German · Colors

Colors in German

The basic colors in German with pronunciation, translation and an example sentence each, plus the words for light and dark, gold and silver.

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The basic colors and how to describe them

Colors are among the easiest words to practise, because you see them everywhere. Here are the basic colors with their pronunciation and an example sentence each, plus light and dark, gold and silver.

The words

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die Farbe[diː ˈfaʁbə]colour
Welche Farbe hat dein Auto?What colour is your car?
rot[ʁoːt]red
Der Apfel ist rot.The apple is red.
blau[blaʊ̯]blue
Der Himmel ist blau.The sky is blue.
gelb[ɡɛlp]yellow
Die Sonne ist gelb.The sun is yellow.
grün[ɡʁyːn]green
Der Rasen ist grün.The grass is green.
orange[oˈʁɑ̃ːʒə]orange
Die Kürbisse sind orange.The pumpkins are orange.
lila[ˈliːla]purple
Sie trägt ein lila Kleid.She is wearing a purple dress.
rosa[ˈʁoːza]pink
Die Blume ist rosa.The flower is pink.
braun[bʁaʊ̯n]brown
Der Bär ist braun.The bear is brown.
schwarz[ʃvaʁts]black
Die Katze ist schwarz.The cat is black.
weiß[vaɪ̯s]white
Die Wand ist weiß.The wall is white.
grau[ɡʁaʊ̯]grey
Der Himmel ist heute grau.The sky is grey today.
silbern[ˈzɪlbɐn]silver
Mein Auto ist silbern.My car is silver.
golden[ˈɡɔldn̩]golden, gold
Sie trägt eine goldene Kette.She is wearing a gold necklace.
türkis[tʏʁˈkiːs]turquoise
Das Meer ist hier türkis.The sea is turquoise here.
beige[beːʃ]beige
Er hat eine beige Hose.He has beige trousers.
hell[hɛl]light, bright
Das Zimmer ist hell.The room is bright.
dunkel[ˈdʊŋkəl]dark
Sie hat dunkle Haare.She has dark hair.
hellgrün[ˈhɛlɡʁyːn]light green
Die Blätter sind hellgrün.The leaves are light green.
bunt[bʊnt]colourful
Die Kinder malen ein buntes Bild.The children are painting a colourful picture.

Learn these words with flashcards

Rot or rotes

A German color changes its ending only before a noun: das Auto ist rot, but ein rotes Auto. Words like lila and rosa officially take no ending, though ein lilanes Kleid is often heard.

Shades are joined into one word: hellblau, dunkelgrün. As nouns colors are neuter and capitalized: das Blau.

Questions about these words

Do colors change with the noun?: In English they never do. In Spanish, German and French most of them change their ending with the noun, and a few named after a fruit or a flower stay the same. The note above gives the rule for this language.
How do I practise colors?: Name the colors of what you see on the way to work or school, aloud. Then add a noun: a red car, a green door. That one step teaches you the agreement as well.

Words by topic

Other languages: Colors in Spanish Colors in French