Colours in Marathi: word list with pictures
12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Marathi.
| Picture | English | Marathi | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | लाल | lāl | ||
| Yellow | पिवळा | pivaḷā | ||
| Blue | निळा | niḷā | ||
| Green | हिरवा | hiravā | ||
| Orange | नारिंगी | nāriṃgī | ||
| Purple | जांभळा | jāṃbhaḷā | ||
| Pink | गुलाबी | gulābī | ||
| Brown | तपकिरी | tapakirī | ||
| Black | काळा | kāḷā | ||
| White | पांढरा | pāṃḍharā | ||
| Grey | राखाडी | rākhāḍī | ||
| Sky Blue | आकाशी | ākāshī |
Colours in Marathi are words your child can use all day: choosing a shirt, eating a fruit, drawing a rangoli. This page teaches 12 colours with clear audio, from लाल (laal, red) and पिवळा (pivla, yellow) to आकाशी (aakashi, sky blue). Tap a colour to hear it in Marathi and English, then play Find it or Memory. The Marathi word for colour is रंग (rang).
The 12 colours in Marathi, with a memory hook for each
| Colour | Marathi | Say it | Memory hook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | लाल | laal | kumkum, a red tomato |
| Yellow | पिवळा | pivla | haldi, a ripe banana |
| Blue | निळा | nila | the sea at Juhu or Ganpatipule |
| Green | हिरवा | hirva | green chilli, parrots, rice fields in the rains |
| Orange | नारिंगी | naaringi | named after the orange fruit |
| Purple | जांभळा | jaambhla | named after the जांभूळ (jamun) fruit |
| Pink | गुलाबी | gulaabi | like a गुलाब (rose) |
| Brown | तपकिरी | tapkiri | tea, soil, a coconut shell |
| Black | काळा | kaala | a crow, the night |
| White | पांढरा | paandhra | milk, jasmine, a Gandhi cap |
| Grey | राखाडी | raakhaadi | from राख (ash) |
| Sky blue | आकाशी | aakaashi | from आकाश (sky) |
Many Marathi colour words are named after things: गुलाबी after the rose, जांभळा after the jamun, आकाशी after the sky, राखाडी after ash. Show your child the thing and the colour together, and the word sticks.
Why pivla sometimes becomes pivli: colour words that change
In Marathi, colour words ending in आ change to match the noun, just like Marathi adjectives do. This is why your child hears different forms in the game and at home:
| With a masculine noun | With a feminine noun | With a neuter noun |
|---|---|---|
| पिवळा चेंडू (yellow ball) | पिवळी साडी (yellow saree) | पिवळं फूल (yellow flower) |
| हिरवा पोपट (green parrot) | हिरवी मिरची (green chilli) | हिरवं पान (green leaf) |
| काळा कावळा (black crow) | काळी मांजर (black cat) | काळं आकाश (dark sky) |
Colours that do not end in आ, like लाल, गुलाबी, नारिंगी, आकाशी and तपकिरी, never change: लाल चेंडू, लाल साडी, लाल फूल. You do not need to explain this to a toddler. Just use the right form, and your child will absorb it. Children abroad often say पिवळा for everything at first, and that is perfectly fine.
Colours in Marathi festivals
Colour is everywhere in Marathi celebrations. At Diwali, families draw रांगोळी (rangoli) at the door; name each colour as your child fills it in. Rangpanchami, five days after Holi, is the day of throwing colours in Maharashtra. At Makar Sankranti, many women and girls wear काळा (black) clothes, a winter tradition that surprises children who think black is only for night. And after the monsoon rain, look for the इंद्रधनुष्य (indradhanushya), the rainbow, "Indra's bow".
How to teach colours in Marathi to toddlers
- One colour a week. Start with लाल. Find red things all week, then add पिवळा.
- Offer two choices. "लाल की निळा?" (red or blue?) is easier than "which colour?"
- Sort toys or clothes into colour piles, naming each pile in Marathi.
- Colour together on the colouring pages, naming each crayon.
- Food colours: red सफरचंद, green पेरू, orange गाजर. Find them on fruits in Marathi and vegetables in Marathi.
| Age | What to expect |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | Matches same colours; may say one or two colour words, often mixed up. Keep playing. |
| 3-4 | Names 4-6 colours in Marathi, points to the right one when asked |
| 4-5 | Knows all basic colours, uses phrases like हिरवं पान |
Colour names are abstract, so many children mix them up until about 3 or 4. If your child always confuses red and green, mention it to your paediatrician; colour blindness is common in boys and easy to check.
More colour games
The English and Hindi colours name game uses the same 12 colours, useful for children learning three languages. Patterns for kids builds colour sequences; say them in Marathi: लाल, निळा, लाल, निळा. Set the language button in the header to Marathi first so the game says लाल before "red".
A good daily habit is "colour of the day" while getting dressed. Hold up two shirts and ask "निळा की पिवळा?" Your child chooses and says the colour, and you both look for that colour on the way to school or the park. It takes no extra time and builds the words naturally.
पालकांसाठी
रंग शिकवण्यासाठी आठवड्याला एक रंग पुरेसा आहे. या आठवड्यात लाल असेल तर घरातल्या लाल वस्तू शोधा: टोमॅटो, चेंडू, फूल.
"हा कोणता रंग आहे?" असं विचारा. मूल चुकलं तर हसत हसत योग्य रंग सांगा. दिवाळीत रांगोळी काढताना प्रत्येक रंगाचं नाव सांगा.
मराठीत रंगाचं नाव वस्तूप्रमाणे बदलतं: पिवळा चेंडू, पिवळी साडी, पिवळं फूल. मुलांना हे समजावून सांगायची गरज नाही; तुम्ही बोलत राहा, ते आपोआप शिकतात.
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: marathi 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.
