Colours in Dutch: word list with pictures
12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Dutch.
| Picture | English | Dutch | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | rood | |||
| Yellow | geel | |||
| Blue | blauw | |||
| Green | groen | |||
| Orange | oranje | |||
| Purple | paars | |||
| Pink | roze | |||
| Brown | bruin | |||
| Black | zwart | |||
| White | wit | |||
| Grey | grijs | |||
| Sky Blue | lichtblauw |
Colors in Dutch are some of the easiest words for young children, because they can find them everywhere: in toys, clothes, fruit and the painted houses along a canal. This page has 12 colours with pictures and clear audio, from rood (red), geel (yellow) and blauw (blue) to paars (purple), roze (pink) and lichtblauw (light blue). Tap a colour to hear it in Dutch and English, then play Find it.
The 12 colours in Dutch
| Colour | Dutch | Sounds like | Point at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | rood | "roht" | de aardbei |
| Yellow | geel | "khayl", throaty g | de banaan |
| Blue | blauw | "blow" | de lucht (sky) |
| Green | groen | "khroon" | het gras |
| Orange | oranje | "o-RAN-ye" | de wortel |
| Purple | paars | "pahrs" | grapes |
The other six are roze (pink), bruin (brown), zwart (black), wit (white), grijs (grey) and lichtblauw (light blue). Two words start with the throaty Dutch g, geel and groen, which makes them fun to practise. Wit sounds like English "wit", and bruin has the ui sound that has no English match: listen to the audio a few times.
Why orange matters in the Netherlands
The Dutch flag is red, white and blue, but the national colour is oranje, after the royal family, the House of Orange. On Koningsdag (King's Day, 27 April), streets fill with orange clothes, flags and face paint, and children sell old toys at the vrijmarkt. Sports fans wear orange too. Ask your child: "Wat is er allemaal oranje?" (What things are orange?) and go on an orange hunt.
Light and dark: licht and donker
Lichtblauw is licht (light) plus blauw. Once children know this pattern, they can make their own colours: lichtgroen, donkerblauw (dark blue), donkerrood. It is a fun game while painting. Before a noun, Dutch colours usually add an -e: de rode bal (the red ball), but de bal is rood. With het words the ending can disappear: een rood huis. Young children learn this slowly by ear; just model the correct phrase.
How Dutch kleuters learn colours
In groep 1 and groep 2, colours come through painting, sorting beads, building towers and themes like autumn leaves or spring flowers. Teachers ask children to line up by the colour of their clothes, and kleuters play the Dutch "I spy": "Ik zie, ik zie wat jij niet ziet, en het is... blauw!" Most children in groep 1 name the main colours, and by groep 2 they mix paint to make new ones.
How to teach colours in Dutch at home
- Colour of the day. Pick geel and find five yellow things.
- Getting dressed. "Vandaag draag je een rode trui!" (Today you are wearing a red jumper.)
- Bike ride. Count red cars, blue doors and green bikes on the way to school.
- Fruit sort. Sort fruit by colour with fruits in Dutch.
- Colouring. Use our coloring pages for kids and name each colour in Dutch.
Mix geel and blauw to make groen, or rood and wit to make roze. Children remember colours they made themselves.
What to expect by age
Colour names are abstract, so be patient. At two to three, most children match colours before they name them. At three to four, they name the main four: rood, geel, blauw, groen. At four to five, they know most of the twelve. At five to six, they use licht and donker and describe things with colours. If your child confuses red and green for a long time, mention it to your paediatrician; colour vision differences are common and easy to check. Keep screen time short and shared. For English and Hindi names, see colours name in Hindi and English, or compare the colours in German.
Dutch art is full of colour, which gives older children a fun extra. Dick Bruna drew Miffy (Nijntje) with just a few bold colours, and Mondriaan painted famous squares of rood, geel and blauw with thick black lines. Draw your own Mondriaan with your child using only those three colours plus zwart and wit, naming each one as you fill it in.
Kleuren leren voor peuters
Hier leert uw kind twaalf kleuren met plaatje en geluid: rood, geel, blauw, groen, oranje, paars, roze, bruin, zwart, wit, grijs en lichtblauw. Tik op een kleur en uw kind hoort het woord in het Nederlands en in het Engels.
Speel „Ik zie, ik zie wat jij niet ziet”, sorteer blokken op kleur of ga op Koningsdag op zoek naar alles wat oranje is. Meng samen verf en bedenk nieuwe kleuren: lichtgroen, donkerblauw, lichtroze.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: dutch words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
