Colors in Spanish and How to Use Them 🎨FREE Quiz Included
Understanding Colors in Spanish // Vocab, Grammar and Fun Phrases
🌈 When you think of colors, these eye candy crayons are one of the images that surely first come to mind.
Crayons almost inevitably take you back to when you were a kid and were learning the names of the colors that painted your everyday lives.
👉 Well, let’s re-experience those colored memories in Spanish this time, so you can form new ones with a Spanish hue.
Let’s dive in…
Colors in Spanish || Every Color of the Rainbow
Colors in Spanish || Mix and Match
Colors in Spanish || Coloring With Grammar
Colors in Spanish || Quiz
Colors in Spanish || FAQs
Colors in Spanish || Every Color of the Rainbow
👉 When learning the basic colors, it is really no wonder why schools loop in the rainbow song. Perhaps you have sung a similar tune or words to this popular childhood song (The Rainbow Song)
Now let’s take a look at how to say each of the rainbow colors in Spanish
Rojo (Red)
Red is a significant color in Spain, for many reasons.
The national flag is predominantly rouge, the national soccer team is referred to as La Roja (alluding to the jersey color they sport) and it is a color generally associated with passion, a trait undeniably very Spanish.
What color does your national soccer team wear? Let us know in the comments section! Bonus points if you can tell us in Spanish 😉
Naranja (Orange)
Naranja, like in English (orange) is a color and a fruit.
Amarillo (Yellow)
Yellow is a color that is also very much associated with Spanish culture and identity. For starters, it is the color of the center stripe of the Spanish flag, symbolizing the generosity of the people of Spain.
Yellow also alludes to Spain’s mostly sunny weather all year round, one of the reasons
it is a top frequented tourist destination.
Fun fact: Did you know that the color yellow is associated with bad luck, especially in the theatre realm? This dates back to the times of the playwright Molière who died on stage, dressed in yellow.
Verde (Green)
You’ve probably heard that green is the color of money. Well, not in Spain at least, as Euro bills used as currency in Spain have no green elements to them. However, the color green has long been associated with the idea of envy, hence commonly used phrases in Spain such as:
Estar verde de envidia. (Be green with envy.)
Ponerse verde (literally to color someone green and figuratively means to criticize or to speak ill of someone).
Más raro que un perro verde. (literally translates to “stranger than a green dog” and would be equivalent to calling someone an “oddball” or an “odd creature”.
Azul (Blue)
Blue has always been associated with the skies, uplifting thoughts, royalty and beyond, hence Spanish idioms and expressions such as:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Sangre azul | Blue blood (refers to someone of noble birth or rank) |
| Príncipe azul | Prince charming (the color blue signals a loftier concept) |
| Tener la cabeza en las nubes | Having one’s head in the clouds (refers to someone who tends to often daydream and be distracted) |
Índigo (Indigo)
There has long since been a fascination for the color indigo in Spanish culture, in the textile industry as well as in other facets such as ceramics, architecture, art and literature.
The color indigo played a significant historical role during the Spanish 250 galleon trade era, as the indigo dye was considered a valuable item and was widely exported from the Spanish colonies to Spain.
Violeta (Violet)
While violet is really a shade of purple, violeta in Spanish refers to both the color and the flower, as it does in English.
Some other shades of purple in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Lavanda | Lavender |
| Lila | Lilac |
| Malva | Mauve |
| Ciruela | Plum |
White, Black, Black Widow
Blanco (White)
White is often associated with purity, spirituality and simplicity. In fact, many Spanish idioms reference these characteristics:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Blanco impoluto | Immaculate white |
| Blanco como la nieve | As white as snow |
| Quedarse en blanco | To draw a blank |
| Bandera blanca | White flag (as in a truce or to draw peace) |
Negro (Black)
Black has traditionally been associated with more somber moments such as mourning or to metaphorically convey emotional depth or intensity, hence commonly used idioms and expressions in Spanish such as:
Viuda negra (Black widow)
👉 Literally, “to be in the blacklist”, figuratively, “to be blacklisted”)
[sepak Verlo todo negro]
👉 Literally to see everything in black and equivalent to having a pessimistic or negative outlook on things.
Colors in Spanish || Mix and Match
💫 Let’s mix and match the Spanish basic colors we just learned to get some more shades into our Spanish color palette. Here are some that will surely come in handy.
Some shades of red in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Granate | Garnet |
| Burdeos | Burgundy |
| Carmesí | Crimson |
| Rubí | Ruby |
Some shades of yellow in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Ámbar | Amber |
| Dorado | Gold/Golden yellow |
| Mostaza | Mustard yellow |
| Limón | Lemon yellow |
Some shades of green in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Verde oliva | Olive green |
| Verde lima | Lime green |
| Verde pistachio | Pistachio green |
Some shades of blue in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Azul marino | Navy blue |
| Turquesa | Turquoise |
| Azul celeste | Sky blue |
| Azul claro | Light blue |
| Color Mixture | Resulting Color |
|---|---|
| Mix orange and yellow | Marrón (brown) |
| Mix red and white | Rosa (pink) |
| Mix blue and red | Morado (purple) |
| Mix white and black | Gris (gray) |
Colors in Spanish || Coloring With Grammar
👉 Since we are all about good grammar in Spanish, here are some basic coloring tips (when it comes to grammar):
Gender
When a color is used as a noun, the color will always be masculine in gender, like for example:
el rojo el azul el verde
Some examples are:
pantalón rojo (red pants)
falda negra (black skirt)
[ speak silla verde] (green chair), note that in this example the color green (verde), does not have two possible endings to agree with gender.
Plural
When a color is used as a noun, the plural is formed following the general rules for forming plurals, like so: los blancos, los rojos, los verdes, los grises, los rosas, etc.
When a color is used as an adjective and it is only referencing a color as such, then it will always agree with the noun it is modifying, such as in the examples below:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Ojos azules | Blue eyes |
| Faldas negras | Black skirts |
| Pantalones rojos | Red pants |
BONUS || Learn how to say colors in other languages:
Colors in Spanish || Quiz
Colors in Spanish || FAQs
How to describe colors in Spanish?
Some commonly used adjectives in Spanish to describe colors would be:
Claro (light)
Oscuro (dark)
Vívido or vivo (vivid)
Apagado (dull or muted)
Luminoso (luminous)
Brillante (bright)
Mate (matte)
Cálido (warm)
Frío (cool)
Intenso (intense)
Suave (soft)
Pastel (pastel)
Neón (neon)
Transparente (transparent)
Opaco (opaque)
What are the colors of a rainbow in Spanish?
The colors of a rainbow, meaning the range of different colors that are produced when light is refracted (like in a spectrum), in Spanish would appear in the following order:
Rojo (Red)
Naranja (Orange)
Amarillo (Yellow)
Verde (Green)
Azul (Blue)
Índigo (Indigo)
Violeta (Violet)
How do you say gold in Spanish?
In Spanish, when referring to the precious metal gold, the correct term is oro.
However, when referring to the color gold in Spanish, it is more appropriate to use the term dorado (in English it would be equivalent to golden or gold-colored).
How do you say silver in Spanish?
In Spanish, when referring to the precious metal silver, the correct term is plata.
When referring to the color, although it is acceptable to also use the name of the precious metal, plata, the more apt and specific term in Spanish is plateado (in English, the equivalent to silvery or silver.
How do you describe skin colors in Spanish?
In Spanish, both words tez and piel are synonymous when referring to skin. However, tez relates more to skin tone and complexion and piel refers more to the tissue organ that surrounds and covers our bodies.
So when describing skin colors in Spanish, it would be more apt to use the term tez, like so:
tez morena (dark-skinned or tan complexion)
tez blanca (white-skinned)
tez pálida (pale-skinned)
tez oscura (dark-skinned)
tez negra (black-skinned).
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