Color words in Spanish, as in any other language, are important in increasing your descriptive language. These small but powerful words are used every day for characterizing and defining your thoughts. Knowing the color words in Spanish and how to use them properly builds on your power to communicate correctly in the Spanish language.

Spanish is used in many different parts of the world and not all dialects use the same words. These twelve basic colors words are some that are commonly used here in Mexico:

Spanish Colors-English Colors

amarillo--yellow
anaranjado--orange
azul-blue
beige--beige
blanco-white
gris-gray
marron-brown
morado-purple
negro-black
rojo-red
verde--green

To help you use these basic color words in Spanish properly, here are a few things to remember. I have tried to keep the rules simple and provided examples so you can visual the actual usage.

1. In English a color comes before the noun that it is describing. Eg. I have a green shoe.
In Spanish, in most cases, the name of the color comes after the noun it describes. Eg. I have a green shoe. Tengo un zapato verde.

b) If the color describes an inherent (built in) quality, then it comes in front. Eg. the white snow--la blanca nieve

2. Spanish nouns are classified as either feminine or masculine. Spanish color adjectives often change to agree in gender with the noun they describe. If the noun is masculine and the Spanish color word ends in an o, like rojo, the color word does not change. If the noun is feminine, then the color word that ended in o, now ends in a--roja.
Eg. There is one red book. Hay un libro rojo. word book (libro) is masculine, so red is rojo.
Eg. There is a red ball. Hay una pelota roja. word for ball (pelota) is feminine, so rojo changes to roja.

In the other basic Spanish colors above, here are the changes.

Remember: masculine ends in o, then feminine ends in a

·amarillo--un libro amarillo amarilla--una pelota amarilla
·anaranjado--un libro anaranjado anaranjada--una pelota anaranjada
·blanco--un libro blanco blanca--una pelota blanca
·morado--un libro morado morada--una pelota morada
·negro--un libro negro negra--una pelota negra

3. Usually color words in Spanish also change when the nouns become plural. In the above examples, when a color ends in an o or a, and the noun becomes plural, add an s in both the masculine and feminine situations. Eg. There are two red books. Hay dos libros rojos. Eg. There are two red balls. Hay dos pelotas rojas.

·amarillos--dos libros amarillos amarillas--dos pelotas amarillas
·anaranjado--dos libros anaranjados anaranjadas--dos pelotas anaranjadas
·blanco--dos libros blancos blanco--dos pelotas blancas
·morado--dos libros morados moradas--dos pelotas moradas
·negro--dos libros negros negra--dos pelotas negras

4. These colors in Spanish do not change with the gender. They are the same if the noun is masculine or feminine: beige, rosa, verde, gris, marrón, azul. Eg. a beige book--un libro beige a beige ball--una pelota beige

b) The colors, beige and rosa, do not change when the noun is plural: Eg. two pink balls--dos pelotas rosa two beige books--dos libros beige

c) For the color verde, add an s for plural: verdes Eg. two green balls--dos pelotas verdes
two green books--dos libros verdes

d) For the Spanish colors, azul, marrón, and gris, add es with plural nouns: Azules, marrónes, grises Eg. two blue books--dos libros azules , two brown balls--dos pelotas marrones , two gray balls--dos pelotas grises

Clearly, it is important to know how to use these small but powerful words correctly. Spanish color words bring life to otherwise mundane sentences. They make your descriptions come alive and enrich your vocabulary. Color words in Spanish expand your writing and speaking parameters.

I hope this helps with implementing the basic color words to your Spanish repertoire. Try the best you can. You may make mistakes, but that is a great way to learn. Just use these few simple rules to help you get on the right track.

Penny Howe of http://www.synergyspanishreview.com knows the frustrations of learning a second language, so to make it easier for you to review and see these rules and examples at a glance, access the Pdf file showing these color words in Spanish. Included are two charts to download and print. The first chart lists these Spanish color words and some others. The second is a chart compiling and summarizing the gender and plural changes when using color words in Spanish. Get these free Spanish materials here: http://www.synergyspanishreview.com/free-spanish-materials