electrical wire is wire used to carry electricity. when people touch wire that is carrying electricity, they get shocked, which is bad, so the outside coating of electrical wires is colored. most electric wires are black, but some wires have a differently colored coating. different colors indicate different purposes, for example, in the united states, green or bare is a ground (earth) wire, white is a neutral wire, and black, blue, red, brown, yellow, and orange are hot (live) wires.