Knowing the colors in Spanish is an important step in mastering conversational Spanish. Colors are necessary for communication and expression—whether you’re complimenting someone’s eyes, asking your hairstylist about hair dye, or describing the dog you saw on your morning walk. Since some colors are Spanish cognates, they’re a great starting point for describing things in Spanish, in addition to being short and easy to pronounce. Let’s add some pizazz to your conversations with these Spanish colors!
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List of basic colores (colors) in Spanish
Learn this list of colors in Spanish to describe everyday objects, clothing, and your surroundings. It’s the perfect way to start building your foundation of important Spanish words that you’ll use every day.
| Spanish | English |
| amarillo | yellow |
| anaranjado | orange |
| azul | blue |
| beige | beige |
| blanco | white |
| café | brown |
| gris | gray |
| marrón | brown |
| morado | purple |
| naranja | orange |
| negro | black |
| rojo | red |
| rosado | pink |
| verde | green |
More descriptive colors in Spanish
Azul, verde, rojo, and other basic Spanish adjectives are a great start, but learning different hues, pastels, metallics, and earth tones will allow you to paint more vivid pictures with your Spanish.
Hues of common colors in Spanish
If you want to describe the world around you with greater detail, you’ll find this list of common hues in Spanish helpful. You may even hear some of these rich hues mentioned at cultural events like Feria de las Flores or Día de los Muertos. The shades of yellows and oranges and pinks in the flowers are worth being able to describe accurately!
| Spanish | English |
| amarillo mostaza | mustard yellow |
| azul marino | navy blue |
| blanco marfil | ivory |
| blancuzco | off white |
| burdeos | burgundy |
| café claro | tan |
| carmesí | crimson |
| ceniza | ash gray |
| escarlata | scarlet |
| fucsia | fuchsia |
| granate | maroon |
| negro carbón | coal black |
| ébano | ebony |
| negro azabache | jet black |
| rosa chicle | hot pink |
| verde bosque | forest green |
| verde lima | lime green |
Pastels in Spanish
Using los tonos pastel (pastels) in conversations, like lavanda (lavender) instead of the basic Spanish purple color morado, will add detail to your descriptions when picking out clothes, decorating your home, and even describing the sunset.
| Spanish | English |
| azul claro | powder blue |
| celeste | sky blue |
| lavanda | lavender |
| lila | lilac |
| malva | mauve |
| melocotón claro | light peach |
| verde menta | mint green |
| amarillo pastel | pastel yellow |
| salmón | salmon |
| verde salvia | sage green |
| verde espuma de mar | seafoam green |
| verde pistacho | pistachio |
Earth and jewel tones
To be more specific than simply saying verde (green), consider using earth tones such as oliva (olive green) or turquesa (turquoise). Similarly, rather than just anaranjado, the most common orange color in Spanish, you could opt for jewel tones like ámbar (amber) or topacio (topaz).
Here’s a list of common earth and jewel tones in Spanish. If you’re struggling with pronunciation, don’t forget to revisit the Spanish alphabet.
| Spanish | English |
| ámbar | amber |
| amatista | amethyst |
| arena | sand |
| caqui | khaki |
| carbón | charcoal |
| color teja | rust |
| coral | coral |
| esmeralda | emerald |
| jade | jade |
| musgo | moss |
| ocre | ocher |
| oliva | olive green |
| ónix | onyx |
| pizarra | slate |
| rubí | ruby |
| siena | sienna |
| terracota | terracotta |
| topacio | topaz |
| turquesa | turquoise |
| zafiro | sapphire |
Color finishes and effects in Spanish
This list of colors in Spanish and English will add a level of sophistication to your conversations, especially in contexts involving jewelry, design, and technology.
| Spanish | English |
| bronce | bronze |
| cobre | copper |
| cromado | chrome |
| dorado | gold |
| estaño | tin |
| iridiscente | iridescent |
| metálico | metallic |
| perla | pearl |
| plateado | silver |
| platino | platinum |
Spanish words to describe and classify colors
While our list of colors isn’t exhaustive, you can easily add more Spanish color vocabulary to your repertoire by picking up a few adjectives. Knowing how to talk about different colors with a variety of tones and shades will easily make your Spanish conversations more colorful!
Here is a list of handy Spanish adjectives and phrases you can use to describe colors in more detail. When using these adjectives to modify a color, they follow the name of the color.
| Spanish | English |
| apagado | dull |
| brillante | bright |
| claro | light |
| color cálido | warm color |
| color frío | cold color |
| color primario | primary color |
| color secundario | secondary color |
| colorido | colorful |
| fluorescente | neon |
| monótono | monotone |
| oscuro | dark |
| pastel | pastel |
Here are a few ways you can use these specific Spanish colors in sentences.
- Compré un vestido azul pastel. = I bought a pastel blue dress.
- La bicicleta es verde fluorescente. = The bicycle is neon green.
- Los colores primarios son el rojo, azul, y amarillo. = The primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.
Colors in Spanish for describing people
In English, you can use the word “brown” to describe a person’s hair and eye color. In Spanish, however, there are specific words for describing the colors of people’s physical characteristics. Use the following vocabulary to talk about people’s hair, skin, and eye colors in Spanish.
Colores de cabello (hair colors) in Spanish
Here are some colors in Spanish that you’ll use to describe someone’s hair more specifically.
| Spanish | English |
| castaño | brunette |
| gris canoso | gray |
| negro | black |
| pelirrojo | ginger/red |
| rubio | blonde |
Colores de ojos (eye colors) in Spanish
When describing someone’s eye color, you’ll find this list handy.
| Spanish | English |
| avellanas | hazel |
| azules | blue |
| castaños | brown |
| negros | black |
| verdes | green |
Colores de piel (skin colors) in Spanish
Describing someone’s skin color will be simple with this useful list of colors.
| Spanish | English |
| blanca | white |
| morena | brown |
| negra | black |
| oliva | olive |
To express that someone’s body part is a certain color, use the structure tener + (article) + body part + (color). Make sure that the color matches the number and gender of the noun!
- Tengo el cabello rubio. = I have blonde hair.
- El perro tiene los ojos verdes. = The dog has green eyes.
- Mi hermana tiene la piel morena. = My sister has brown skin.
How to use Spanish colors in sentences
Before you start using the color words in your conversations, here are a few important Spanish grammar rules to know.
1. Talking about your favorite color
When studying colors in Spanish, one of the first things you’ll want to talk about is your favorite color. There are two options you can use to say your favorite color, just remember to use the definite article el before the color since it’s being used as a noun.
- Mi color favorito es el azul. = My favorite color is blue.
- Mi color preferido es el morado. = My favorite color is purple.
2. Sentence structure
Colors are adjectives when they’re used to describe nouns. Like most adjectives in Spanish, the color words go after the noun that they modify. The correct structure for using color words in sentences is el/la + (noun) + (color).
- la manzana roja = the red apple
- el perro marrón = the brown dog
3. Gender and number agreement for colors
In Spanish, adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe. Colors are no exception! Any color that ends in o in Spanish changes its ending to match the gender and number of the noun.
- el gato blanco = the white cat
- los gatos blancos = the white cats
- la casa blanca = the white house
- las casas blancas = the white houses
On the other hand, colors that don’t end in o only change to match the number of the noun, not the gender.
- el gato gris = the gray cat
- los gatos grises = the gray cats
- la casa gris = the gray house
- las casas grises = the gray houses
Paint your world with Spanish colors
Now that you have a wide range of Spanish color vocabulary under your belt, your conversations are about to be a lot more colorful! But if you want to deepen your understanding beyond just the basics, Rosetta Stone can help you take your language skills to the next level.
With Rosetta Stone’s unique immersion approach, you’ll learn Spanish naturally and effectively with real-world conversations, practical topics, and audio guidance from native speakers. Plus, each lesson only takes 10 minutes and can be completed on the go with the Rosetta Stone app.
Melody Li contributed to this article.
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