Green and Yellow Make What Color When Mixed Together?

Moseying along our color mixing chart explorations, let’s do some hands-on experimentation to answer: “Green and yellow make what color when mixed?” The answer is one of the most shocking, fabulously-named colors out there.

Yellow and Green Make…

Yellow is a primary color, while green is a secondary color (a mix of the primary colors yellow and blue). Given this, and given that they’re right next to each other on the color wheel, they produce one of the six intermediate colors. The resulting combination of the two pigments is… an electric yellow-green, also known as chartreuse!

Intermediate colors like chartreuse make a bright and pleasing “middle ground” between the two pigments, similar to how purple and red make magenta: a purple-red mix, yellow and orange make amber: a yellow-orange, and red and orange make vermillion: a red-orange). They are also sometimes called tertiary colors, and the sets of similar ones sitting nearby on the wheel are labeled analogous colors.

How to Make Chartreuse

If you’re wondering how to make chartreuse, the classic bright color, it’s defined as a 50-50 mix of pure yellow (the primary color), and pure green (50% pure yellow, and 50% pure blue). Confusingly, most “ingredient” colors we have to work with aren’t pure, and so we get different variations of the yellow-green combination due to red, black, or other pigments being mixed in.

Depending on the “ingredient” shades you use to make the mix, instead of chartreuse, you might get a lime green: a bright greenish-yellow, like a lime, if you add more green than yellow. If your yellow “ingredient” color is more orange-ish, you’ll get a dustier green called olive, because you’re starting to verge into the territory of mixing green and orange.

If you use a yellow that’s almost white, you might achieve a “mint” color, too: a very light (and tasty) green — also achievable by mixing green and blue, as long as you add a lot more green, and a bunch of white. See my illustration, below, which demonstrates the various types of yellow-green you can attain by mixing green and yellow. Note that these are much more intense colors than the more subtle and muted viridian color yielded from adding green to teal.

Pronounce Chartreuse

In addition to it being a hard word to spell, it is a challenge to pronounce chartreuse! The correct pronunciation of the word is: “Shahr-TROOSE.” The first part sounds like the beginning of the word “Shard,” and the second syllable (which holds the emphasis) rhymes with “moose.”

Green and Yellow Make What Color?

Now that you’ve read this, you can confidently answer that green plus yellow equals yellow-green, otherwise known as chartreuse! This color is wild, and is usually used in design, art, or fashion when the creator wants to be a bit shocking and stand out. Is it a color you enjoy using, or do you prefer something more subtle, like mint green color? Do share…

Want more? Check out “What Does Red and Green Make?” and “What Does Purple and Green Make” if you’re interested in more paint color mixing. If you’d like to learn the deeper meaning of yellow and green, browse analyses of a yellow aura meaning and green aura meaning.