Colour words in Spanish (los colores)

Words for colours in Spanish with notes and colour-related expressions.

Expressions with color (colour, hue, shade)

  • huevos de color - brown eggs
  • zapatos de color - brown shoes
  • so color de - under pretext of
  • no hay color / no tienen color - there's no comparison / they're streets apart
  • ese no tiene color - that seems unlikely / that's not on

black negro - black, dark, swarthy, gloomy, atrocious, awful

Shades / expressions

  • negro azabache / negro como boca de lobo - pitch-black, coal-black (jet black / as the inside of a wolf's mouth)
  • la cosa se pone negra - it's not going well, it looks bad
  • lo ve todo negro - he's terriby pessimistic about everything
  • dinero negro - hot money (not declared for tax)
  • poner negro a uno - to make sb cross, upset sb
  • azúcar negro - brown sugar
  • oscuro / tenebroso - dark
  • oscuro como boca de lobo - as black as pitch (as dark as a wolf's mouth)
  • sucio - black / dirty (with smoke)
  • prieto - blackish / dark / swarthy (LAm) / brunette

white blanco - white, light, fair, blank, cowardly

Shades / expressions

  • más blanco que el jazmín - whiter than white, as white as snow
  • más blanco que el papel - as white as a sheet
  • poner los ojos en blanco - to roll one's eyes; to look ecstatic
  • dejar a uno en blanco - to disappoint sb
  • estoy en blanco - I haven't a clue
  • pasar la noche en blanco - to have a sleepless night

red rojo - red, ruddy, sandy

Shades / expressions

  • pelirrojo (m), pelirroja (f) - red-haired
  • bermellón - vermillion
  • rojo burdeos - maroon, dark red
  • rojo cereza - cherry-red
  • rojo teja - brick-red
  • poner rojo a uno - to make sb blush
  • ponerse rojo de la ira - to be fighting mad
  • la atmósfera está al rojo vivo - the atmosphere is electric
  • rojo de labios - rouge, lipstick
  • ponerse colorado - to blush
  • poner colorado a uno - to make sb blush

yellow amarillo - yellow, amber, sensational, gutter

Shades / expressions

  • gualda - yellow or gold colour
  • amarillo canario - canary yellow
  • amarillo mostaza - mustard yellow
  • amarillo paja - straw colour
  • sindicato amarillo - trade union which is in league with the bosses

blue azul - blue, conservative

Shades

  • celeste - light blue
  • azul celeste - sky blue
  • azul de mar/marino - navy blue
  • azul pavo - peacock blue
  • azul turquesa - turquoise
  • azul ultramar - ultramarine

green verde - green, unripe, fresh, unseasoned, randy, blue, smutty, dirty, pasture, salad, countryside

Shades / expressions

  • verde botella - bottle-green
  • verde lima - lime-green
  • verde oliva - olive-green
  • ¡están verdes! - sour grapes!
  • viejo verde - randy/dirty old man
  • ser verde - to be dirty, smutty, randy
  • viuda verde - merry widow
  • está verde - he's very green (ignorant), he doesn't know anything
  • estar verde de envida - to be green with envy
  • darse un verde - to eat a lot / one's fill
  • darse un verde de algo - to have one's fill of sth / to be all sthed out

brown marrón - brown
castaño - chestnut, brown (hair, eyes, skin)
moreno - brown, tan; tanned; dark-haired; dark, swarthy; coloured;
color café - brown / coffee-coloured

Expressions

  • muy moreno / muy bronceado - as brown as a berry
  • ponerse moreno / morenarse / broncearse - to get brown (in the sun)
  • pan moreno - brown bread
  • papel de embalar / papel de estraza - brown paper
  • arroz integral - brown rice
  • azúcar moreno / negro / terciado - brown sugar

pink rosa - rose, pink
rosado - pink, rosy, pinkish, rosé (wine)

Expressions

  • revista rosa - magazine of sentimental stories
  • verlo todo color de rosa - to see everything through rose-tinted spectacles

orange color naranja / naranja - orange

Shades

  • naranja chillón - a loud, garish or lurid orange colour
  • naranja fuerte - bright orange

grey gris - grey; rucio - grey (horse)

Expressions

  • zona en penumbra / zona gris - grey area
  • ardilla gris - grey squirrel
  • anciano / viejo - greybeard
  • encanecer - to go / turn grey (of hair)
  • canoso - grey-haired

purple púrpura - purple
morado - purple (redish purple)
violeta - violet (bluish purple)
lila - lilac (pale purple / violet)
lavanda = lavender

Expressions

  • ojo morado - black eye
  • pasarlas moradas - to have a tough time of it
  • conservador a la violeta - dyed-in-the-wool conservative

Corrections and additions by Pablo Nuñez

Hear colour words in Spanish:

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