Most harness lists use the IEC 60757 two-letter codes: BK black, BN brown, RD red, OG orange, YE yellow, GN green, BU blue, VT violet, GY grey, WH white, PK pink, TQ turquoise, GNYE green-yellow. A wire with a stripe is written base colour first, then stripe: BKWH or BK/WH is black with a white stripe.
IEC 60757 codes
| Code | Colour | German | Old German short code |
|---|---|---|---|
| BK | black | schwarz | sw |
| BN | brown | braun | br |
| RD | red | rot | rt |
| OG | orange | orange | or |
| YE | yellow | gelb | ge |
| GN | green | grün | gn |
| BU | blue | blau | bl |
| VT | violet | violett | vi |
| GY | grey | grau | gr |
| WH | white | weiß | ws |
| PK | pink | rosa | rs |
| TQ | turquoise | türkis | tk |
| GNYE | green-yellow | grün-gelb | gnge |
DIN 47100: the core sequence in multi-core cable
DIN 47100 numbers the cores of data and control cables by colour. It was withdrawn in 1998 without replacement but is still widely used. Cores 1 to 12 are white, brown, green, yellow, grey, pink, blue, red, black, violet, grey-pink and red-blue; from core 13 the colours repeat with a second colour, starting with white-green.
How connection lists write a stripe
| Written as | Means |
|---|---|
| BKWH, BK/WH, BK-WH | black base, white stripe (IEC codes, base first) |
| sw/ws, SWWS | the same in German short codes |
| BLACK/WHITE, Black w/ White stripe | full names, base first |
| YR | yellow with a red stripe: one letter each (a convention in some marine lists) |
| GNYE | green-yellow — one IEC code of its own, not green with a yellow stripe in every context |
In Zorowire
The importer recognises IEC codes, German short codes (sw, rt, ws…), English and German colour names and the separators / - + _, and stores everything as IEC codes, base first. A code it does not know is kept as written and reported as a finding instead of guessed. The cut list has a colour and a stripe column.
Questions
What does GNYE mean?
Green-yellow, the IEC 60757 code used for protective earth conductors in many installations.
Is BK/WH black with a white stripe or white with a black stripe?
By the usual convention the base colour comes first, so BK/WH is black with a white stripe. Confirm with the customer if their list uses another rule.
Is DIN 47100 still valid?
It was withdrawn in 1998 without replacement, but cable makers still use its sequence.
Sources
- Wikipedia (de), Farb-Kurzzeichen / IEC 60757 letter codes · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Eland Cables, DIN 47100 colour chart (withdrawn 1998, still used) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Wikipedia, DIN 47100 · retrieved 2026-10-30
- NOAA, Wiring Color Code (base colour first, e.g. YR) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Alpha Wire, hook-up wire colour charts (slash notation) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Prysmian FLRY-B datasheet DF 049-2000 index V (2020-10-06) · retrieved 2026-10-30
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