So you or someone you know is colour blind?
Grab our favourite corrective sunglasses: EnChroma Color Blind Glasses
Or check out our shop for the full range of corrective glasses and other useful items for parents, teachers, and kids.
Ishihara Color Test Instructions
Plates 1 – 17 each contain a number, plates 18 – 24 contain one or two wiggly lines. To pass each test you must identify the correct number, or correctly trace the wiggly lines.
- Sit approximately 75cm from your monitor, with each circle set at eye level.
- Preferably have mild natural light and no glare on your screen. Interior lights and glare can alter the color of the pictures.
- Attempt to identify the hidden number or line within 5 seconds then click on the image (left mouse button).
- Upon left clicking, the answer will be revealed along with an analysis explaining your condition if you got it wrong.
- Continue to the next Ishihara test, Complete them all to help gauge your color blindness severity.
- Share the test with your friends!
Notes:
- You can toggle back and forth between the original plate and the answer by clicking on the plate itself.
- Plate 1 and 24 are control tests – people with normal vision and all forms of color blindness should be able to distinguish these. These two plates are particularly useful for identifying cheeky behaviour when testing children!
- This test cannot guarantee complete accuracy. Your monitor and quality loss of online images may affect the original colors used. Should these tests suggest that you may be color blind, you should seek professional confirmation.
- You need to have JavaScript enabled to reveal the answers. For any further problems – leave a comment at the bottom of this page :).
NEW: A man by the name of Antony Tran has converted my test into an Android App, So for all of you with Android smartphones / Pads, check out Color Blend. The app can also tell you what color something is just by pointing your device’s camera at it – VERY handy for us color blind people.
The Ishihara Color Test for Color Blindness
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 1
| What did you see? |
| “12” |
All people should see a number 12, including those with total color blindness – If someone said they can’t see something, or saw something else – they are fibbing:) |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 2
| What did you see? |
| “8” |
Those with normal color vision see an 8. |
| “3” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 3. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 3
| What did you see? |
| “29” |
Those with normal color vision see a 29. |
| “70” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 70. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 4
| What did you see? |
| “5” |
Those with normal color vision see a 5. |
| “2” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 2. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 5
| What did you see? |
| “3” |
Those with normal color vision see a 3. |
| “5” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 5. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 6
| What did you see? |
| “15” |
Those with normal color vision see a 15. |
| “17” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 17. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 7
| What did you see? |
| “74” |
Those with normal color vision see a 74. |
| “21” |
Those with red green color blindness see a 21. |
| Nothing |
Those with total color blindness see nothing. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 8
| What did you see? |
| “6” |
Those with normal color vision see a 6. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 9
| What did you see? |
| “45” |
Those with normal color vision see a 45. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 10
| What did you see? |
| “5” |
Those with normal color vision see a 5. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 11
| What did you see? |
| “7” |
Those with normal color vision see a 7. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 12
| What did you see? |
| “16” |
Those with normal color vision see a 16. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 13
| What did you see? |
| “73” |
Those with normal color vision see a 73. |
| Nothing |
The majority of color blind people cannot see this number clearly. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 14
| What did you see? |
| Nothing |
People with normal vision or total color blindness should not be able to see any number. |
| “5” |
Those with red green color blindness should see a 5. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 15
| What did you see? |
| Nothing |
People with normal vision or total color blindness should not be able to see any number. |
| “45” |
Those with red green color blindness should see a 45. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 16
| What did you see? |
| “26” |
Those with normal color vision should see a 26. |
| 6, faint 2 |
Red color blind (protanopia) people will see a 6, mild red color blind people (prontanomaly) will also faintly see a number 2. |
| 2, faint 6 |
Green color blind (deuteranopia) people will see a 2, mild green color blind people (deuteranomaly) may also faintly see a number 6. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 17
| What did you see? |
| “42” |
Those with normal color vision should see a 42. |
| 2, faint 4 |
Red color blind (protanopia) people will see a 2, mild red color blind people (prontanomaly) will also faintly see a number 4. |
| 4, faint 2 |
Green color blind (deuteranopia) people will see a 4, mild green color blind people (deuteranomaly) may also faintly see a number 2. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 18
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision should be able to trace along both the purple and red lines. |
| Those with Protanopia (red colorblind) should be able to trace the purple line, those with protanomaly (weak red vision) may be able to trace the red line, with increased difficulty. |
| Those with Deuteranopia (green color blind) should be able to trace the red line, those with Deuteranomaly (weak green vision) may be able to trace the purple line, with increased difficulty. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 19
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision or total color blindness should be unable to trace the line. |
| Most people with red green color blindness can trace the wiggly line, depending on the severity of the condition. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 20
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision should be able to trace a green wiggly line. |
| Most people with any form of color blindness will be unable to trace the correct line. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 21
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision should be able to trace an orange wiggly line. |
| Most people with any form of color blindness will be unable to trace the correct line. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 22
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision should be able to trace the blue-green/yellow-green wiggly line. |
| Red green color blind people will trace the blue-green and red line. |
| People with total color blindness will be unable to trace any line. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 23
| What did you see? |
| Those with normal color vision should be able to trace the red and orange wiggly line. |
| Red green color blind people will trace the red and blue-green wiggly line. |
| People with total color blindness will be unable to trace any line. |
Ishihara Color Blindness Test Plate 24
| What did you see? |
| Congratulations, you made it to the end! Everyone should be able to trace this wiggly line. If you found this test useful or interesting, please send this page to your friends. |
got to 3 and thats it
tried test only got test 2
Hi Bradley,
You should keep trying each ishihara test until the bottom, dont stop at the first test you can’t do:) Doing them all helps you understand the severity of your color blindness.
Also try the color arrangement test to get a mathematical readout of your color blindness, and its severity!
Charles
Hi,
I found this website to be really helpful! I was told when I was small that I was color blind, and knew it had something to do with Red, Green and Brown. This website has helped me understand that I’m definately red/green color blind. 20 years after I was told, I now know for sure, thanks to this website. Great stuff. Excellent.
Jim,
Glad you found the ishihara test useful:) I trialled it on a friend of mine, he’s 40 and just found out he’s mildly color blind too. To some of us it barely makes a difference i guess!
Charles
🙁 i applied for the air force on thursday, a medical was involved… including an isihara eye test……..
i failed it 3 times 🙁 not my job oportunities are extremely limited
im 3CP color blind & a female… i never knew, still quite shocked!!!!!!!
Just looking at these tests makes me feel more at rest. I have moderate colour acuity due to long sightedness but not colour blind although eyesight does affect your colour vision, yet i can see 22 of the 24 plates. Do you think i would pass an RAF medical colour test?
Hi Bertie,
I redid your post without full capitals for you:)
The Air Force is probably the strictest career path in the world when it comes to color blindness. Whether or not you are accepted depends on how well you do with your visual tests, and which position you are seek. Which plates did you get wrong? A couple of the plates are supposed to appear blank if you have normal vision:)
You could also try my color arrangement test, it was designed by american military personel originally, though i doubt it is used in the UK.
Charles
Thanks Admin
I can do the colour arrangement test and it reports I’m not colour blind because I complete it correctly. A couple of the plates above that I couldn’t see were 73 and 5. Must point out that some of these plates I have to really look at to get the numbers. I have done the Farnsworth 100 Hue Test and manage to do very well on it. I know my current perscription for glasses has been changed slightly and these glasses are heavily scratched. I find my glasses do affect my colour vision, making colours appear slightly darker then normal. Without the glasses I have very good colour acuity but at a restricted distance. Can I just ask how accurate are these tests? Are your plates a true representation or do you think the reproduction of your plates makes it harder to see the numbers.
Thanks again, Bertie
Hi Bertie,
The plates do get progressively harder to see, though my wife (who is not color blind) can easily see every plate correctly. Being color blind, i know that some are harder than others for me to see, but cannot really tell you how people with normal color vision see them:).
What you hinted at is correct, these plates are as accurate as possible, but there is every risk that they aren’t exactly the same as a physical copy of the test plates. The images are very close to the same, but everything from the lighting in your room to the quality of your monitor, and its settings will adjust this. Try doing the test from someone elses computer and see how you go – you’d be amazed how different computer monitors show colors differently!
My glasses are not scratched too badly, but if yours are as bad as you say, then i am sure they would manipulate the colors to some extent – much like cataracts? Cataracts dont directly modify your color vision, but the clouding does filter any light entering the eye.
Hope this helps,
Charles