Colours in Filipino: word list with pictures
12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Filipino.
| Picture | English | Filipino | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | pula | |||
| Yellow | dilaw | |||
| Blue | asul | |||
| Green | berde | |||
| Orange | kahel | |||
| Purple | lila | |||
| Pink | pink | |||
| Brown | tsokolate | |||
| Black | itim | |||
| White | puti | |||
| Grey | abo | |||
| Sky Blue | sky blue |
Colors in Filipino, mga kulay, are simple words your child can use from breakfast to bedtime. This page has 12 colours with pictures and clear audio: pula (red), dilaw (yellow), asul (blue), berde (green), kahel (orange), lila (purple), pink, tsokolate (brown), itim (black), puti (white), abo (grey) and sky blue. Tap a colour to hear it in Filipino and English.
Native, Spanish and English colour words
Filipino colour words come from three sources, and families use all of them. It helps to know the choices:
| English | In the game | Other words you may hear |
|---|---|---|
| red | pula | native; mapula means "reddish" |
| blue | asul (Spanish azul) | bughaw (native) |
| green | berde (Spanish verde) | luntian (native) |
| orange | kahel | also the name of a citrus fruit |
| purple | lila | ube, after the purple yam |
| pink | pink | rosas (also "rose") |
| brown | tsokolate ("chocolate") | kayumanggi (native) |
In daily Taglish, many families say "pink" and "sky blue" in English, which is why the game uses them. Older children enjoy learning the native words too; bughaw, luntian and kayumanggi are often used in songs, poems and during Buwan ng Wika.
Using colour words in sentences
In Filipino, a colour joins the thing with a little linker, na or -ng: pulang bola (red ball), asul na kotse (blue car), dilaw na saging (yellow banana). Adding ma- makes a describing word: maputi (white, fair), maitim (dark), mapula (reddish). To ask about colour, say "Anong kulay ito?" (What colour is this?).
Colours in Filipino life
The Philippine flag has asul, pula, puti and a golden dilaw sun and stars, a good talking point on Independence Day, 12 June. At Christmas, the glowing parol lanterns come in every colour. Food is colourful too: purple ube desserts, yellow mangoes and the rainbow layers of halo-halo. Jeepneys are painted in bright colours you can name on the road.
Colours by age
At 2-3, children match colours before naming them, so start with "find another one like this". At 3-4, they name pula, dilaw, asul, berde and sort toys by colour, as in kindergarten readiness activities. At 4-5, they describe things ("Pula ang mansanas", the apple is red). At 5-6, they mix paint: pula + dilaw = kahel, asul + dilaw = berde.
Colour games at home
- Colour hunt. "Humanap ng kulay dilaw!" (Find something yellow!).
- Fruit sort. Sort fruit by colour, then name them in fruits in Filipino.
- Rainbow. Draw a bahaghari and name each stripe.
- Parol craft. Make a paper parol and choose its colours together.
- Balloon song. Sing "Ako ay May Lobo" and ask what colour the balloon was.
How to use the colours game
Start in Listen with three colours only. Then play Find it: Golu names a colour in Filipino and your child taps it. A wrong tap never hears "wrong"; the game names what was tapped and shows the right answer. Each round ends with a marble in the Goli Jar. Settings include high contrast, calm sound and fewer choices.
Mixing up blue and green is common in young children. If you notice ongoing trouble telling colours apart, talk to your paediatrician. For English colour words, see colours name for kids.
Colours for Filipino families abroad
Colours are easy to use every day wherever you live: the colour of a cup, a bus or a crayon. Praise drawings in Filipino, "Ang ganda ng mga kulay!" (What beautiful colours!), and let Lola quiz colours on video calls.
Mga kulay para sa bata
Sa pahinang ito, matututunan ng bata ang 12 kulay: pula, dilaw, asul, berde, kahel, lila, pink, tsokolate, itim, puti, abo at sky blue. Pindutin ang kulay para marinig ang pangalan nito sa Filipino at sa Ingles.
Pagkatapos maglaro, maghanap ng mga bagay na may kulay sa bahay, gaya ng pulang bola o berdeng dahon. Itanong nang madalas, "Anong kulay ito?" Kapag kabisado na ng bata ang mga pangunahing kulay, ituro rin ang mga katutubong salita gaya ng bughaw at luntian.
Para sa mga pamilya sa ibang bansa, sabihin ang kulay ng tasa, ng bus at ng krayola araw-araw. Kapag sumagot ang bata sa Ingles, ulitin lang ang salitang Filipino nang may ngiti, gaya ng "Oo, asul!" Hindi kailangang pagalitan o itama ang bata.
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: filipino 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.
