Full list of colors in Spanish
Learning the colors in Spanish allows speakers to be more precise and descriptive with their language. This is one of the many reasons why Spanish color names are a mainstay of early Spanish curriculum. They are also extremely useful for travel or study abroad, when one may want to ask for a specific item, give or receive directions, and much more. To help you prepare and study, here is a list of colors in Spanish and English:
Colors in Spanish
| Color in English | Color in Spanish | Type of color |
|---|---|---|
| blue | azul | primary |
| red | rojo | primary |
| yellow | amarillo | primary |
| green | verde | secondary |
| orange | naranja | secondary |
| violet | violeta | secondary |
| blue green | azul verde | tertiary |
| blue violet | violeta azul | tertiary |
| red orange | naranja roja | tertiary |
| red violet | rojo violáceo | tertiary |
| yellow green | amarillo verde | tertiary |
| yellow orange | amarillo naranja | tertiary |
| black | negro | other |
| brown | marrón | other |
| golden | dorado | other |
| grary | grary | other |
| pink | rosado | other |
| purple | púrpura | other |
| silver | plata | other |
| white | blanco | other |
| amber | ámbar | nouns used as a color |
| aquamarine | aguamarina | nouns used as a color |
| beige | beige | nouns used as a color |
| champagne | champán | nouns used as a color |
| cherry | cereza | nouns used as a color |
| chocolate | chocolate | nouns used as a color |
| copper | cobre | nouns used as a color |
| cyan | cian | nouns used as a color |
| emerald | esmeralda | nouns used as a color |
| fucsia | fucsia | nouns used as a color |
| gold | oro | nouns used as a color |
| jade | jade | nouns used as a color |
| lavender | lavanda | nouns used as a color |
| lemon | limón | nouns used as a color |
| lilac | lila | nouns used as a color |
| lime | lima | nouns used as a color |
| mauve | color de malva | nouns used as a color |
| mustard-colored | de color mostaza | nouns used as a color |
| ocher | ocre | nouns used as a color |
| olive | aceituna | nouns used as a color |
| orange | naranja | nouns used as a color |
| salmon | salmón | nouns used as a color |
| smoky | ahumado | nouns used as a color |
| straw-colored | pajizo | nouns used as a color |
| turqoise | turquesa | nouns used as a color |
| violet | violeta | nouns used as a color |
| wine | vino | nouns used as a color |
How to use colors in Spanish sentences
Simply memorizing the names of colors in Spanish is not quite enough, as they are used in a slightly different way than a native English speaker might expect.
Similar to how other adjectives in Spanish are used, colors typically come after the noun they are describing. This can seem a little strange to English speakers, where the color almost invariably come first. When you’re used to hearing “the blue car” your whole life, “el coche azul” can seem a little bit backward.
Another fact about Spanish colors that often trips up non-native speakers is that the color will be plural when the noun it describes is plural. (For example, los coches azules.) There is really no equivalent with English colors, as you would never say “the blues cars”, unless you were talking about the music genre…
Spanish colors also have a gender that must match the noun that they are describing, just like all other types of Spanish adjectives. A red car is “el coche rojo”, since el coche is a masculine noun. A red shirt is “la camisa roja”, since la camisa is a feminine noun. Rojo becomes roja to match the feminine noun. Verde, gris, azul, and other colors that don’t end in either a or o do not change based on the gender, but they Sri do change based on the plurality (verdes, azules). To make things just a little bit more confusing, when you use a Spanish color as a noun, it will always be masculine (“El negro es me color favorito”). Luckily, this is quite a bit less common than seeing a Spanish color being used as an adjective.
Like in English, nouns can be used as colors sometimes. (Think “cherry”, “orange”, or “chocolate” colored.
Depending on the region of the speaker, when a noun is used as a color, the word color may also be added in a few different ways. You could say una camisa chocolate, una camisa de color chocolate, una camisa color de chocolate, or una camisa color chocolate. This is also an exception to the rule about changing the number of the color, as described for adjectives above. In other words, you would say las camisas chocolate, not las camisas chocolates.
Naranja means the fruit orange, and the color orange (although in the case of the latter, it is really short for anaranjado). Here are some of the differences between naranja and anaranjado.
If you want to further describe a color in Spanish as “light” or “dark”, you would use the terms “claro” or “oscuro” after the color, such as azul claro or azul oscuro. Brillante or “brilliant”, medio or “medium”, pálido or “pale”, metálico or “metallic”, and pastel (cognate) are other modifiers that are frequently used. “Celeste” means light blue – it gets it’s own special word!
Sometimes a color may be described as being almost close to another color. For example, rojo negruzco or “blackish red”. If you want to say something is multicolored, you would use the Spanish word “multicolor”.
Los colores / the colors
When asking someone about their favorite color in Spanish, you would actually say “¿Cuál es tu color favorito?” which literally means “which is your favorite color?”. You could respond by saying:
“Mi color favorito es … ”
My favorite color is … “
To ask somebody about the color of something in Spanish, say “¿De qué color es tu ___?”
You are just about ready to use the Spanish colors in a real Spanish conversation! This seems like a lot of rules to remember, but with consistent practice and a little exposure, it will become second nature. Plus, it’s undoubtedly an important skill to learn! If you were asked to describe your favorite flower in Spanish, what would you say? What if an employee at a clothing store or bakery asked you which item you want? What about if you needed to tell someone to take a left at the red house? Or if you were in an accident and had to describe the other car? There are so many insurances where having the names of colors in Spanish (and how to use them in a sentence) memorized can come in handy. We hope that this list of colors in Spanish and English helps you learn more quickly. If you want to hear Spanish colors and other important Spanish vocabulary in context, we highly recommend using audiobooks to learn Spanish.
Of course, if you want to see the colors while you learn, or are trying to teach young children the Spanish names for colors, a physical book may be a better option. Here are some books about colors in Spanish for beginner learners:
Eric Carle’s World of Colors (bilingual)
El artista que pintó un caballo azul
Su propio color / A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni (bilingual)
You may also enjoy our article on how to say good night in Spanish.
