Colors in Spanish: All the Colours, Pronunciation and Agreement

The basic colors in Spanish

The word for colour itself is el color (masculine). "What colour is it?" is ¿De qué color es? and the answer is Es rojo, Es azul, and so on.

How to pronounce the colors in Spanish

rojo (ROH-ho). Two throaty Spanish J sounds are hiding in here: the letter J is a rough H from the back of the throat, so it is "ROH-ho", not "roe-joe". The R at the start is rolled. If you cannot roll it yet, a tap will do.

azul (ah-SOOL). In Latin America the Z is an S; in Spain it is a "th" as in "think": "ah-THOOL". Stress on the second syllable. Do not say "AH-zool".

verde (BER-deh). The V is a soft B. The final E is pronounced "eh", never silent.

amarillo (ah-mah-REE-yo). The LL is a "y" sound in most of the Spanish-speaking world, and a "sh" or "zh" in Argentina and Uruguay: "ah-mah-REE-sho". Four syllables, stress on the third.

naranja (nah-RAHN-ha). Another throaty J at the end: "-ha". The word is also the fruit, la naranja (orange).

morado (moh-RAH-doh). The D between vowels is soft, like the "th" in "this". "moh-RAH-tho" is closer to native.

negro (NEH-groh). Hard G. It is simply the Spanish word for black, used for objects, animals and colours without any of the charge it carries in English; but it is also used for people, and in that use it varies from neutral to offensive depending on country and tone, so as a learner, use it for objects and colours only.

blanco (BLAHN-koh). Nasal N before the C; sounds like "blang-ko" to an English ear.

gris (GREES). One syllable. The S is pronounced.

marrón (mah-RROHN). Double R, rolled hard, and the accent puts the stress on the last syllable.

The agreement rules: rojo, roja, rojos, rojas

Spanish colours are adjectives, and most adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This is the part English speakers get wrong for years, so here it is slowly.

Colours ending in -o change four ways.

This applies to rojo, amarillo, morado, negro, blanco, anaranjado, rosado, dorado, plateado.

Colours ending in -e or a consonant change only for number, not gender.

Same for azul (azules), gris (grises), marrón (marrones), celeste (celestes).

Colours that were originally nouns do not change at all.

Naranja (the fruit), rosa (the flower), violeta (the flower), café (coffee), beige, turquesa, lila, crema, mostaza, granate: these are technically nouns being used as colours, so strictly they stay the same for everything: los coches naranja, las flores rosa. In everyday speech many people do pluralise them anyway (naranjas, rosas), and both are heard; the invariable form is the one grammar books prefer.

Two-word colours never change.

Azul marino, verde oscuro, azul claro, rojo intenso, verde botella: when a colour is modified by another word, the whole phrase is frozen. Los ojos azul claro (light blue eyes), las paredes verde oscuro (dark green walls). No agreement on either word.

The colour goes after the noun.

English says "the red car"; Spanish says "the car red": el coche rojo. Putting the colour before the noun is possible in poetry and a few fixed phrases, but in speech it sounds wrong.

Light, dark and shades

• claro = light: azul claro (light blue), verde claro (light green)
• oscuro = dark: azul oscuro (dark blue), gris oscuro (dark grey)
• intenso / vivo = bright, vivid: rojo intenso, verde vivo
• pálido = pale: rosa pálido, amarillo pálido
• fuerte = strong, bold: un color fuerte
• suave = soft: tonos suaves (soft tones)
• chillón = garish, loud: un amarillo chillón (a loud yellow)
• apagado = dull, muted: un verde apagado
• brillante = bright, shiny
• mate = matte
• el tono / el matiz = the shade / the hue

"A shade of blue" is un tono de azul. "Blueish" is azulado; "reddish" is rojizo; "greenish" is verdoso; "yellowish" is amarillento; "whitish" is blanquecino; "greyish" is grisáceo; "blackish" is negruzco.

Marrón or café: the brown question

Brown is the one colour where Spanish speakers genuinely disagree, and where you should learn the version for your target country.

• Marrón is standard in Spain and widely understood everywhere.
• Café (literally "coffee") is the everyday word for brown in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Chile and much of South America. "Ojos café" = brown eyes.
• Castaño is used specifically for hair and eyes across the whole Spanish-speaking world: pelo castaño (brown hair), ojos castaños (brown eyes). Saying "pelo marrón" is understood but sounds like you are describing furniture.
• Pardo is an older, slightly literary word for brownish-grey, used for animals and in the proverb "de noche todos los gatos son pardos" (at night all cats are grey).

For hair, then: rubio (blond), castaño (brown), moreno (dark brown or black, also used for skin), pelirrojo (red-haired), canoso (grey-haired), negro (black). For eyes: azules, verdes, castaños or marrones, negros, grises, and the poetic color miel (honey-coloured).

Asking and describing colors in Spanish

¿De qué color es...? What colour is...? - ¿De qué color es tu coche? (What colour is your car?) - Es azul oscuro. (It's dark blue.)

¿De qué color son...? What colour are...? - ¿De qué color son sus ojos? (What colour are her eyes?) - Son verdes. (They're green.)

¿Lo tiene en otro color? Do you have it in another colour? (In a shop.) ¿Lo tiene en rojo? Do you have it in red? Prefiero el negro. I prefer the black one. Mi color favorito es el morado. My favourite colour is purple. (Note: with "favourite colour", the colour takes the article el.) Me gusta el verde. I like green. No me queda bien el amarillo. Yellow doesn't suit me. Está de moda el rosa. Pink is in fashion. Un vestido rojo, unos zapatos negros y un bolso beige. A red dress, black shoes and a beige bag. El semáforo está en rojo / en verde. The traffic light is red / green. Se puso rojo. He went red (blushed). Pintamos la habitación de azul. We painted the room blue. (Note "de" + colour with pintar.)

Colour idioms Spanish speakers actually use

Spanish attaches feelings and meanings to colours differently from English. These come up constantly.

Two of these deserve a warning. Un marrón in Spain has nothing to do with colour in speech; "¡Qué marrón!" means "what a nightmare". And ponerse verde in Spain often means to be insulted or to insult ("me pusieron verde" = they tore into me), while in Latin America it usually just means envy.

Colors in Spanish for kids and beginners

If you are teaching children, or are a complete beginner yourself, start with ten and stop:

rojo, azul, verde, amarillo, naranja, morado, rosa, negro, blanco, marrón (or café)

Say them with the pronunciation from the table, point at objects, and use the question ¿De qué color es? with a one-word answer. Two children's tricks that also work for adults: the arcoíris (rainbow) order gives you seven colours with a built-in sequence (rojo, naranja, amarillo, verde, azul, añil, violeta; añil is indigo), and the Spanish flag (rojo y amarillo), the Mexican flag (verde, blanco y rojo) and the Argentine flag (celeste y blanco) give you a memorable image for six of them.

Vocabulary that goes with colours:

• el arcoíris rainbow
• la bandera flag
• claro / oscuro light / dark
• el color favorito favourite colour
• colorear to colour in
• pintar to paint
• el lápiz de color coloured pencil
• el rotulador felt-tip marker (Spain); el plumón or el marcador in Latin America
• la pintura paint
• multicolor / de colores multicoloured
• incoloro colourless
• daltónico colour-blind

Common mistakes with colors in Spanish

• Putting the colour before the noun. It is el coche rojo, not el rojo coche.
• Forgetting agreement. La casa rojo is wrong; it is la casa roja. Los coches rojo is wrong; it is los coches rojos.
• Over-agreeing the invariable colours. Azul does not become azula; verde does not become verda. Only the -o colours change for gender.
• Changing two-word colours. Las paredes verdes oscuras is wrong; it is las paredes verde oscuro.
• Saying pelo marrón. For hair and eyes, castaño.
• Pronouncing rojo with an English J. It is a throaty H: ROH-ho.
• Saying "azul" with a Z buzz. Spanish has no English Z sound. It is an S (Latin America) or a "th" (Spain).
• Using naranjado. The adjective form is anaranjado, or just naranja.
• Translating "I'm blue" (sad) or "green with envy" literally. Estoy azul means nothing; estoy triste. And envy is "ponerse verde de envidia", which does exist, but "estoy verde" on its own means "I'm inexperienced" or "not ready" ("estoy muy verde para el examen").

Say them, then use them on real things

You now have every colour, every agreement rule and thirty idioms. The gap between that and being able to say "unos zapatos negros y una camisa azul claro" to a shop assistant without pausing is entirely a speaking gap.

1. Say the table out loud three times, checking the J in rojo and naranja and the soft D in morado.
2. Look around the room and describe ten objects out loud with the colour after the noun and the right agreement: la mesa marrón, las sillas negras, el libro azul.
3. Ask yourself "¿De qué color es?" about everything you pick up today and answer in a full sentence.
4. Then practise with something that talks back. SPAIKING's AI speaking partner will ask you what colour things are, play the shop assistant asking if you want it in another colour, and correct "la casa rojo" and "el coche verdo" the moment you say them. That is the step between knowing the colours and being able to use them in a real conversation.