Check your color vision with 10 Ishihara-style plates. Screens for red-green and blue-yellow color blindness. No sign-up needed.
Difficulty distinguishing reds and greens. Caused by defective or absent L-cone (red) photoreceptors. Affects ~2% of men.
Most common type. Difficulty with green shades. Caused by M-cone (green) anomaly. Affects ~5% of men globally.
Difficulty distinguishing blue from green and yellow from violet. Very rare, affects less than 1 in 10,000 people.
Complete inability to see color. Extremely rare (1 in 30,000). Usually accompanied by light sensitivity and poor visual acuity.
Color blindness, or color vision deficiency (CVD), is the reduced ability to see differences between certain colors that people with normal vision can easily distinguish. Despite its name, true total color blindness — seeing only black and white — is extremely rare. Most people with "color blindness" actually see colors, just differently from those with standard vision.
The human eye perceives color using three types of cone cells in the retina: L-cones (sensitive to long wavelengths, i.e., red), M-cones (medium wavelengths, green), and S-cones (short wavelengths, blue). Color blindness occurs when one or more of these cone types is absent, reduced in number, or contains a shifted spectral sensitivity.
The Ishihara color vision test was developed by Japanese ophthalmologist Dr. Shinobu Ishihara in 1917 and remains the gold standard for screening red-green color deficiencies. The original test consists of 38 plates, though shorter versions of 14 or 24 plates are commonly used in clinical settings.
Each plate is a circular field filled with dots of varying sizes and colors. A number (or path) is hidden within the pattern using dots of one hue placed against dots of a contrasting hue. For people with normal trichromatic vision, the figure is immediately visible. For those with a red-green deficiency, the figure blends into the background because the two colors appear similar in perceived brightness and hue.
Our online version uses 10 vanishing and transformation plates based on the classic Ishihara numbers: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16, and 29.
Red-green color blindness is an X-linked recessive condition, meaning it is carried on the X chromosome. Because males have only one X chromosome (XY), a single defective gene is sufficient to cause color blindness. Females have two X chromosomes (XX), so they would need both to carry the defective gene to be fully color blind — which is why prevalence is roughly 8% in men but only 0.5% in women.
Women who carry one defective copy are carriers and typically have normal color vision, though they may have subtle anomalous color discrimination compared to non-carriers. Approximately 0.5% of women are color blind, while around 15% are carriers.
Blue-yellow color blindness (tritanopia) is an autosomal dominant condition carried on chromosome 7 — it is equally rare in both sexes. Complete achromatopsia affects about 1 in 30,000 people worldwide, with notably higher prevalence on Pingelap island in Micronesia due to a historical population bottleneck.
Color blindness has not stopped many talented individuals from achieving remarkable things in visual and technical fields:
The vast majority of people with color blindness live full and functional lives. Modern technology has brought significant accommodations: smartphone accessibility modes (iOS Color Filters, Android Color Correction), color-blind-friendly design tools, and specialized glasses like EnChroma that enhance color contrast for many people with red-green deficiency.
Day-to-day challenges often include: reading color-coded charts and maps, distinguishing traffic light states in peripheral vision, choosing matching clothing, and working with certain color-coded interfaces. Most people develop personal strategies over time — for example, remembering that a traffic light's top position is red and bottom is green, regardless of perceived hue.
Certain professions require a minimum standard of color vision, including commercial pilots, naval officers, electricians, and train drivers — where distinguishing colored signals is a safety-critical skill. However, the vast majority of careers are unaffected. Many graphic designers, photographers, and artists are color blind and work successfully by using tools and reference systems that accommodate their vision.
Color blindness is present from birth in inherited forms, but children often do not realize they perceive colors differently until it is tested. Most children with color blindness do well in school with minor accommodations: teachers using high-contrast materials, labeling colored pencils, and being aware when color-coding is used in assignments or tests.
If you suspect your child may have color vision deficiency, an eye exam at age 4–5 is recommended before they start school. Early identification allows teachers and parents to provide appropriate support and prevents frustration when children cannot interpret color-coded materials.
Online versions of the Ishihara test are useful for informal screening but have important limitations compared to printed versions administered under controlled conditions:
Despite these limitations, online tests correctly identify most people with moderate to severe color vision deficiency and serve as an excellent first step. If you score below 7/10, consider seeing an eye care professional for a formal assessment.
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