Colors in Spanish

Like other adjectives, names of the common colors in Spanish must agree with the nouns they describe in both gender and number. However, in most cases, names of colors come after the nouns they describe, not before as in English. Additionally, the names of some of the more unusual colors in Spanish are given a unique treatment.

Names of Common Spanish Colors

Here are some common colors:

• amarillo: yellow
• anaranjado: orange
• azul: blue
• blanco: white
• dorado: golden
• gris: gray
• marrón: brown
• negro: black
• púrpura: purple
• rojo: red
• rosado: pink
• verde: green

Note that the form of these Spanish colors will change depending on the number and gender of what's being described:

• Tengo un coche amarillo. (I have one yellow car.)
• Tiene dos coches amarillos. (He has two yellow cars.)
• Tienes una flor amarilla. (You have a yellow flower.)
• Tenemos diez flores amarillas. (We have ten yellow flowers.)

The Grammar of Color in Spanish

The most common colors are used in the same way as other adjectives. However, almost any suitable noun can be used as the name for a color, in at least four different ways. For example, here are four ways you could say "cherry-colored car." (A car is un coche and a cherry is una cereza.)

• coche cereza
• coche color de cereza
• coche de color cereza
• coche color cereza

Similarly, a coffee-colored shirt could be camisa de color café, camisa color de café, camisa color café, and camisa café.

The choice will depend on the region and speaker. However, nouns that are frequently used as color (such as cereza or café) are more likely to be used alone.

Here are some nouns that are commonly used as colors in this way, although numerous others can be used:

• beige, beis: beige
• cereza: cherry-colored
• chocolate: chocolate-colored
• esmeralda: emerald
• grana: dark red
• humo: smoky
• lila: lilac
• malva: mauve
• mostaza: mustard-colored
• naranja: orange
• oro: gold
• paja: straw-colored
• rosa: pink
• turquesa: turquoise
• violeta: violet

When a noun is used by itself in such a way, it is often still treated as a noun rather than an adjective, so it doesn't change form as adjectives typically do. (Some grammarians consider nouns used in this way to be invariable adjectives—adjectives that don't change for number or gender.) Thus, "mustard-colored houses" would likely be casas mostaza, not casas mostazas (although the latter could also be used).

However, the more often a noun is used as a color, the more likely it is to be treated as a regular adjective—one that changes in number with the noun being described. Often, however, different speakers will disagree.

Compound Colors

Compound colors are those that are preceded by descriptors like "light" and "dark," such as light blue and dark blue. In Spanish, the most common words for those specific terms are claro and oscuro, respectively, used to form compound colors such as azul claro and azul oscuro.

The compound colors are invariable, meaning they don't change with number or gender.

Sample Sentences Showing Color Usage

• Casi la mitad de los estadounidenses tenían ojos azules. (Almost half of U.S. residents have blue eyes.)
• La sangre puede tener un color rojo brillante o casi negruzco dependiendo del nivel de oxígeno. (Blood can have a brilliant red color or almost blackish, depending on the oxygen level.)
• Está rodeado por uvas color de ajenjo. (It is surrounded by absinthe-colored grapes.)
• Te presentamos los diferentes estilos de uñas color de vino. (We're showing you the different styles of wine-colored fingernails.)
• Las hortalizas de hojas verde oscuro son fuentes importantes de carotenos. (Vegetables with dark-green leaves are important sources of carotenes.)