown or ripened; as, green fruit, corn, vegetables, etc.
Green
Not roasted; half raw.
We say the meat is green when half roasted.
Green
Immature in age, judgment, or experience; inexperienced; young; raw; not trained; awkward; as, green in years or judgment.
I might be angry with the officious zeal which supposes that its green conceptions can instruct my gray hairs.
Green
Not seasoned; not dry; containing its natural juices; as, green wood, timber, etc.
Green
Concerned especially with protection of the enviroment; - of political parties and political philosophies; as, the European green parties.
Green
The color of growing plants; the color of the solar spectrum intermediate between the yellow and the blue.
Green
A grassy plain or plat; a piece of ground covered with verdant herbage; as, the village green.
O'er the smooth enameled green.
Green
Fresh leaves or branches of trees or other plants; wreaths; - usually in the plural.
In that soft season when descending showersCall forth the greens, and wake the rising flowers.
Green
Leaves and stems of young plants, as spinach, beets, etc., which in their green state are boiled for food.
Green
Any substance or pigment of a green color.
Green
To make green.
Great spring beforeGreened all the year.
Green
To become or grow green.
By greening slope and singing flood.
Green
The property of being green; resembling the color of growing grass
Green
A piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area;
They went for a walk in the park
Green
United States labor leader who was president of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952 and who led the struggle with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (1873-1952)
Green
An environmentalist who belongs to the Green Party
Green
A river that rises in western Wyoming and flows southward through Utah to become a tributary of the Colorado River
Green
An area of closely cropped grass surrounding the hole on a golf course;
The ball rolled across the green and into the trap
Green
Any of various leafy plants or their leaves and stems eaten as vegetables
Green
Street names for ketamine
Green
Turn or become green;
The trees are greening
Green
Similar to the color of fresh grass;
A green tree
Green fields
Green paint
Green
Concerned with or supporting or in conformity with the political principles of the Green Party
Green
Not fully developed or mature; not ripe;
Unripe fruit
Fried green tomatoes
Green wood
Green
Looking pale and unhealthy;
You're looking green
Green around the gills
Green
Naive and easily deceived or tricked;
At that early age she had been gullible and in love
Common Curiosities
How is turquoise used in interior design?
In interior design, turquoise is used to create a focal point, add a pop of color, or evoke a sense of calm and luxury.
What are the environmental implications of green branding?
Green branding can suggest a commitment to environmental responsibility, appealing to eco-conscious consumers.
Why is turquoise associated with calmness?
Turquoise's blend of blue and green combines the calmness of blue with the renewal qualities of green, creating a serene atmosphere.
How does turquoise influence design?
Turquoise can make design elements stand out, adding vibrancy without overwhelming, and is often used for its soothing and sophisticated qualities.
What does wearing green signify?
Wearing green can signify a love for nature, a balanced outlook, and in some cultures, good luck and prosperity.
Can the color green affect one's mood?
Yes, green can positively affect mood by creating feelings of relaxation and peace, often reducing stress.
Why is turquoise considered protective?
Historically, turquoise was believed to offer protection from negative energy and bring good luck, a belief still held in some cultures.
Does the color green have any health benefits?
Exposure to green, especially in nature, can improve mood, reduce stress, and enhance mental well-being.
What is the psychological impact of green?
Green is often seen as restful and reassuring, promoting a sense of balance and harmony.
Are there any superstitions associated with green?
Yes, in some cultures, green is considered unlucky or associated with supernatural beings.
What makes turquoise a popular choice in jewelry?
Its unique shade and historical significance as a symbol of protection and healing make turquoise a popular and meaningful choice in jewelry.
Is green always a symbol of positivity?
While often positive, green also has negative associations, such as envy or illness, in some cultural contexts.
Can the use of turquoise in fashion convey a message?
Turquoise in fashion can express individuality and a sense of calm confidence, often signaling a connection to nature or artistic sensibility.
How can turquoise affect a room's ambiance?
Turquoise can transform a room into a tranquil and inviting space, balancing energy and relaxation.
What is the difference between green and turquoise in terms of visibility?
Green is more prevalent in nature and thus can blend in more, while turquoise, being less common, tends to stand out and catch the eye.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
