Colours in English
Learn colours in English with meanings and examples: basic and extra colours, light and dark shades, the ending -ish and common colour idioms.
In this lesson
Colours in English are words such as red, blue, green and yellow. They describe what something looks like. A colour usually comes before a noun (a red bus) or after the verb be (The bus is red). In this lesson you will learn basic and extra colours, light and dark shades, the ending -ish and some common colour idioms.
Key point
Colour words are adjectives, so they never take -s: a red car, two red cars. Put the colour before a noun (a blue shirt) or after be (The shirt is blue).
What are the basic colours in English?
These eleven colours are the ones you will use most often, so learn them first. Most of them can also be nouns: Red is my favourite colour.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| red | The colour of blood or a ripe tomato. | She is wearing a red dress. |
| orange | The colour between red and yellow, like the skin of an orange. | The sky turns orange at sunset. |
| yellow | The colour of a lemon or the sun. | Bananas turn yellow when they are ripe. |
| green | The colour of grass and leaves. | The tea hills of Nuwara Eliya are green all year. |
| blue | The colour of a clear sky or the sea. | The sea is very blue today. |
| purple | A colour made by mixing red and blue. | Aubergines have shiny purple skin. |
| pink | A pale red colour. | My little sister loves pink shoes. |
| brown | The colour of earth, wood or coffee. | He has brown eyes. |
| black | The darkest colour, like the sky at night. | I bought a black umbrella. |
| white | The colour of milk or snow. | Sri Lankan schoolchildren wear white uniforms. |
| grey | The colour between black and white, like a rain cloud. | The sky is grey and cloudy. |
colour noun A1
What something looks like because of the light it reflects, for example red, blue or green.
What colour is your new phone?
Common mistake
My new shoes are blacks. → My new shoes are black.
What are some other colours in English?
When you want to be more exact, use these extra colours. You will see them on clothes, in shops and on paint charts. Many of them are named after a flower, a fruit or a metal.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gold | A shiny yellow colour, like the metal gold. | The bride wore a gold necklace. |
| silver | A shiny grey colour, like the metal silver. | He drives a silver car. |
| beige | A pale brown colour, like sand. | The office walls are beige. |
| cream | A very pale yellowish-white colour. | She bought a cream sofa. |
| maroon | A dark brownish-red colour. | Our school blazer is maroon. |
| navy | A very dark blue colour, also called navy blue. | He wore a navy suit to the interview. |
| indigo | A deep blue-purple colour, between blue and violet in the rainbow. | She wore an indigo sari to the wedding. |
| violet | A bluish-purple colour, like the flower of the same name. | Violet is the last colour of the rainbow. |
| lilac | A pale purple colour, like the lilac flower. | She painted her bedroom lilac. |
| magenta | A bright purplish-red colour. | The printer needs a new magenta ink cartridge. |
| crimson | A deep, strong red colour. | Her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment. |
| olive | A dark yellowish-green colour, like a green olive. | The soldiers wore olive green uniforms. |
| khaki | A pale brownish-yellow or brownish-green colour. | He wears khaki trousers to work. |
| peach | A pale orange-pink colour, like the skin of a peach. | The bridesmaids wore peach dresses. |
| turquoise | A bright greenish-blue colour. | The water at the beach was clear and turquoise. |
| teal | A dark greenish-blue colour. | I like your teal T-shirt. |
Note
Some colour words have different British and American spellings. British English writes colour, grey, colourful and favourite. American English writes color, gray, colorful and favorite. Both are correct, so choose one and use it consistently.
How do you say light, dark and bright colours?
To describe a shade, put one of these words before the colour: light blue, dark green, bright red. The last two words in the table, colourful and multicoloured, describe things that have many colours.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| light | Pale, with a lot of white in it. | She is wearing a light blue blouse. |
| dark | Deep, with a lot of black in it. | My father has a dark green car. |
| pale | Very light, with very little colour. | The baby’s room is pale yellow. |
| bright | Strong and easy to see. | He painted the front door bright orange. |
| deep | Dark and strong. | The sea here is a deep blue. |
| pastel | Soft and pale, like baby pink or mint green. | She likes pastel colours for her clothes. |
| colourful | Having many bright colours. | Vesak lanterns are very colourful. |
| multicoloured | Having many different colours. | She wore a multicoloured scarf. |
Examples
- The sky is light blue in the morning and dark blue in the evening.
- Young tea leaves are pale green.
- Our new school bus is bright yellow.
- The children made colourful kites for the holidays.
How do you use -ish with colours?
Add -ish to a colour when something is only slightly that colour, or when you are not sure of the exact colour: The water looked greenish. These words are common in everyday speech.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| reddish | Slightly red. | The soil in this area is reddish. |
| yellowish | Slightly yellow. | Old newspapers turn yellowish. |
| greenish | Slightly green. | The water in the pond looks greenish. |
| bluish | Slightly blue. | His lips were bluish from the cold water. |
| brownish | Slightly brown. | The river is brownish after heavy rain. |
| greyish | Slightly grey. | My grandfather has greyish hair. |
| pinkish | Slightly pink. | The sky was pinkish at sunrise. |
| whitish | Almost white, or slightly white. | The walls are painted a whitish colour. |
| purplish | Slightly purple. | The bruise on his arm was purplish. |
Tip
Watch the spelling. Red doubles the d (reddish). Blue, white and purple drop the final e (bluish, whitish, purplish). The other colours just add -ish (greenish, greyish).
How do you ask and answer questions about colours?
Use What colour …? to ask about colours. Answer with It’s … for one thing and They’re … for more than one.
Examples
- What colour is your bag? It’s black.
- What colour are her eyes? They’re brown.
- What’s your favourite colour? My favourite colour is green.
- Do you have this shirt in white?
- I don’t like the red one. I’ll take the blue one.
- The bride was dressed in white.
Use in + colour to talk about clothes and choices: Do you have this shirt in white? Use the … one to choose between things: the blue one.
Where does the colour go with other adjectives?
When you use more than one adjective, put the colour after words for opinion, size and age, but before the material: a beautiful red dress, a big black dog, an old brown leather bag.
Common mistake
I want a red big car. → I want a big red car.
What are some common colour idioms?
Idioms are fixed phrases with a special meaning. You cannot always guess the meaning from the words, so learn each idiom as a whole phrase. These idioms are a little harder (B1 and B2), so treat this section as an extra.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| out of the blue | Suddenly and unexpectedly. | My old school friend called me out of the blue. |
| once in a blue moon | Very rarely. | We eat at a restaurant once in a blue moon. |
| green with envy | Very jealous. | She was green with envy when she saw my new phone. |
| see red | To become very angry suddenly. | My father sees red when people drop litter. |
| feel blue | To feel sad. | I always feel blue when it rains all day. |
| catch someone red-handed | To catch someone while they are doing something wrong. | The shopkeeper caught the thief red-handed. |
| a white lie | A small lie that you tell to be kind. | I told a white lie and said I loved the gift. |
| give someone the green light | To allow someone to start something. | The principal gave us the green light for the school trip. |
How can you learn colours quickly?
Tip
Play a colour game on your way to school or work. Name the colour of five things you see, for example a red bus, a white tuk-tuk, a green tree. Then add a shade word: a dark green tree.
Colours help you describe almost everything. Practise them with fruit names in English (a yellow mango, a green lime) and vegetable names in English, then learn numbers in English so you can say three red apples. Every colour from this lesson is also in our English Word Bank, and you can test yourself with Vocabulary test 01.
To hear each colour and find more shades, see the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries topic list of colours and shapes. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries entry for colour gives the British and American pronunciation.
Now check what you have learnt with this quick practice quiz.
Summary
- Colour words are adjectives: they go before a noun or after be, and they never take -s.
- Use light, dark, pale, bright and deep to describe shades: light blue, dark green.
- Add -ish to mean slightly: reddish, bluish, greyish.
- Ask What colour is it? and answer It’s blue.
- Colour idioms such as out of the blue and feel blue have special meanings.
Frequently asked questions
How many colours are there in a rainbow?
There are seven: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Many British children remember the order with the sentence Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.
Is it colour or color?
Both are correct. Colour is the British spelling and color is the American spelling. Use one spelling consistently in your writing.
Can a colour word be a noun?
Yes. It is a noun when it names the colour itself: Blue is my favourite colour. It is an adjective when it describes something: a blue shirt.
What does out of the blue mean?
It means suddenly and without warning. For example: My cousin visited us out of the blue.
How do you say that a colour is not strong?
Use light or pale: light blue, pale yellow. For soft, pale colours such as baby pink and lilac, you can also say pastel colours.
Practise this lesson
12 questions
