A pale greenish wrasse becoming whitish below with interconnected reddish-brown bars along the sides, pinkish to lavender bands on the head, and an indistinct spot on the spinous dorsal fin. Females are greenish-brown above with a broad mid-lateral stripe from the snout to the tail base, a series of small pale spots along the midside, and an ocellus on the spinous dorsal fin. Both sexes have a small black spot on the upper part of the pectoral-fin base.