Here's one mnemonic "Bright Boys Rave Over Young Girls But Veto Getting Wed. Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Grey, White <=> 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Conductors of a three phase system are usually identified by a color code, to allow for balanced loading and to assure the correct phase rotation for induction motors. Colors used may adhere to International Standard IEC 60446, older standards, or to no standard at all, and may vary even within a single installation. For example, in the U.S. and Canada, different color codes are used for grounded (earthed) and ungrounded systems.
Country
L1
L2
L3
Neutral
Ground
US - common
Black
Red
Blue
White or Grey
Green
US - alternate
Brown
Orange or Violet
Yellow
Grey or White
Green
Canada - mandatory
Red
Black
Blue
White
Green
Canada - isolated 3 phase installations
Orange
Brown
Yellow
White
Green
The EU and all countries who use European CENELEC standards April 2004 (IEC 60446), Hong Kong from July 2007
Brown
Black
Grey
Blue
Green
Older European - varies by country
Black or Brown
Black or Brown
Black or Brown
Blue
Green
UK until April 2006, Hong Kong until April 2009, South Africa, Malaysia
Red
Yellow
Blue
Black
Green
India, Pakistan
Red
Yellow
Blue
Black
Green
Australia and New Zealand (per AS/NZS 3000:2007 Figure 3.2)
Red
White (prev Yellow)
Dark Blue
Black
Green
People's Republic of China (per GB 50303-2002 Section 15.2.2)
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