Colours in Spanish: word list with pictures
12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Spanish.
| Picture | English | Spanish | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Rojo | |||
| Yellow | Amarillo | |||
| Blue | Azul | |||
| Green | Verde | |||
| Orange | Naranja | |||
| Purple | Morado | |||
| Pink | Rosa | |||
| Brown | Marrón | |||
| Black | Negro | |||
| White | Blanco | |||
| Grey | Gris | |||
| Sky Blue | Azul cielo |
Colors in Spanish are a lovely first topic, because colour is everywhere: clothes, toys, food and the sky. This page teaches 12 colours with clear audio: rojo (red), amarillo (yellow), azul (blue), verde (green), naranja (orange), morado (purple), rosa (pink), marrón (brown), negro (black), blanco (white), gris (grey) and azul cielo (sky blue). Tap a colour to hear it in Spanish and English, then play Find it.
What are the basic colours in Spanish?
Most Spanish teachers start with rojo, azul, amarillo and verde, then add blanco and negro. Those six cover nearly everything a toddler wants to describe. Next come naranja, morado, rosa, marrón and gris. The word for colour itself is el color, and the question is "¿De qué color es?" ("What colour is it?"). Ask it often and your child will soon ask you too.
Why colours change: rojo, roja, rojos
In Spanish, many colour words change to match the thing they describe. That is the one grammar point grown-ups notice most on this topic:
| Type | Colours | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Change for masculine and feminine | rojo/roja, amarillo/amarilla, blanco/blanca, negro/negra, morado/morada | el coche rojo, la manzana roja |
| Same for both | azul, verde, gris, marrón | el cielo azul, la camisa azul |
| Named after things, usually unchanged | naranja, rosa | la flor rosa, el globo naranja |
The game says the basic form, rojo. At home, just use the colour naturally with objects and your child will hear the endings. Spanish also puts the colour after the noun: el perro negro is "the dog black". Children adjust to this without effort.
Brown and other colours that vary by country
Brown is marrón in Spain. In Mexico and much of Latin America, people usually say café, like the colour of coffee. Purple is morado almost everywhere, though you may also hear violeta or lila for lighter shades. Pink is rosa in Spain and often rosado in Latin America. For Latin American words and voice, try the Latin American Spanish pack.
How to teach colours in Spanish at home
- One colour a day. Declare "¡Hoy es el día del rojo!" and find red things together.
- Veo, veo. The Spanish "I spy" game: "Veo, veo… una cosa de color azul." It is played in cars and kitchens all over Spain and Latin America.
- Sort the laundry. Socks make perfect colour-matching practice: calcetines blancos, calcetines negros.
- Snack colours. Name the colours on the plate: el plátano amarillo, la uva verde. Our fruits in Spanish page helps here.
- Paint and mix. Mix azul and amarillo to get verde. Four- and five-year-olds find this magical.
After rain, look for a rainbow, el arcoíris, and name its colours in Spanish from top to bottom.
What to expect by age
Colour words are surprisingly hard for toddlers in any language, because colour is abstract. At 2-3, children often say colour words before they use them correctly, and may call everything azul for a while. That is normal. By 3-4, most children match and name 4-6 colours. At 4-5, they name 8-10 and describe objects: "un coche rojo". At 5-6, they can read short words like gris and rosa and talk about light and dark shades (claro, oscuro).
If your child mixes up colours for a long time, try matching (put the same colours together) before naming. Some children, especially boys, have colour vision differences, so if you notice a pattern such as red and green always being confused, mention it to your paediatrician. For Hindi and English colour names, see colours name in Hindi and English.
Keep screen sessions short and play together. The real learning happens when you carry the words off the screen, to socks, crayons and the sky.
Colour songs and rhymes in Spanish
Songs are one of the easiest ways to learn colours in Spanish. Many Spanish-speaking children learn a simple rainbow song listing rojo, naranja, amarillo, verde, azul and morado, often with hand movements. You can also make up your own: sing "¿De qué color es la manzana? ¡Roja, roja, roja!" to any tune your child knows. Singing slows the words down and adds rhythm, which helps shy children join in without the pressure of speaking alone. For children who find sound overwhelming, turn on calm sound in the grown-up settings and hum the song quietly instead.
Los colores para niños
En esta página su hijo puede aprender doce colores en español con audio claro: rojo, amarillo, azul, verde, naranja, morado, rosa, marrón, negro, blanco, gris y azul cielo. Toque un color para escucharlo y luego juegue a encontrarlo.
Para practicar en casa, jueguen al "veo, veo", ordenen calcetines por colores o mezclen pinturas. Pregunte a menudo "¿de qué color es?" y describa las cosas con su color: el coche rojo, la manzana roja. Así su hijo aprenderá también que muchos colores cambian con el género.
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: spanish 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.
