Learning how to say and pronounce colours in Spanish is an essential step in learning the language and, in most in-person or online Spanish courses, it’s one of the first vocabulary topics you’ll study, along with how to count from 0 to 100 in Spanish.
Given that colours are a common part of everyday descriptions, this is an important group of words to study early on during your Spanish-learning journey. Plus, the fact that colours are adjectives makes this a good segway into mastering the general use of Spanish adjectives.
In this blog post, we’ll go through the basics of colours in Spanish, from how to write them to how to pronounce them. We’ll also explain how the use of colours can change depending on the noun that they are describing. All of that and more follows below.
Let’s get to it, and go through the list of the main colours in Spanish language. We’ll keep it basic to begin with and mostly stick to the colours of the rainbow in Spanish. They are translated and pronounced as so:
| Colour in English | Colour in Spanish | Pronunciation in Spanish |
| black | negro | neh-groh |
| white | blanco | blan-koh |
| red | rojo | raw-ho |
| blue | azul | ah-sool |
| green | verde | behr-deh |
| yellow | amarillo | ahm-ah-ree-yoh |
| orange | naranja | nah-rahn-hah |
| pink | rosa | raw-sah |
| purple | morado | maw-rah-doh |
| brown | marrón | mah-ron |
You’ll notice that there isn’t much of a pattern when it comes to the words in this colours in Spanish list, with some ending in “-o”, some ending in “-a”, some ending in “-e” and others ending in consonants. What this means is that the only real way to master colours in Spanish language is by memorising them and by practising, something that you can do out and about in the city if you’re taking one of IH Madrid’s in-person Spanish courses in Madrid.
Another element to keep in mind when it comes to colours in Spanish language is the use of the words “light”, “dark” and “bright”, which would be “claro”, “oscuro” and “fuerte”, respectively. Just as in English, these can be paired with colour adjectives to alter the meaning slightly, and we’ll outline a few examples here:
As is the case with most Spanish adjectives, Spanish colours must also agree with the number and gender of the noun they are describing. What this means is that the Spanish word for each colour might need to change its ending slightly from what appears in the above colours in Spanish list.
If the noun is masculine singular, then the colour word used is the normal version, like the one listed above. For example:
If the noun in question is feminine singular, the ending might have to change slightly. If the ending for the basic form is an “-o”, such as with “rojo”, then it would change to an “-a”, while colours with other types of endings will usually stay the same, as is the case with “verde” or “azul”.
When we’re dealing with a noun that is masculine plural, you’d usually just add an “-s” if the basic form ends in a vowel, or add “-es” if it ends in a consonant
It’s similar for a noun that is feminine plural. You’d take the feminine singular version and, again, add an “-s” if it ends in a vowel, or add “-es” if it ends in a consonant.
One final detail worth keeping in mind when it comes to the proper use of Spanish colour words is that Spanish colour adjectives typically go after the noun they describe, as this is the standard word order in Spanish for most adjectives, although exceptions might be made for emphasis or aesthetic reasons.
One of the trickiest aspects of Spanish grammar is deciding whether to use “ser” or “estar”, the two verbs for “to be”, in a given context. So, let’s discuss this question in the context of the colours in Spanish list.
Generally, you’ll use “ser” when the colour describes an inherent or permanent trait of the noun, meaning an unchanging or essential property of the object or subject. On the contrary, you’d use “estar” when the colour is temporary, changing or the result of an external factor. Looking at the below examples related to the sky, the first refers to the inherent blueness of the sky, while the latter is explaining the current weather situation.
As is the case in other contexts, the decision to use “ser” or “estar” might be to emphasise whether something is temporary or not. For example, with hair colours in Spanish, you’ll see both “ser” and “estar” used. “Ser” would be more appropriate when describing someone’s natural or dyed hair colour as a defining trait, while “estar” would be a way to emphasise that the hair colour is temporary.
With all of the grammar and vocabulary of colours in Spanish, practice will make perfect. So, start off by trying to memorise the simplest colours of the rainbow in Spanish and take it from there!
