Colours in Spanish: the list, agreement, shades and colour idioms
Some Spanish colour words change for gender and number, some only for number, and a few never change at all. Brown, pink and light blue also have different names depending on the country.
The colours
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| red | rojo, roja | Also colorado in parts of Latin America |
| blue | azul | Plural azules |
| green | verde | Plural verdes |
| yellow | amarillo, amarilla | ah-mah-REE-yoh, or ah-mah-REE-zhoh in Argentina |
| orange | naranja or anaranjado | Naranja is also the fruit |
| purple | morado, morada | |
| violet | violeta | Also used for purple in Argentina |
| lilac | lila | |
| pink | rosa or rosado | See the regional table |
| brown | marrón or café | See the regional table |
| black | negro, negra | |
| white | blanco, blanca | |
| grey | gris | Plural grises |
| beige | beige or beis | Said BAYSS. Beis is the Spanish spelling |
| cream | crema | |
| gold | dorado, dorada | |
| silver | plateado, plateada | |
| light blue | celeste or azul claro | |
| navy blue | azul marino | |
| turquoise | turquesa | |
| burgundy | granate, bordó, vinotinto, color vino | See the regional table |
| khaki | caqui | |
| mustard | mostaza |
To ask about a colour: ¿De qué color es?, what colour is it? ¿Lo tiene en otro color?, do you have it in another colour?
What trips learners up
Colours ending in -o change for gender and number. Un coche rojo, una casa roja, unos zapatos rojos, unas flores rojas. The same goes for amarillo, morado, negro, blanco, dorado and plateado.
Colours ending in -e or a consonant only change for number. Un bolso verde, una falda verde, ojos verdes. Un cielo azul, camisas azules. Gris becomes grises. Marrón becomes marrones, and the accent goes.
Colours named after things often stay the same. Rosa, naranja, violeta, lila, turquesa, crema, mostaza and café started as nouns: the rose, the orange, the violet. In grammar books they do not change, as in unas camisetas naranja. In everyday speech you will also hear camisetas naranjas and zapatos rosas, and the RAE accepts both. They never change for gender.
With a shade, the colour stops changing. When you add claro, oscuro or another colour, the whole phrase stays the same: una camisa azul claro, unos pantalones verde oscuro, ojos azul cielo. It means “a shirt of light blue”.
Color de, or just color. Zapatos de color café and zapatos color café are both normal. The de is optional in speech.
The colour comes after the noun. Un coche rojo, never un rojo coche, except in poetry.
For hair and eyes you use tener. Tiene los ojos verdes, she has green eyes. Tengo el pelo castaño, I have brown hair. The article goes with the body part, and you do not use mi or su.
Light and dark. Claro is light and oscuro is dark: verde claro, gris oscuro. Fuerte is a bright, strong colour and chillón a loud, garish one. Pastel does not change: colores pastel.
Regional differences
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| brown | café | marrón | café | marrón |
| brown eyes | ojos cafés | ojos marrones | ojos cafés | ojos marrones |
| pink | rosa or rosado | rosa | rosado | rosa or rosado |
| light blue | azul claro or celeste | azul claro or celeste | azul claro or celeste | celeste |
| burgundy | color vino or guinda | granate | vinotinto | bordó |
| red (colloquial) | colorado | colorado | ||
| blonde | güero, güera (fair-haired or fair-skinned) | rubio, rubia | mono, mona | rubio, rubia |
| dark-haired | de pelo oscuro | moreno | de pelo oscuro | morocho |
Café as a colour does not change for gender. Una chaqueta café, ojos cafés.
Celeste is the colour of the Argentine flag, and the national football team is la albiceleste, the white and sky blue. In Argentina celeste is the ordinary word for light blue.
Moreno in Spain means dark-haired or tanned. In Mexico and Colombia it usually describes darker skin. Morocho in Argentina is dark-haired or dark-skinned.
Mono in Colombia means blonde or fair, and in Spain it means cute. Everywhere it is also a monkey.
Güero in Mexico is fair-haired or light-skinned. Street vendors may call a customer güero or güera to get their attention, and it is friendly.
Hair, eyes and skin
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| blonde | rubio | See the regional table |
| brown-haired | castaño | Everywhere. Also chestnut |
| dark-haired | moreno | Spain. See the regional table |
| red-haired | pelirrojo | |
| grey-haired | canoso | Tener canas, to have grey hairs |
| blue eyes | ojos azules | |
| hazel eyes | ojos color miel | Literally honey-coloured |
| pale | pálido | |
| tanned | moreno (Spain), bronceado (everywhere) | Ponerse moreno, to get a tan (Spain) |
Colour idioms
| Spanish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ponerse rojo or ponerse colorado | to go red | to blush |
| estar en números rojos | to be in red numbers | to be in debt, in the red |
| quedarse en blanco | to go blank | your mind goes blank |
| pasar la noche en blanco | to spend the night white | to not sleep at all |
| verlo todo de color de rosa | to see it all in pink | to see the world through rose-tinted glasses |
| un príncipe azul | a blue prince | Prince Charming |
| tener sangre azul | to have blue blood | to be an aristocrat |
| la oveja negra | the black sheep | the black sheep |
| un chiste verde | a green joke | a dirty joke |
| un viejo verde | a green old man | a dirty old man |
| estar verde | to be green | to be inexperienced, or unripe |
| la prensa amarilla | the yellow press | the tabloid press |
| poner verde a alguien | to make someone green | to criticise someone behind their back (Spain) |
| ponerse morado | to go purple | to stuff yourself with food (Spain) |
| estar negro | to be black | to be furious (Spain) |
| trabajar en negro | to work in black | to work off the books (Spain, Argentina) |
The words in real sentences
- ¿De qué color es tu coche? Es gris. What colour is your car? It’s grey.
- Busco una camisa blanca, talla M. I’m looking for a white shirt, size M.
- Tiene los ojos azules y el pelo castaño. She has blue eyes and brown hair.
- ¿Lo tiene en negro? Do you have it in black?
- Me compré unos zapatos café. I bought some brown shoes. (Mexico, Colombia)
- Prefiero el azul oscuro. I prefer the dark blue.
- Las paredes son verde claro. The walls are light green.
- Se puso colorado cuando la vio. He blushed when he saw her. (Mexico, Argentina)
- Me quedé en blanco en el examen. My mind went blank in the exam.
- La camiseta de la selección es celeste y blanca. The national team shirt is sky blue and white. (Argentina)
Questions people ask
Do colours go before or after the noun in Spanish? After: un vestido rojo, la casa blanca. A colour before the noun sounds literary.
Is it rosa or rosado? Both mean pink. In Spain and Mexico people say rosa most often, Colombians prefer rosado, and Argentines use both. Rosa is also the flower.
How do you say brown in Spanish? Marrón in Spain and Argentina, café in Mexico and Colombia. Castaño is the word for brown hair everywhere, and it is also used for brown eyes.
Do colours change for plural in Spanish? Most do: rojos, verdes, azules, grises. Colours taken from nouns, like naranja and rosa, often stay the same, though you will hear both.
What colour is celeste? Sky blue, lighter than azul. It is the ordinary word for light blue in Argentina.
How do you say “light blue” and “dark green”? Azul claro and verde oscuro. The phrase does not change for gender or number: una falda verde oscuro, unos pantalones azul claro.
What does “chiste verde” mean? A dirty joke. Spanish speakers use green for what English speakers call blue humour.
Practise these words
rojo, azul, verde, amarillo, naranja, morado, negro, blanco, gris, color, claro, oscuro, rubio. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.