Colors in Spanish: List, Pronunciation, Grammar & Examples

Colors in Spanish are used to express the color of people, animals and objects, for example, “The tree is green”, “James is white”. And also, by themselves, they are nouns, for example, “The color pink”, “I like red”. Colors also have rules for their use, such as the word order, this is explained here.

List of colors in Spanish

Spanish	English
Blanco	White
Negro	Black
Rojo	Red
Amarillo	Yellow
Azul	Blue
Verde	Green
Naranja	Orange
Marrón	Brown
Morado	Purple
Lila	Lilac
Rosa/ Rosado-Rosada	Pink
Fucsia	Fuchsia
Gris	Gray
Mostaza	Mustard
Terracota	Terracotta
Turquesa	Turquoise
Dorado	Golden
Plateado	Silver
Color carne /Salmón	Skin color / Salmon color (Normally referring to a light tone)
Beige	Beige
Ambar	Amber
Lima	Lime
Verde menta	Mint green
Verde manzana	Apple green

Other related terms

Claro	Light
Oscuro	Dark
Pintar	Paint
Lápices de colores	Colored pencils
Combinación	Combination
Pintura	Painting
Primary Colors	Primary Colors
Secondary Colors	Secondary Colors
Tertiary Colors	Tertiary Colors
Azulado/a	Bluish
Grisaseo/a	Grayish

Grammar rules

The word “color” is a masculine word

When you talk about colors themselves, they are accompanied by the masculine articles El, los (The) and Un, unos (A, some)

El color verde.- The green color.
Los colores purpura. – The purple colors.
Un color azu.l – A blue color.
Unos colores amarillos. – Some yellow colors.

Colors agree with gender and number with the noun they describe

Agreement in gender

Colors are already masculine nouns, but they need to adapt to the noun they accompany in gender and number.

a. Colors that end with an – O replace the -O for -A at the end, to agree with feminine nouns.

Un camión rojo. – A red truck. Camión is a masculine noun.
Una flor roja. – A red flower. Flor is a feminine noun.
Un hombre blanco. – A white man.
Una mujer blanca. – A white woman.

b. Colors that don’t end in -O such as verde, azul, gris, beige stay the same, they don’t change with genders.

La camisa beige. -The beige shirt.
El pantalón beige. – The beige pant.
El árbol verde.- The green tree.
La casa verde. – The green house.

Agreement in number

The general rule is to add an -s to the color, however, there are exceptions to this rule, to learn more about this, read the lesson on the Spanish plural.

Un camión rojo. – A red truck.
Unos camiones rojos. – Some red trucks.
Unas flores blancas. – Some red flowers.
Un libro dorado. – A golden book.
Los libros dorados. – The Golden books.
Unos gatos amarillos. – Some yellow cats. (male cats)
Unas gatas amarillas – Some yellow cats. (female cats)

Word order

Colors tend to go after the verb ser/estar (to be) and after nouns.

Ser/Estar + colors

Mi ropa es amarilla. – My clothes are yellow.
Su cuarto es gris. – Her bedroom is gray.
Tus cachetes están rojos. – Your cheeks are red.
Las nubes están negras. – Clouds are black.
Tus ojos son azul grisáceo. – Your eyes are grayish blue.
Las pinturas roja, azul y gris son una buena combinación. – Red, blue and gray paints are a good combination.

Nouns + colors

La pared lila. – The lilac wall.
La mesa marrón. – The brown table.
Los zapatos dorados. – The Golden shoes.
Esta es una cartera verde azulada. -This is a bluish green purse.

Examples or sentences

Los gatos blancos. – The white cats.
Una pintura clara. – A light paint.
Mi vestido gris. –My gray dress.
La mesa es purpura. – The table is purple.
Su cocina es azul grisáceo. – His kitchen is grayish blue.
¿Tu prefieres en azul claro u ocuro? – Do you prefer light or dark blue?
El azul, el rojo y el blanco son una buena combinación. – Blue, red and white are a good combination.