10 Colors in Spanish: Color Names + Grammar Rules (Audio)
The Latin world is very colorful, both literally and culturally, so knowing the colors es muy importante (is very important).
![COLORS in Spanish (Discover the TRICKY Way They're Used in Spanish) 🎨 [SPANISH LESSON 11]](https://springlanguages.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FkKVZCed-nxU%2F0.jpg)
In this blog post, we’ll share you ways on how to talk about colors in Spanish.
1. Basic Questions about colors in Spanish
If you want to know what color something is, these are the go-to questions:
- ¿De qué color es? (Which or what color is it?) – singular
- ¿De qué color son? (Which or what color are they?) – plural
But how do you answer all of these questions? Let’s find out!
2. Learn Spanish colors: list of colors
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Negro | black |
| Rojo | red |
| Azul | blue |
| Café | brown |
| Morado | purple |
| Verde | green |
| Amarillo | yellow |
| Blanco | white |
| Naranja | orange |
| Gris | gray |
3. Grammar rules for colors in Spanish
If the thing you are referring to is feminine or masculine, the ending of the names of the colors should agree with the relevant gender.
In sentences like La sirena es morada 🧜♀️ (the mermaid is purple), sirena is a feminine noun. Therefore, the color morado should agree with gender by substituting letter O with letter A. This replicates in the case of all the colors above that end with an O.
The colors that do not end with an O undergo no change regardless of whether the thing being described by the relevant color is feminine or masculine.
So, “The T-shirt is blue” translates into La camisa es azul. (Camisa is feminine in Spanish, but there’s no need to add an A to azul).
A few more examples:
| Category | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine nouns | El coche es negro. | The car is black. |
| El libro es rojo. | The book is red. | |
| Feminine nouns (colors ending in -o change to -a) | La casa es blanca. | The house is white. |
| La manzana es roja. | The apple is red. | |
| Plural examples | Los zapatos son marrones. | The shoes are brown. |
| Las camisas son blancas. | The shirts are white. |
4. Using colors in Spanish: singular and plural
To make colors plural, simply add an S at the end – even if it’s feminine or masculine.
Examples:
- Los conejos son blancos (Rabbits are white) – the word for rabbit, conejo, is masculine.
- Las sirenas son moradas (Mermaids are purple) – the word for mermaid, sirena, is feminine.
Exceptions:
For the colors azul (blue) and gris (gray) to be plural, the letters ES should be added at the end:
- Los ojos son azules (The eyes are blue)
- Las nubes son grises (The clouds are grey)
5. Colorful Spanish vocabulary chart
Let’s recap this lesson with a color palette and examples in Spanish.
What a colorful way to end this lesson! 😉
| Color in Spanish | Example in Spanish |
|---|---|
| “El gato es negro.” (The cat is black.) | |
| “La manzana es roja.” (The apple is red.) | |
| “El cielo es azul.” (The sky is blue.) | |
| “El oso es café.” (The bear is brown.) | |
| “La flor es morada.” (The flower is purple.) | |
| “La hierba es verde.” (The grass is green.) | |
| “El sol es amarillo.” (The sun is yellow.) | |
| La nieve es blanca.” (The snow is white.) | |
| “La naranja es naranja.” (The orange is orange.) | |
| “Las piedras son grises.” (The rocks are gray.) |
Now that you know all the colors, let us know what YOUR favorite color is? (en Español, of course)!
