Learn the Colors in Spanish and How to Use Them in a Sentence

The colors are probably one group of words that you will use most frequently when speaking Spanish. Colors are everywhere. You will be surprised by how often knowing Spanish colors help from clothes to food to art to many other topics. Knowing the name of colors is essential to pointing out objects and even talking about your likes and dislikes.

Describing shades of colors in Spanish

To describe shades of color in Spanish knowing claro, oscuro, pálido, eléctrico, intenso and fuerte will be greatly beneficial.

• Claro -To express that a color is light, use claro to pair up with the color. For example, gris claro (“light gray”).
  Oscuro – To make a color a darker shade add oscuro to the color. For example, anaranjado oscuro (“dark orange”).
• Pálido – Pairing it up with a color expresses the color is pale. For example, rosado pálido  (“pale pink”).
• Eléctrico – Paired up with color creates an electric color. For example, Azúl eléctrico (“electric blue”)
• Intenso – Paring intenso with a color describes the color to be deep.For example, Rojo intenso (deep red)
• Fuerte – To describe a color as bright, you should pair up the color with fuerte. For example, amarillo fuerte (“bright yellow”).

Note that words that help identify shades of color are written opposite that in English. While in English, “light gray,” in Spanish, “gris claro.”

Simple grammar rules when using colors in Spanish

There are some simple rules to remember when using color in Spanish. The gender of the word, what article to use, is the word singular or plural, the order of the words.

The article and the adjective must match the noun

In the Spanish language, nouns are masculine or feminine. A noun is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, or idea. The colors gender changes to agree with the noun it describes. Changing the color gender is simple. All it takes is changing the last letter of the color. If the noun is masculine (ending with the letter o or e) or feminine (ending with the letter a), you must change the last letter of the color name to compliment the noun.

Carro amarillo — “yellow car” (the word carro is masculine) Casa amarilla — “yellow house” (the word casa is feminine)

In English, there is only one definite article, “the.” In Spanish, you must choose between four definite articles: el, la, los, and las. Which one you choose depends on the noun which follows. The definite articles in Spanish address two things the gender and if a word is singular or plural. El is masculine singular, Los is masculine plural, la is feminine singular. Las is feminine plural. 

El carro amarillo — “The yellow car” (the word carro is masculine – the article and the adjective must match the gender of the noun) La casa amarilla — “The yellow house” (the word casa is feminine – the article and the adjective must match the gender of the noun)

Word order in a phrase

I’m sure by now you have noticed that in Spanish, unlike in English, adjectives, including color words, are used after the nouns they modify and not before them.

El carro amarillo es bonito – “The yellow car is pretty. La casa amarilla es bonita – “The yellow house is pretty.”

Master the colors in Spanish!

Color words are great to express yourself in Spanish. You will learn a few colors: black, blue, brown, green, orange, purple, red, white, yellow, gray, gold, and silver in the video. Practice makes perfect.  Watch the video a few times till you feel confident with the Spanish colors, and you will be the master of colors in no time.