Colours in Swahili: word list with pictures
12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Swahili.
| Picture | English | Swahili | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | nyekundu | |||
| Yellow | njano | |||
| Blue | bluu | |||
| Green | kijani | |||
| Orange | rangi ya chungwa | |||
| Purple | zambarau | |||
| Pink | waridi | |||
| Brown | kahawia | |||
| Black | nyeusi | |||
| White | nyeupe | |||
| Grey | kijivu | |||
| Sky Blue | bluu ya anga |
Colors in Swahili are a delightful mix of old words and colours named after everyday things. This page has 12 colours with pictures and clear audio: nyekundu (red), njano (yellow), bluu (blue), kijani (green), rangi ya chungwa (orange), zambarau (purple), waridi (pink), kahawia (brown), nyeusi (black), nyeupe (white), kijivu (grey) and bluu ya anga (sky blue). Tap a colour to hear it, then play Find it. The Swahili word for colour is rangi.
Colours named after things you can see
Many Swahili colours are named after something with that colour, which makes them easy to remember and fun to explain:
| Colour | Swahili | Named after |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | rangi ya chungwa | chungwa, the orange fruit ("colour of an orange") |
| Purple | zambarau | the java plum fruit, also called zambarau |
| Pink | waridi | waridi, a rose |
| Brown | kahawia | kahawa, coffee |
| Grey | kijivu | jivu, ash |
| Sky blue | bluu ya anga | anga, the sky |
This gives you a lovely game: show your child an orange and say "Hii ni rangi ya chungwa!" ("This is the colour of an orange!"). Then find a coffee cup for kahawia and the ashes of a fire for kijivu. Kijani (green) is linked to plants and growing things, and bluu is borrowed from English.
Why black and white change: nyeusi, mweusi
Three old colour words, red, black and white, are adjectives that change their beginning to match the noun's class. The cards use the forms that go with many everyday nouns: nyekundu, nyeusi, nyeupe. With people and animals, you say mbwa mweusi (a black dog) and paka mweupe (a white cat); with a red car, gari jekundu. The colours named after things, like kijani and njano, do not change. Young children learn the patterns by ear; just use whole phrases when you talk.
Colours in East African life
East Africa is full of bright colour. Women's kanga and kitenge cloths are printed in bold patterns, and each kanga carries a Swahili saying printed along its border. Maasai beadwork uses strong nyekundu, bluu, kijani, njano and nyeupe beads. Markets glow with piles of red nyanya, green sukuma wiki and yellow ndizi. Look at a colourful cloth together and ask "Hii ni rangi gani?" ("What colour is this?").
The rainbow in Swahili
A rainbow is upinde wa mvua, "bow of the rain". After a rain shower, look for one together and name the colours you can see, or paint one on our colouring pages.
Colour games for home
- Colour hunt. "Tafuta kitu chekundu!" ("Find something red!") and race to find it.
- Traffic lights. Red means stop, green means go: run and freeze to nyekundu and kijani.
- Fruit colours. Sort fruit by colour with fruits in Swahili.
- Get-dressed choice. "Shati la bluu au la kijani?" ("The blue shirt or the green one?").
- Shapes and colours. Combine with our shapes game.
Mixing up colour names is normal before age 4 in every language. Keep naming colours in daily life and praise every try.
What to expect, and tips for families abroad
At 2-3, children match colours before they can name them. At 3-4, most name nyekundu, njano, bluu and kijani. At 4-5, they know eight to ten colours and enjoy the "named after" stories. At 5-6, they may say mbwa mweusi or paka mweupe naturally. Abroad, colours are easy to keep in Swahili because they come up all day, in clothes, crayons and toys. For English and Hindi colours see colours name, and count your colour finds with numbers in Swahili.
Talking about colour in Swahili
A few short phrases make colour talk easy. Ask "Ni rangi gani?" ("What colour is it?") and answer "Ni nyekundu" ("It is red"). To say you like a colour, try "Napenda rangi ya kijani" ("I like green"). Ask your child every day, "Unapenda rangi gani?" ("Which colour do you like?"), and let the favourite colour change as often as it likes. Children feel proud when they can answer in a full little sentence, and the question works for toys, clothes, fruit and cars alike.
Rangi kwa watoto
Katika ukurasa huu kuna rangi 12 zenye picha na sauti. Gusa rangi, na mtoto atasikia jina lake kwa Kiswahili na kwa Kiingereza: nyekundu, njano, bluu, kijani, rangi ya chungwa, zambarau, waridi, kahawia, nyeusi, nyeupe, kijivu na bluu ya anga.
Chezeni na rangi kila siku: tafuteni magari mekundu barabarani, majani ya kijani bustanini na ndizi za njano jikoni. Baada ya mvua, tazameni upinde wa mvua pamoja.
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: swahili 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.
