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.
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.
139 Comments
I have synesthesia too. It is a really cool condition.
GO SYNESTHESIA PEOPLES!!!!!!
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.
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?
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.
Oh my Goodness!! I want to have this condition sooooo bad. I wish i could memorize all of the colors & numbers!
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?
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.
I agree with Tess (1/9/08): C=yellow, D=orange. A is definitely red and B brown.
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.
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
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..
Via, your colors are all wrong! a is definitely red, b is dark yellowish, c is white, d is brown, and e is blue!
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
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!!!!!!!!
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
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
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!
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.
Cool!
- 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
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!
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!!!
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!
That’s amazing! I should try acupuncture, see what happens.
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
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.
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!!!
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
I and R are authoritative, commanding letters; E is expansive and free, H is self-protective, tough and distant and V protects others!
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.
I wish I had Synaesthesia. It’s so cool!
Another good book: Mondays are Red.
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?
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?
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
A is definitely red. I get yellow for S. The letter I get green for is T.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
what does the name carrie look like to you synesthetes?
I get a pinkish guava colour for Carrie. I get the same colours for January, April, June, July and October that Brendan does.
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?
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?
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
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…
Are those colors always the same for you? And is that an involunctary response to letters, sound and months?
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!!
i agree with lawrence. the S is yellow
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. …
WOW! That is great, éšå¤´ !
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
one is called ã€simplified character】 like é±¼ã€å‘
another is ã€traditional form】 like éšã€ï¼ˆç™¼ã€é«®)————these wrew used in old books.
the first characteréš/é±¼ in Chinese means [fish]，which I think is cyan.He is a boy.
although 發/é«®=å‘
in simplified character å‘means [send out][hair][discover][make a fortune]…so I think å‘ 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 ã€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.
do english letters have color for you or just chineese characters?
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
Yes!!!
Elisa is yellow, and the number 5 is blue!!!
i agree that 5 is blue. 3 is also green for me
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.
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!
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.
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.
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..
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??
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?
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?
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…
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!
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!
Oh and does any body kniow how to make a alphabet like the one on this page?
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.
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!!!
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.
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?
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.
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???
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
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 : 
Ah, and Lawrence!
lol
Thanks for your answer! That’s pretty much possible…
but isn’t yellow a cold colour?
*synaesthete joke*
But seriously, yellow feels cold to me
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?!
*lol*
hehehe
Don’t think so! 6 is green and 9 is blue! Aqua blue
Well, actually, 9 IS a cold number…
Synaesthesia rocks!
The life wouldn’t be the same without the synaesthesia and the payment days
hmm numbers don’t have temps, more like personalities. and six is definitely not green!!!
its obviously brown and kinda mean haha…and nine is crimson!! and thanks for the advice webnightngale 
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?
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Yeah, I would love to know more about acupunture. I couldn’t find almost anything when I looked online.
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
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?
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?
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)?
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.
(:
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
English please Tom. I’m only 12.
Allison: That’s true.
Yay!
about personality.
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
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
KAYLA: You have a yellow name! I think is due to the Y. What do you think, guys?
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!
i want this condition and at the same time i dont
because i dont want to be teased like that girl named “Mia”
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.
Glad you found this site and got to share your story.
I have synsethia too. I see sounds with colours. My favourite sound is gentle music because for me its multi-coloured waves.
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…
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.
What does the name Christy look like? =D
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.
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?
Lord, this is all pretty amazing =) thanks lawrence
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.
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
Hola, mucho gusto Silvina!
por eso no coincide…
Te refieres a que no ves la imagen, o son los colores que están mal? Si es lo segundo, que maravilla! Quiere decir que en efecto, tienes sinestesia.
Por lo pronto puedo decir que cada sinestesico ve las letras de manera única y diferente, así que no hay dos alfabetos iguales (de los colores, claro)
¿De que color ves las letras del alfabeto, o qué letra es tu favorita?
i just found out one of my friends has synesthesia! we had a really long argument about what color certain letters and numbers are
I have been doing this as long as I can remember, but never gave it much thought until now, I guess. I was just reading about it, and found the actual name for it. Since I never thought about it, it now seems very weird to me that most people DON’T apply additional *value* or characteristics to their letters and numbers. I was just wondering if anyone else applies mass and texture to numbers and letters? My numbers and letters are more-so light versus dark values. They aren’t white/black/grey…but…for instance, my a, e and r are the darkest in the alphabet. Very heavy and fuzzy, and almost soggy, like you would be swallowed by them if you were to approach it. Kind of farther away than other letters, but not smaller. If I assigned colors my ‘a’ would be a very dark, kind of blood red, r dark brown, but that’s not necessarily how I *view* it. C is the brightest letter in the alphabet, very crisp and hard. Like sheet metal or something, and you’d bounce off it if you tried to touch it. Whole words also have light/dark values. My name, for instance, is very dark, mainly because of that a in the front. And I have nothing lighter than a medium shade letter in my name. I tried to find if other people feel mass and texture with letters and numbers, but no dice, so I thought I’d ask here.
When I think of a specific letter or number, it gives me a feeling kind of in my gut, corresponding to how I view the letter, number, word, etc. Anyone?
I also wanted to add that I don’t see colors when I listen to music, but I feel it in the room. It’s the mass thing again. I guess mine is a sense of weight or something?? Like if I listen to Led Zeppelin, it’s very heavy, kind of weighs/sits on me, but if I listen to Pink Floyd it floats around me, and comes as close to touching me as possible, but doesn’t. The only music that has that effect on me (and not every song of theirs does). I don’t see the music at all or see shapes, I just feel it’s *mass* in the air. Or maybe this is how everyone experiences music?
That’s so cool! I told my mom that what she does is a a type of synesthesia. She thought that was pretty cool. Does it get frustrating sometimes? Like when you’re in a loud room or something?
My sisters want to know what colors their names are. They refused to quit bugging me until I asked! Their names are Chaia and Rachel.
I was just wondering if anyone knew if only have OLP counts as actual synesthesia. I mean, I know that I have that for sure but I never see any colors or have any of the other sensory reactions. It just seems like it shouldn’t really be counted.
I see music very subtly, but if im alone, i can fall into a full-on trip. Certain instruments have colors for me, too. My number 1-9 have distinct colors and personalities, and names and sounds also have colors for me, but i see sounds better after a music-trip. Sometimes i can taste sound or music
1- White, lonesome, sad, distant
2- Pink, smart, intelligent, female, condescending, self-centered
3- Dark green, young, male, immature, funny, inconsiderate, sweet
4- Deep Purple, sweet, nice, docile, easily controlled
5- Candy-Apple red, popular, athletic, funny, sort of mean tastes like strawberry s, female
6- Beige, perfection, well rounded, female, nice, funny, good
7- Kelley Green, cynical, intelligent, sarcastic, realist
8- male, nice, sweet smart interesting, easily push around, 4′s big brother
9- Sickly Yellow, nasty, mean, jerk, ew, hate hate hate!!
Love my numbers! do any of you guys share these colors?
To me, numbers are people. Numbers have families, just like we do. Example, the 20′s, the 840′s. The 2′s are the moms. Every Mother’s Day, along with wishing the human moms happy Mom’s Day, I also (under my breath, wish the same to all the numbers ending in 2), the 3′s are the dads. the 1′s are the infants. I won’t mention all the family members, but each number is a sister or brother, odd numbers are male, evens are girls. Also, certain decades have their colors. The 1970′s were yellow-orange and tasted like the ice cream pop that’s orange on the outside with vanilla ice cream filling. The 1980′s were a grey cloudy day, the 1990′s were bright sunny noondays.
Hey fellow synesthetes! I am wondering if this is another effect to my synesthesia (though I know I already have it). Does synesthesia include experiencing books- feeling certain that you are in the setting along with the other characters all along? I read a book about a forest, and I can see it happening all around me. I feel like I’m in the character, and see myself doing everything there. Unlike all who read and say “I can see his feelings so clearly” (stuff like that) I can actually BE there. Is that synesthesia?
Hm. on the book thing, i do not think its a form of aynesthesia. But i do think that synesthetes experience things like books most intensely than people without synesthesia. Thats probably it
I want Synesthesia so bad! i have something kind of like mar but i don’t think it is really Synesthesia. I wish wish wish i had it! !’m only 11 is it possible to grow into it? what do you see 4 LILA my name!
Im only in junior high myself. I believe that its usually something you are born with, and Ive had my synesthesia ever since i can remember. Lilia to me is lilac and pink
Too bad. But it makes sense that you are born with it. What type do you have? my favorite is when you see shapes and colors in sound.
Ha well if you scroll up you can see information about my colors.. but i recently (after testing a tweaking and researching)found out that i also have projected music. I thought my eyes were just bad haha!
What is projected music?
Associative numbers are when instead of seeing a color when you look at a number, you associate it automatically in you head. (e.g., when you see water you think -> blue, if its blue, that is) The same with music. Sounds for instruments i associate in my head, but music (when im concentrating) i can see projected out in front of me, It is a sort of blurry shapes and things. Sounds have that for me to, but very faintly. Unless i’m really emotionally charged, then so is my synesthesia.
Oh wow- your lucky. Does anyone else in your family have Synesthesia?
My father has number form and number-color synesthesia. The difference is his actually helps him with math.
But how does his help Him? I would think it would make it harder.
He just has the colors, not the personalities. He can look at an algebra problem and come up with the color before the number just by doing so wacky thing with his head XD i don’t understand it, since i have the “These numbers DO NOT like each other” thing.
(^^^)
Lila is kind of yellow to me, a beautiful color btw!
And Chaia is yellow-gray. Rachel is kinda Red.
Hey welcome everybody!
Avery, YES, having OLP fully counts as synaesthesia. Cool, isn’t it?
Krazykk, actually, that is the way many people describe the reading experience, so it’s not considered as synesthesia. Anyway, keep looking for it! Maybe you have another sort of syn without realizing it XD
Web Nightingale- I have been doing research on this certain feeling, and, so far, it is. Sorry for my meek description (I am terrible at describing things)- after reading my own comment above, I know it sounds like people say when they read a good book. But mine is really different. Thanks though XD!!! Do numbers really have personalities to everyone? I think 8 is nice, while 11 is stubborn. I can’t see how anyone could go through life without seeing these things.
In know how you feel.. i thought it was some sort of thing everyone did subconsciously, so i didn’t bring it up because i felt childish… But apparently its another abnormal synesthesia quirk XD
I’m 25 and I just found out this is considered a condition! My boyfriend had read about it in an interview with the singer Marina and the Diamonds and sent me on a wikipedia link saying what a cool condition it was. I had to read it over and over because I was thinking ‘that’s not a condition at all, that’s how everyone thinks’!…until he told me it isn’t! I seem to have the most common one, associating letters, days of the week and months with colours. I did the online text on http://www.synesthete.org – the battery test. Does anyone know if this is the most conclusive way of testing? I’ve found it pretty funny over the past few days to see other people’s synesthetic alphabets! I definitely agree that A is very much a red colour. I’ve seen other people who perceive it as yellow and I’m thinking ‘that’s all wrong’!
Hi!!!
Well, actually the sinaesthesia battery is just a help, is not conclusive, and even some of our colours can’t find equivalents on that test’s tools.
So you have it, isn’t that cool???
And does your letters also have personality?
Check it up, you may have a surprise
BTW i strongly reccomend you to visit the nexus, is the better synaesthete’s community i’ve found around the world.
www. mixsig.net/nexus/
Okay great, thanks so much for the advice! I know, I have to say I’m humbled by the revelation, it’s so inconceivable to me not to be able to think in this way, but now that I’m aware of it, it seems like such a nice way to be able to think!
Hi again Brooke, I completely agree with Web Nightingale: Chaia is yellow-grey and Rachel is a kind of red!
A is definitely red, Aisling.
I read a book called : A mango shaped Space and that helped me realize what I had love that book. It is cool
I wish I had it it sounds so cool