Synesthesia – My Synesthetic Alphabet

September 9th, 2006

I associate colors with letters and numbers. I have done this as early as I can remember but I did not learn that it was a recognized neurological condition until recently. Below you can see the alphabet the way I view it along with various numbers and punctuation. If you are interested in learning more, visit some of the links at the bottom, or follow the synesthesia webring link to other sites.

Synesthetic Alphabet

Synesthesia is estimated to effect up to three percent of the population. People experince it in many different ways, including seeing sounds and smells. I have the most common form, color-letter synesthesia. It is not detrimental, and actually helps me remember things. When I used to work at the airport in catering I could remember what gates and planes that I have visited by the colors I assciated with them.

Synaesthetes tend to confuse left and right, which applies to me. Although I am excellent at navigating and remembering spatial directions, when giving directions to people I confuse left and right all the time.

A correlation between the artists and synaesthetes exists, perhaps indiacting that people with synesthesia are more creative. I am not sure if this applies to me.

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Here are some Synesthetic links:

Synesthesia: Phenomenology And Neuropsychology
A review of current knowledge of synesthesia. – The author mentions that synesthetics are good at remembering the spatial locations of objects including memorizing floor plans and maps. This is a skill that I have. Also, he mentions that they often have right-left confusion (which I often do).

The UK Synaesthesia Association
This page provides a lot of great background info on Synesthesia.

Trends in colored letter synesthesia
The type of synesthesia that I have is colored letter synesthesia. This paper seeks to identify trends among several synthetics and their colored alphabets. My alphabet matches the trends pretty well.

108 Comments

  1. Posted December 11, 2007

    I have synesthesia too. It is a really cool condition.
    GO SYNESTHESIA PEOPLES!!!!!!

  2. Kaeleen
    Posted December 30, 2007

    I didn’t figure out I had it until 6th grade, when I read a book called ‘A Mango-Shaped Space’ by Wendy Mass. I absolutely adore that book! It’s a realistic fiction novel.

  3. Tara
    Posted February 24, 2008

    My boyfriend told me that he has synesthesia and i was abousolutly thrilled because i think it is the coolest condition ever. When i tell people about it they think ive lost my mind but then they with they had it to. my boyfriend needs to talk to other syeneseetes to get over his fear of people finding out. i wish he was more open. any suggestions or websites i can sign him up for?

  4. Alex
    Posted May 20, 2008

    I have it most when I’m half asleep. It just makes sense to me that 6 is olive green and 8 is an orangy golded brown. Lowercase m is a bright but deep green.

  5. kendy
    Posted May 21, 2008

    Oh my Goodness!! I want to have this condition sooooo bad. I wish i could memorize all of the colors & numbers!

  6. Tess
    Posted September 1, 2008

    When I was little I had a very small case of it. It wasn’t so bad at all, just sometimes I would see d=orange or c=yellow. I think I might have grown out of it, is that possible?

  7. Tara
    Posted September 11, 2008

    my boyfriend says that when his grandma died his synesthesia increased dramatically. He says that everything has colors around it. people have a color and when they are mad they turn red, when they are pregnant he can see purple and when they get to be around 7 months, he can see the outline of the baby and see it moving. kinda weird but recently he told me that not only do people have color but he can see colors around things like trees, cars, power lines. He says it gets on him nerves but i think that its the best forever. He can also see when people are lying because they turn red. i can never let him guess his presents because if he guesses it and i say no he will know what i got for him. also he can tell if you’re playing a game like go-fish and cheat so i can never do that kind of things with him. if i do he lets me win. I wish he could talk to someone who has this to. if you know what Im talking about please give me some advice.

  8. Lawrence
    Posted October 19, 2008

    I agree with Tess (1/9/08): C=yellow, D=orange. A is definitely red and B brown.

  9. meezle
    Posted October 21, 2008

    most of my letters have colors, but not all. is that still considered synesthesia? all my numbers have colors. they also have personalities, which even i find pretty weird. four is definately my favorite because its nice and quiet…kind of like me.

  10. Web Nightingale
    Posted October 25, 2008

    Hello everybody

    Im a synesthesic too…! And i have to say it’s certainly shocking when you know others around you do not “see” what you used to think is a normal thing. But when you used to, its amazing.

    In answer to you TARA, i’d really like to congratulate you ’cause your supporting your boyfriend like that. I hope my girlfriend would be as considerated as you. (i dont have, but if a would…)
    Check this website: (sorry im a lonely synest’, i don’t know if i can post a link, admin)
    http://www.mixsig.net
    And be happy both o’you

  11. Via
    Posted November 6, 2008

    hi everyone. i have synesthesia and i have seen colors drifting in the air when i hear sound ever sinse i can remember. i associate letters, numbers, sounds, music, and words with color. i know i may sound wierd but the world is colorful to me, its like having the colorful gummie worms on the ice cream. ice cream is so bland without the color. when i read a Mango Shaped Space, i had no idea what i had, i thought everyone saw color. i learned about this a few years ago, in the sixth grade, now i know that not everyone sees color, and that its a rare thing. its pretty cool. if there is anyone out there who also sees color, blog because i only know two people tthat claim to have this wonderful rare gift of color. it would be fun to hear from you. well later people! oh and i am not flunking school, or getting bad grades, but algebra is not my thing, x is glassy maroon witha smeary shade of silver behind it, x cannot equal 3 because 3 is marigold orange!! yea.. oh and tess, i am not sure if it went away, but certain occasions can sort of snap you out of it, but once you have synesthesia, it stays with you. i hope you get your colors back, i love seeing mahogany rings in the air when the door shuts. good luck! oh and alex, that is a form of synesthesia. bye every one. a= hay yellow b=brown c=ocean blue d=a purplepink e=flower stem green on and on..

  12. meezle
    Posted November 9, 2008

    Via, your colors are all wrong! a is definitely red, b is dark yellowish, c is white, d is brown, and e is blue!

  13. Web Nightingale
    Posted November 12, 2008

    Hello again!!!

    I’d like to tell you now what kind of synesthesia do i have. Well, my one is a cool mix: I see the music, every kind of music… can see colors, objects and lines, a lot of things and colors, but
    when i hear a song, i mean a good song, wooow, then i can even feel the music, i start to see different scapes, like to be transported to another place, a colorfull place where everything is changing o color, the mountains, the sky, clouds, whatever, changes its color according the music and i can even touch the things, i feel i can touch the music, and a beatifull sensation of energy full me and… well, yeah, is amazing.
    Sometimes i feel the flavor of the music or colors i see, or i can see the smellings too… so cool. I can see the voices and its texture too.
    And other little things that makes me apreciate the simple things of the life.
    I always thought everyone can see the same, but now that i know they don’t, Id like to share this gift with the world. Im starting a project to show in video or any media digital resource, what do i feel when i heard music, ’cause id want everyone to have the chance to see my world.
    To love the life.
    Thanks hehehe i think im inspired hehehe Come on!!! We are privileged.
    Would you say we are the real-life equivalent of X men? hahaha ;)

  14. kate
    Posted November 25, 2008

    Hey I see colors for numbers, letters, music, everyday sounds, I hear motion(like lightning), words, smells, and sometimes I taste sound. Like the smell of sulfur is puke green and the taste of spongebobs voice is a cherry-grape. I had no Idea what synesthesia was untill I read the book A Mango Shaped Space, before I thought that I was the only one who saw like this because I knew that my friends didn’t see sounds and didn’t hear motion! I’d love to talk to someone else who tastes sounds!!!!!!!!

  15. kl
    Posted November 25, 2008

    Hey Tara I have that too!!!!!!! Just maybe not as strong, it kinda feels like I’m reading their minds but in reality people amit this oderless, touchless, and undetectible gas type of things and some people can see it!! When their mood changes so do the colors of the gas. Its really cool

  16. bright eyes
    Posted December 10, 2008

    ok, just out of curiousity…
    i was an article on the site that Web made a link for and it said:

    “Other examples of synesthetic experiences people can have, just to name a few, are being able to see sounds — as well as hear them…”

    well, you know how some radios have those games where they play a sound and you call in to guess? (where it’s something really random like…scraping a cookie with a credit card for example) Do these synesthesics know exactly what the sound is when it is played? or not? I mean, i htink it might make sense to but then again, i guess it might not be right.
    so tell me if you know :)

  17. meezle
    Posted December 14, 2008

    brighteyes–thats not exactly what “seeing sounds” means. for example, when i hear a certain song, i’ll see the color green. that really annoying ringing you get in your ears when you’re tired is a really bright white. other people might see different shapes and patterns when they hear music or a certain sound, but im not that special. so thats what it means when someone says they “see a sound”

    hope that helped!

  18. Web Nightingale
    Posted December 19, 2008

    Thats right… i do percieve sounds like colors and shapes, even textures, but most of them are really far of what really the sound source is (Example, french corn looks BLUE, but the real instrument is like golden or silver) I’ve never tried that radio games, but now ill try and tell you hehehe bright eyes.
    - KATE:
    Thats pretty cool! So does spongebobs voice tastes like cherry-grape? Thats amazing!!! I sometimes can taste music, but not always, i dont know why. I think thats not so intense on me. But hearing the tastes, thats intense… everything i taste have a sound… i will pay attemption next time i eat cherry-grape, if i listen something like spongebobs voice :D :-D Cool!

  19. bright eyes
    Posted January 2, 2009

    I just finished reading A Mango-Shaped Space…it WAS really good. As a book and as a way of learning more about synesthesia. I’m glad you guys mentioned it enough on here to get my curiousity! Thanks :) The noises and shapes make a lot more sense now. And the acupuncture was really interesting. Have any of you ever done that? Tell us about it if you did!

  20. Web Nightingale
    Posted January 2, 2009

    Hello everybody
    Well, here in my country doesn’t exist a translation of “a mango shaped space” (i live in mexico), but i’d really like to get it, don’t care its in english or not. Can you help me?
    And about the acupuncture, bright eyes, i don’t know what you mean ’cause i haven’t read the book yet, but i can tell you something very interesting… Some days ago, i was under acupuncture sessions -for medical purposes- and i suddenly discover that my synaesthetical perceptions had become clearer, very more clear and sharped, more intense… im not sure about streightening, but something is sure, they were very clear. I really enjoy perceiving music that day. I strongly recommend it !!!
    And any of you have ever do something of acupuncture? Tell us!!!

  21. bright eyes
    Posted January 5, 2009

    Web Nightingale…I got this from google. You can buy the book here.
    http://www.amazon.com/Mango-Shaped-Space-Wendy-Mass/dp/0316523887
    or
    http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=31212134&listingid=14375050&dcaid=17902

    Just look online for different places to buy it.
    Good Luck!

  22. meezle
    Posted January 6, 2009

    That’s amazing! I should try acupuncture, see what happens. :)

  23. Web Nightingale
    Posted January 13, 2009

    Thank you very much, Bright eyes! Ill try to get it as soon as possible.
    And meezle, i’d like to know about your synnie’s perceptions after acupuncture! Thats pretty cool, lets see if they get stronger or what…
    I have found that one cousin o’mine is also a synaesthete! (Of mother’s side.)
    And also a very nice friend o’mine is synaesthete too!!! So, i can tell you: talking others about your synaesthesia is productive. go on do it and let us know if you find out another synnies.
    By the way, can anyone of you tell me if its true that drinking cofee makes synaesthesia less-strong, but alcohol (a little hehe) increase the synaesthetical perceptions? I’ll try too, with measure course, but let me know if you discover something
    yeah?
    If Mr. Brendan nee wants to tell us something, good. Thanks 4 this synnie’s space

  24. meezle
    Posted January 19, 2009

    my numbers and some letters have personalities—anyone else have this? example–5 is really wild and spunky and kinda mean, but 4 is really really quiet and nice.

  25. Web Nightingale
    Posted January 20, 2009

    Hey! Definitively that’s synaesthesia, and i know other synnies who has that, personalities for numbers. Have you ever think about your number’s gender?
    I mean, is for you 4 male, or female?
    hehe Maybe they have, that’s synaesthesia too.

    I’ve found a great synaesthesia forum, with amazing info about it, incredible questions and so much fun. Would you, all synaesthetes friends, like to go?
    Tell me and i’ll put the link ok?:-D
    See you!!!

  26. meezle
    Posted January 20, 2009

    yeah they do have genders, some more than others. the number 1 doesnt exactly have a gender, but i find it to be more female than male, if that makes any sense. 2 is male, 3 is male, 4 is female, 5 is male, 6 is male, 7 is male, 8 could go either way, 9 is male (and best friends with 4 and 7 lol), so on and so on, i could go on but it would take me a really long time :)

  27. Lawrence
    Posted January 21, 2009

    I and R are authoritative, commanding letters; E is expansive and free, H is self-protective, tough and distant and V protects others!

  28. meezle
    Posted January 21, 2009

    mine are kind of different–i is really quiet, r is a bit commanding i suppose, e is just kind of cranky and depressed most of the time, not so sure about h. some are more prominent than others.

  29. Vamp
    Posted January 25, 2009

    I wish I had Synaesthesia. It’s so cool!
    Another good book: Mondays are Red.

  30. bright eyes
    Posted January 29, 2009

    I was just looking up books about synesthesia on my library’s website and it came up with The Name of This Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch.
    Anyone know if it is any good?

  31. SynesthesiaIzKewl
    Posted February 6, 2009

    yes i read that book last year. i first learned about synesthesia from it but assumed it was made-up by the author. my dad found this site and mentioned it too me.

    the book itself is not bad i guess. the context was a bit strange but it has a good plot. why dont you just read it and give it a try?

  32. MJ
    Posted February 7, 2009

    your A is red? aw, everyone has red As, mine is yellow… I wish I had more strongly coloured letters… I don’t even have a green one ;)

  33. Lawrence
    Posted February 8, 2009

    A is definitely red. I get yellow for S. The letter I get green for is T.

  34. meezle
    Posted February 8, 2009

    yeah i agree a is red. but s is definitely not yellow!! it’s totally see-through, like glass. if anything, o is yellow, and t is black or dark blue. :)

  35. bright eyes
    Posted February 9, 2009

    I really want to read that book but it’s not at my library.
    Maybe I can find it at Barnes and Noble or something.

  36. jenn
    Posted February 10, 2009

    i have that “gift” too i had it ever since i was little around four or five and i have the fear of telling people sometimes people tend to make fun of you but hey you learn to live with it.

  37. Web Nightingale
    Posted February 10, 2009

    Yeah, sometimes could be hard to talk about synaesthesia with others… Specially because it’s also hard to explain, all the colors and shapes, etc.
    But the coolest is when you find out another synnies.
    Check this please, im sure you’re gonna love it if you give it one chance:
    http://www.mixsig.net/nexus/index.php

    A little question: How do you see your names? Mine one is blue, cerulean blue, and last name: white, because the S.

    And do you see weeks, months and years in a determinated color or shape? Synnie too
    :-D

  38. Posted February 10, 2009

    Both my first and last name are brown.

    Months are all the same color as their starting letter, except Oct which gets some color from the “C”.

    Jan = Blue
    Feb = Green
    Mar = Purple
    Apr = Red
    May = Purple
    Jun = Blue
    Jul = Blue
    Aug = Red
    Sep = Blue
    Oct = Orangish-Gray
    Nov = Brown
    Dec = Brown

    days of the week mostly take on the color of their first letter, but Sat and Sun get some brown, perhaps from the “day” part of the word. Saturday is too fun to be blue, so its reddish for me.

    Monday = Purple
    Tuesday = Green
    Wednesday = Blue
    Thursday = Green
    Friday = Green
    Saturday = Reddish-brown
    Sunday = Blueish-brown

  39. bright eyes
    Posted February 11, 2009

    what does the name carrie look like to you synesthetes? :)

  40. Lawrence
    Posted February 11, 2009

    I get a pinkish guava colour for Carrie. I get the same colours for January, April, June, July and October that Brendan does.

  41. meezle
    Posted February 11, 2009

    carrie is crimson red with a tiny hint of white because of the “i”. i see the word in the color of its vowels, which i find kinda cool since a lot of people say they get the word’s color from its first letter…is it weird that i see it this way?

  42. Web Nightingale
    Posted February 12, 2009

    Hi! Well, that’s not weird at all meezle, it’s completely normal (for synaesthetes, i mean lol ) In my case, i percieve the names of people with their personalities’ colors, i mean, if you are a green person, (hahaha) your name will get the same color… it’s kind a mix between grapheme syn, personality syn and i don’t know what… So, every synnie percieves the world in a different way.

    Carrie… Beautiful white with a little pale yellow, like new ivory and a little orange in the left.

    Curiousity: How many of you see January in blue? :-) Or what about pesonalities and its colors?

  43. Posted February 24, 2009

    ok well i dont know if i have this condition or not? because i only see the letters and numbers and months and days as colors in my mind only and i aggree with meezle i can “see sond” too

  44. Web Nightingale
    Posted February 27, 2009

    Hello!
    Synaesthesia includes ’seeing’ the colors out of your head AND ’see’ them Inside your mind, like looking with your ‘mind eyes’…
    So if you percieve the colors in your mind, could certainly be valid synaesthesia…
    :-D
    Are those colors always the same for you? And is that an involunctary response to letters, sound and months?

  45. lucy
    Posted March 1, 2009

    I just found this website today but it all seems so cool! A is SOOO not red!!! it could be yellow but i think its more of a baby blue…i also see carrie as white, yellow and specks of green. i only see colors. no personalities. I have read a mango shaped space a long time ago and then again recently. it was AWSOME. everyone should totally read it!!

  46. lucy
    Posted March 1, 2009

    i agree with lawrence. the S is yellow

  47. 魚头
    Posted March 17, 2009

    hello ….i am chinese,and i can see different colours in chinese character .
    just like :天——light blue
    蔬——dark green
    好——orange/light yellow
    sorry for my poor english. …

  48. Web Nightingale
    Posted March 17, 2009

    WOW! That is great, 魚头 !
    I’m glad to meet someone from so far away like you! Don’t worry, your english is good.
    Do you feel like your chinese characters have personality?
    Welcome :-)

  49. 魚头
    Posted March 18, 2009

    :-) yes ,I think they have.In China,there are 2 characterforms
    one is called 【simplified character】 like 鱼、发
    another is 【traditional form】 like 魚、(發、髮)————these wrew used in old books.

    the first character魚/鱼 in Chinese means [fish],which I think is cyan.He is a boy.

    although 發/髮=发
    in simplified character 发means [send out][hair][discover][make a fortune]…so I think 发 have many colours: yellow/dark blue/green/…

    發only means [make a fortune]—-it has only one colour :green. He is a boy.
    é«®only means [hair]——-I think it’s rose red.She is a girl.

    one Chinese character(simplified character) always has too many different means,so when I see them……
    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..they are colorful of various colours.I have some difficult in reading…I can’t read 【through】an article which has too(?Am I right) many words
    .I always skip skip skip…finding the key words(the beautiful words),and guess the general idea.
    :-P

  50. lucy
    Posted March 20, 2009

    do english letters have color for you or just chineese characters?

  51. Elisa
    Posted March 24, 2009

    Hi.
    I see numbers, names, and letters in colors. Not everything has a color, but almost. I did not even know there was something called synesthesia, until yesterday when i talked to one of my friends about it, and they told me to “google” it.
    Take forexample my name it’s yellow, the number 3 is green(kinda dark green) 5 is blue, the name Tina is purple and so on. I see it in my head kinda (:
    Hope to hear from some of you (maby we see the same colors hehe)
    Elisa

  52. Web Nightingale
    Posted March 24, 2009

    Yes!!!
    Elisa is yellow, and the number 5 is blue!!!

  53. meezle
    Posted March 25, 2009

    i agree that 5 is blue. 3 is also green for me :)

  54. Sophie
    Posted April 13, 2009

    I was looking at this person’s site about their synesthesia, and one of the types this
    “Not sure how to categorise this last one, but words, writing, has an effect on me, so poetry, for example, fits into the sound category, even though it technically doesn’t have a sound, I’m reading it in my head, so I’m ‘hearing’ sort of, what it would sound like if it did, because I experience what I would hear, if I did hear it. If you’re synaesthetic, you get that. If you aren’t, I know, it sounds bizarre!”
    Does that mean that they hear what they’re reading in their “mind’s ear?” I do that. I’m so confused.

  55. Jamie Henshaw
    Posted April 21, 2009

    I am actually sorry to say I do not also have this condition “synesthesia”. Particularly alphabetical. But, this is an extremely interesting thing that happens. I am of a wholly sound mind that there is something more to the words that we speak. Tests were performed at one point that indicates our spoken language, any language, has an effect on the energy around us – see works of Masuro Emoto. I am interested to know if any of you would be willing to let me know what colors your alphabet is – I see bits and pieces, but the whole alphabet? Also words that imply emotion. What color is “love” “hate” “prayer” “care”? and your name. I’m sure you will find more intersting correlations with each other as well… thank you anybody that replies!

  56. Elli
    Posted May 13, 2009

    It’s so fun to read all the comments~

    All my numbers and letters have colors, and in sixth grade I started learning chinese and those have colors too.

    When I start to think more about it I feel sorry for those without synesthesia. ):
    They don’t get the pretty colors~

    Oh yeah lol & when I read I skip over all the words I don’t like the colors of. When I read stories it’s fine cause I see like a movie sort of in my head about what’s going on but it makes it really hard to read textbooks pfft.

  57. Georgia (:
    Posted May 29, 2009

    Heeya
    I was recently diagnosed with syn.
    I have;
    Graphemes – colors
    Musical sounds – colors
    Flavors – colors
    Personalities – colors
    Emotion – flavor
    Pain – flavor
    Every since ive had it diagnosed everything has made so much more sense.
    As a little child i would often cry when my parents played anything by david bowie and i realise now it was probably becuse I find david Bowie has a creepy black misty colour.

  58. Posted May 31, 2009

    Hi! :)

    First, I don’t think you guys have conditions… have you ever thought maybe you do have extra senses? This doesnt mean you’re crazy at all, and nothing to be ashamed of. :)

    What I am wondering is this… do you know of any web sites or groups that are aiming to ask people what their perceptions are, so we can see if there is at least a general agreement of colors?? From the above comments, it seems that many people do have similar perceptions, though some vary, and like any new skill or sense, I believe that there are varying levels of accuracy between different people. But if you could work together to maybe see how many others agree with your colors, maybe you can “re-look” at your colors, double-check, and see if there is in fact consensus? Also, you should look into the color associations of the chakras and such to see if this helps or is the same… I am very curious!

    Can anyone tell me any websites that have lists of color translations for everyday words, numbers, letters, feelings, concepts, emotions and objects, etc? Or even if it is just alphabetical lists… if not, someone should start one! Let’s see if these perceptions are mutual! Or if they are individual..

  59. Erica
    Posted June 11, 2009

    My letters and numbers have personalitys. I know this is synesthesia but I did not tell anybody yet….
    Ay advice??

    Aslo, I have a alphabet, but when I read, I do not see the colors on a the page.
    And I just know this stuff, I do not complain if my 6 is with my 2 or anything.

    Is this really synesthesia????
    And does anybody know how to make a alphabet??

  60. meezle
    Posted June 17, 2009

    yeah thats totally synesthesia! :) i know exactly what you mean–my letters and numbers have personalities, and i also dont see the colors on the page, its just in my minds eye. :)

    what are the different personalities your numbers/letters have?

  61. bright eyes
    Posted June 17, 2009

    Ok, I’m not a synnie at all, but as I read the comments, I’m starting to think….well, lemme give you an example.
    When Jamie asked what color hate, prayer, care, and love are, I thought about how to me, hate would be red, orange, and yellow (like fire), prayer is like a holy white color with maybe a little purple or blue (reminding me of a dove). Love is reddish and pinkish (like hearts), care…maybe blue.
    But what I’m trying to say is that I think the average non-synesthesic person can relate certain words with certain colors based on, well, things that are related to the word. Definately not as much as a synnie would, but just somewhat. Otherwise, I dunno.
    I’m not sure how to explain it really, but if this makes sense, do you have an answer?

  62. bright eyes
    Posted June 17, 2009

    Haha, yes I’m commenting twice in a row. ;) Web, you said that “Synaesthesia includes ’seeing’ the colors out of your head AND ’see’ them Inside your mind, like looking with your ‘mind eyes.’”
    What if you only picture it in your mind? I mean, this text is clearly black to me so I know I’m just ‘normal.’ But going back to my last comment, when I see the word January in my mind, it triggers the thought of snow so I see it kind of as a blue with snowflakes. And December, due to the snow again, is the same. Valentine’s Day is in February so that determine’s the colors for me. March has St. Patrick’s day…etc.
    Hmmm…

  63. Lawrence
    Posted June 17, 2009

    I get brown for hate, white for care, dark blue for prayer and red for love. I think I get colours for them through intuition or through a psychic sense. Dark blue is quite a devotional colour. I agree with bright eyes that January has blue in it but I see as an orangey-brown – probably because I get the colour orange for the letter D!

  64. Erica
    Posted July 6, 2009

    Hi ! sorry I did not respond for a while.
    My letters only have personalities, and only when they are just a letter, not in a whole word. I also agree that January is blue, D is orange, and five is blue. But 3 is REALLY radiant and bright yellow, or sometimes red. And for some reason, during math, my numbers turn back to black. Is this normal? And my brother has it to! He says that he hears motion, but I am not sure. Do you think he is lying and how can I test him for that?
    Here are some of my stuff:
    F=angry, and red
    q= royal, stuck up, and purple
    X=black, and has no personality.
    1= red, but silver with another digit
    6=lime green
    9=dark green
    13= silver and then red

    My name (Erica) = Red/Crimson and green, mixed together.
    Example:
    E= Green
    R=Red
    I=white, and not showing in my name, as it turns red
    C=Red
    A=Green and red, but switches off.

    Oh yeah, and the word it is really wierd.
    I=White
    T=black

    Sorry because it is so long!

  65. Erica
    Posted July 6, 2009

    Oh and does any body kniow how to make a alphabet like the one on this page?

  66. Posted July 7, 2009

    To create a synaesthetic alphabet like the one above you can use photoshop or an online image creation tool like http://aviary.com. I’d be interested to see others alphabets.

  67. Shosh
    Posted July 11, 2009

    OMFG my BFFl has this!! she tellls me all about it!! ugh it must be so COOL!!!she shows me everything she knows about it and tells me everything i think it is just amazing! she showed me this book that explains all the differnt kinds its called
    Wensday is Indigo Blue. If there are ppl who want to know about you should so check it out!!!

  68. Erin Angel
    Posted July 28, 2009

    Hi!!! I have synesthesia pretty bad. I just wanna talk to other people with it. If anyone here has it, u can email me at erinjohnsonsssss @ gmail . com!!!! Make sure that the subject is ” Synesthesia chat”. Thank you. :-)

  69. WebNightingale
    Posted July 28, 2009

    Hi again!
    Bright eyes, i absoutely am sure you have syn! You should take a look on the book Shosh recommended, “Wednesday is indigo blue”, is just, clever!
    There the autor explains they now like to classify synaesthetes in Localizers and Non-localizers, which means that if you see the colors in your mind, or if you know what color it is, then you are a non-localizer synaesthete; a completely valid form of it.
    I think that new website that Courtney suggested is a great idea… could work.

    To Jamie Henshaw and Mr. Brendan Nee, i agree: I’ll try to post my alphabet and numbers as soon as i can. thanks for the idea.

    A lil’ question for all of you: Have you ever think of your numbers like having temperature?
    I mean, i’ve recently discover that the 7 and the 4 are warmer colors than 6 and 9… how could i explain it? is it syn?

  70. Lawrence
    Posted July 29, 2009

    To WebNightingale:
    Maybe you see numbers as having temperatures because numbers can have colours associated with them. Red, pink, orange and yellow are warm colours and blue and violet are cool colours, green and brown lukewarm. For instance, I get yellow for five, so five would be a warm number.

  71. meezle
    Posted September 13, 2009

    i am beginning to worry that my syn is going away, i found out i had it about a year ago and then the associations were pretty strong with sound, letters and numbers, but now im not seeing sound nearly as much and the color of letters is fading. numbers are pretty much the same though. is it possible for syn to go away so quickly?? will i get it back???

  72. WebNightingale
    Posted September 13, 2009

    Oh meezle, sorry for hear that. But you don’t have to be worry, frequently synaesthesia got faded or weaked due to stress, or a very impressive or shocking experience, but it just need a lil’t time to come back to normality :D
    Could that be the reason in your case?
    Also some medicines could have side effects on synaesthesia, so, have you started a new treatment recently?

    In any case, synaesthesia use to come back to normal, yeah, you just need time and try to relax… :) Hope you get better and as colorful as always soon : ;)

  73. WebNightingale
    Posted September 13, 2009

    Ah, and Lawrence!
    Thanks for your answer! That’s pretty much possible…
    but isn’t yellow a cold colour? :D lol
    *synaesthete joke*
    But seriously, yellow feels cold to me

  74. Lawrence
    Posted September 14, 2009

    That’s OK, WN but I’ve never seen as a cold colour! It speaks of brightness and sunshine! So, does that mean that you see 6 and 9 as cold numbers?!

  75. WebNightingale
    Posted September 14, 2009

    *lol* :D
    Don’t think so! 6 is green and 9 is blue! Aqua blue :) hehehe
    Well, actually, 9 IS a cold number…
    Synaesthesia rocks!
    The life wouldn’t be the same without the synaesthesia and the payment days :D

  76. meezle
    Posted September 15, 2009

    hmm numbers don’t have temps, more like personalities. and six is definitely not green!!! :D its obviously brown and kinda mean haha…and nine is crimson!! and thanks for the advice webnightngale :)

  77. Sylvie
    Posted September 15, 2009

    I think i have # letter color synesthesia but the colors aren’t as vivid really as other people with synesthia say they are. I have to focus on a word or # to see the color, if I am looking at something a little away from a word, i will not see the colors of the word. Also sometimes I feel itchy and try to itch it but it isn’t affected at all by the scratching and doesn’t go away, does that have anything to do with this or am i just weird?

  78. Sylvie
    Posted September 15, 2009

    my #s are 1-yellow or white in a # with multiple digits,2-spring green,3-pink,4-fiery redish orange,5-regular blue,6-dull bluish purple,7-lemon yellow,8-dark red,9-foresty green and 0 is whte or doesn’t really have a color. Letters have colors too but are less noticeable and i can ignore them and are kind of blurred and blended together. And I’ve heard stuff about the minds eye, is that it? Also i am thinking about doing something about synesthesia for my science fair project. Any ideas? science projects are such a pain

  79. Sophie
    Posted September 16, 2009

    Hi!! My numbers and letters have a personality and gender and color, but stronger with numbers, words have color to, and some personality, but most of my words the colors dont blend its just the colors of the letters but put into a word so like air- a is red, i is black with a white outline , and r is a rusty orange, so thats how it looks to me, but I want wondering for those who taste words if they could tell me what the name Sophie taste like to you?
    Thank you if you answered.

  80. Lawrence
    Posted September 19, 2009

    I get a savoury snack taste for Sophie which I find hard to describe. Sorry! It’s such a nice name and deserves better. My colours for numbers are:- 2 orange-brown, 4 green, 5 yellow, 6 pink, 8 light brown/beige, 10 white, 50 gold.

  81. WebNightingale
    Posted September 30, 2009

    Well, sophie, i don’t use to perceive tastes with names, but i do see colours according to everyone’s personalities… so sooner i’ll get a colour for you, by sure…
    And Silvie, of course that’s synaesthesia, so you are not weird… so welcome to the club lol :D

    Hey buddies, did you see TV yesterday?
    HEROES has a new character, Emma, and guess what! SHE HAS SYNAESTHESIA!!! Oh yeah, it’s a great surprise… The special effects aren’t so great, but hey! synnies are now on TV.
    She has sound -> colour, and i reccomend you to search for that chapter… INK. :D

  82. Julia
    Posted October 3, 2009

    I don’t think I have synesthesia, but i thought I’d just write my own alphabet like yours with the colours, before I looked at yours. My alphabet had some things the same, like A and Z and P, very very close in the same shade, but my V and W are totally differnt. BUT! my 2 3 4 5 6 7 are identical. 1 doesn’t really have a colour for me, and I have a weird black for 8 and X where you have that orange colour. so I give 8 and X the same colour, which is what you do too, just, its a different colour between me and you.
    Does this mean I have mild synesthesia? it applies to the names of the days of the week for me too. I don’t actually see these colours, they’re just what seem to match if I think about it.

  83. Julia
    Posted October 3, 2009

    hey I realised if my blue and yellow were swapped then that would make my E I J S U V W and Y the same as yours, even the intensity and all, matched.

  84. Ori (for short)
    Posted October 23, 2009

    im not sure if i have synesthesia but i see colors everywhere on walls and stuff. Sometimes my friends and teachers have a realy pretty white see through a bit like icing gloow surrounding them. The color is always the white. Whats really cool is that when i run my hand across the air when i look to the celing i see my hands lines glow behind it kind of like on water if you run youre hand through it, its almost like painting in the air. Im sorry im probly not explaining it clear enough. Its very hard to explain. You know when you learn in math the thing where you have to draw an object on a grid paper then move it like 5 up and 3 to the left (this is what we did in grade 6 or 7) if i look to a tree and look some place else i see the tree in that whitish color exacly like doing that math thing. Sometimes its been realy light pink and baby blue. Sometimes i see a color when you use paint and other colors surrounds it like if i paint with red a blue glow surrounds it the color green yellow surrounds it. Sometimes i see random dots and lines everywhere with diffrent colors. Its very hard to read a book (i have read a mango shaped space) because i see so many colors not like colors on the letters just colors. My most seen colors are green blue red yellow and a lot of white glows.

    is this synesthesia? and by the way if you think im faking or making this up couse i know it does not sound like synesthesia.. im not. and my eyes are perfecly fine and healthy. The eye exray looks gross but the doctor says its fine.How do you tell someone that you see colors? the last time i told someone it did not work out.
    If its not synesthesia then i give up looking but im happy to have it. Its vrey beautiful and i would never do anything to give it away.

  85. Posted October 28, 2009

    I do not have synesthesia. I found/read the book “A Mango Shaped Space” this summer. This book was one of the best books I have ever read even over the Twilight series! This was the first time I had ever heard of Synesthesia. I am in 8th grade and i dont like my science class. We have to do this big project and it really stresses me out. I can never think of a topic because i am not interested in science. but i finally thought of doing my project on synesthesia! For once I have enjoyed putting together my project and researching my topic. I am now finishing my project. but i would love to know more about synesthetes getting acupunture.

  86. Web Nightingale
    Posted October 28, 2009

    Wow, that’s so cool, Junie!!!

    I agree, syn is an AWESOME thread for a science project. So i think i speak for everyone when i say we’d love to help.
    So, what’s exactly you’d like to know?
    Acupuncture? :)

    BTW Julia, sorry for the late…
    Those are your colours? Great! I mean, yes it really seems to be synaesthesia! I know what you mean with not seeing the colours, but just knowing which they are…

  87. Posted October 29, 2009

    Yeah, I would love to know more about acupunture. I couldn’t find almost anything when I looked online.

  88. Web Nightingale
    Posted October 29, 2009

    OK… I’ve talked with other synnies and they say their responses are not exactly like in the book AMSS, but way different.
    Some of them get sounds like bells tinkling, other perceives colours or shapes, etc. In my personal case, i hear something like violins playing one note at the distance, but that’s all. The interesting thing comes AFTER the acupuncture season, because all my syn responses become so clear and so well-defined. It’s all, amazing.

    BTW in this site you will find a whole thread about syn & acupuncture:
    http://www.mixsig.net/nexus/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=5271

  89. Brooke
    Posted October 31, 2009

    I read “A Mango Shaped Space”. I don’t have synesthesia, but I think it’s really cool. If you guys could tell me a little more about it, that would be great. Are there other types of synesthesia, like hearing music when you eat or something like that?

  90. Brooke
    Posted November 3, 2009

    Just out of curiosity, what color is my name? Btw, I think my mom has synesthesia. Numbers have a gender and a personality to her. Is that synesthesia?

  91. kayla
    Posted November 21, 2009

    hey Guys, unfortantly i dont have synesthesia! im 12 and i was reading a book and 3 of the may characters had synesthesia. i htought the author was makin it up so i googled it i really think it’s amazing. you guys are really cool! now i wish i had it and i wonder if any of my friends have it! so the book was talkin about a kid named benjamin blake and a girl named cassandra who has really pointy ears . ben said every time has saw cass that he tasted mint-chip ice cream, at the end of the book cass told ben mint-chip was her favorite ice cream! do any of u taste stuff when u see people? im really interested in this so any other books i can read? thanks and what do u see for KAYLA (my name)?

  92. Alison
    Posted November 26, 2009

    Hey guys-
    I noticed you all arguing over what colors the letters and numbers are. The true answer:
    It varys from person to person. The color one person sees “A” as might not be what color you see it as. It has to do with the wiring of the brain, and it normally is different for every person.
    (:

  93. Tom Miller
    Posted December 19, 2009

    Hi there, I’m researching Synesthesia as part of an MA Graphic Design at LCC in London, UK. I’m looking into how similar and/or different Synesthetes’ alphabets and numeration are. If any Synesthetes out there are able to provide upper and lower case alphabets and 0-10 numbers, it would help me generate the information design I’m hoping to produce.

    Thanks,

    Tom

  94. Brooke
    Posted December 21, 2009

    English please Tom. I’m only 12.

  95. Web Nightingale
    Posted December 22, 2009

    Allison: That’s true.
    We just do it for fun, but actually, every synaesthete is totally different, which is cool, because synaesthetes have diversity,
    diver-syn-ty
    And Brooke: Hey, that really sounds like synaesthesia :D Yay!
    And yes, there’s taste -to-sound synaesthesia, hearing food :)
    And a lot more… syn combinations are almost endless.
    And what your mom has is called Ordinal-Linguistic Personification, OLP, that’s why she perceives numbers and letters that way. :)
    Ask her which is her prefered one :) about personality.
    KAYLA: You have a yellow name! I think is due to the Y. What do you think, guys?

  96. Lawrence
    Posted January 5, 2010

    Brooke, I get a light brown for your name – maybe because I get brown for the letter B.

    Kayla, I get tastes for people but not very often. I don’t know why I associate my manager with Liquorice Allsorts! I get light green for Kayla and I get a fizzy lime juice taste.

    Has anyone heard of lexical-gustatory synaesthesia? It’s when you perceive tastes when you hear words. I’ve had that from as far back as I can remember.

    Yes, Web Nightingale, Y is yellow! So are S and W, aren’t they?

    Tom, do you still need the alphabet and numbers 0-10? I can give you my results!

  97. Lejend
    Posted January 10, 2010

    i want this condition and at the same time i dont
    because i dont want to be teased like that girl named “Mia”

  98. El
    Posted February 1, 2010

    I have synesthesia!
    Iv had it for as long as I can remember but I didn’t realise I had it until I was about 13 when I was talking about it with my mum and she told me what it was because she has it too. I remember talking about it with other people before I knew what it was and they thought I was mad, this made me embarrased. Now I know what it is some of my friends still think Im mad or making it up. This upsets me but some of my other friends think its cool, one even calls it my ‘gift’.

    Every word, letter, number, name has a colour and most have personalities. Some have sounds, tastes and smells as well. Some words are unbearable to hear or read because I get a bad taste or smell. But Im getting used to it and see it as a really cool thing which Im incredibly lucky to have.

  99. Posted February 2, 2010

    Glad you found this site and got to share your story.

  100. Sara
    Posted February 2, 2010

    I have synsethia too. I see sounds with colours. My favourite sound is gentle music because for me its multi-coloured waves.

  101. mar
    Posted February 9, 2010

    I dont know if I have synsethesia or not…Actually I didnt even know anything about it until one of my classmates gave a presentation about it…and now im really curious… but I dont do it much with colors.. its just that sometimes i see an A as 4 a 9 as Q, 7 as a Z, a 5 as an S, 1 as a T,6 as a G..etc.. however its not that it confuses me or anything its more of like an urge i feel when i see either the letter or the number…its weird, and hard to explain…

  102. thenat
    Posted February 13, 2010

    Synesthesia sounds really cool. I also read AMSS and got interested. When I am reading your decpriptios of colors of numbers and letters i find myself disagreeing with you but not because I’ve ever seen the before… they just seem that way lol. Mar- I have something similar to you. When i write letters or numbers I often write them wrong especially when doing math with both equations and variables like 8 and x.

  103. Leigh
    Posted February 19, 2010

    What does the name Christy look like? =D

  104. Lawrence
    Posted February 19, 2010

    I get white and pale yellow for Christy, radiant and shining. I get the same for Christian, probably because both sound like ‘crisps’, which are pale yellow. But there’s definitely pure white there, shiny white with a pink centre.

  105. KrazyKK
    Posted February 20, 2010

    Hey guys I didnt know about synesthesia until I got the book THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET by PSEUDONYMOUS BOSCH. oh and Kayla- only Benjamin Blake has it (oh, and the bergamo bros)! i think i might have it though. When i hear, for example, Turandot: “Nessun Dorma” by Puccini, I feel like i am in the scene, taste faint things, etc. sometimes its faint, but sometimes my senses get all jumbled. AMSS is a great starter book, and after i read that i thought about my “symptoms.” Do you think I have it? Oh, and I dont have trouble with left and right, nor do I have many problems with math (though i dont always get the concepts). when i read something, sometimes it looks like the words are in the backround too. They are faint and colored, and when I read the actual thing they seem to jump out at me. oh, and whenever i’m listening to music (or something like that), where i get subconsious pictures, and i wake up to that, they dissapear. its like watching the birds. if you start moving anywhere, even shifting around, you have to start over, because the birds fly away. do i have synesthesia?

  106. Leigh
    Posted February 20, 2010

    Lord, this is all pretty amazing =) thanks lawrence

  107. Posted February 26, 2010

    Woah… man, this sounds just like me. Confusing left and right, creativity, easier to remember numbers and letters… I never really thought much of it until my math teacher mentioned it in class one day. It’s nice to realize that there are more people like me than I thought! ^w^ I have the Letter/Number->Color type, but I know one of my friends has the Sound->Color type. She says it can be blinding in large crowds.

  108. Silvina
    Posted March 10, 2010

    hola queria pedirles si alguien me puede escribir el alfabeto con colores, ya q creo q el de la imagen de arriba no coincide, mucha sgracias

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