Colors in Spanish: A comprehensive guide
Berges Institute
• Aug 1, 2023
• 11 minutes
Updated Jan 31, 2024
In this volume, we discuss the alphabet, definite and indefinite articles, and verbs ser and estar, among other topics.
Here are the most important colors in Spanish. We've used colors from the RGB system, which is an additive color model used to represent colors in digital devices. It stands for "Red, Green, Blue," and it works by combining different intensities of these three primary colors to create a wide range of colors.
The RGB model is based on the principle that when these three primary colors are combined at full intensity, they create white light, while their absence results in black.
In the RGB color model, each color is represented by a combination of three numerical values that determine the intensity of the red, green, and blue components. These values are usually specified on a scale from 0 to 255 , with 0 being the absence of the color and 255 being the full intensity of the color. The three values are often referred to as "channels."
Here they are:
139, 0, 0 - Rojo oscuro (dark red)
178, 34, 34 - Color ladrillo (firebrick)
220, 20, 60 - Carmesí (crimson)
255, 0, 0 - Rojo (red)
205, 92, 92 - Rojo indio (Indian red)
240, 128, 128 - Coral claro (light coral)
233, 150, 122- Salmón oscuro (dark salmon)
250, 128, 114 - Salmón (salmon)
255, 160, 122 - Salmón claro (light salmon)
255, 69, 0 - Rojo naranja (orange red)
255, 99, 71 - Tomate (tomato)
255, 140, 0 - Naranja oscuro (dark orange)
255, 165, 0 - Naranja (orange)
255, 127, 80 - Coral (coral)
189, 183, 107 - Caqui oscuro (dark kakhi)
240, 230, 140 - Caqui (kakhi)
255, 255, 0 - Amarillo (yellow)
255, 215, 0 - Color oro / dorado (gold)
255, 218, 185 - Melocotón / durazno ("peach puff")
238, 232, 170 - Amarillo dorado pálido (pale goldenrod)
255, 228, 181 - Naranja pálido (moccasin / pale orange)
255, 239, 213 - Papaya (papaya / papaya whip)
250, 250, 210 - Amarillo dorado claro (light goldenrod yellow)
255, 250, 205 - Gasa de limón (lemon chiffon)
255, 255, 224 - Amarillo claro (light yellow)
128, 0, 0 - Granate (maroon)
165, 42, 42 - Marrón (brown)
139, 69, 19 - Marrón cuero (saddle brown)
160, 82, 45 - Siena / tierra de siena (sienna)
210, 105, 30 - Chocolate (chocolate)
184, 134, 11 - Amarillo dorado oscuro (dark goldenrod)
205, 133, 63 - Color Perú (peru)
188, 143, 143 - Marrón "Rosy" (rosy brown)
218, 165, 32 - Amarillo dorado (goldenrod)
244, 164, 96 - Marrón arenoso (sandy brown)
210, 180, 140 - Tostado (tan)
222, 184, 135 - Color madera (burlywood)
245, 222, 179 - Color trigo (wheat)
255, 222, 173 - Blanco navajo (Navajo white)
255, 228, 196 - Color bizcocho (bisque)
255, 235, 205 - Almendra blanqueada (bleached almond)
255, 248, 220 - Seda de maíz (cornsilk)
75, 0, 130 - Índigo (indigo)
128, 0, 128 - Púrpura (purple)
139, 0, 139 - Magenta oscuro (dark magenta)
148, 0, 211 - Violeta oscuro (dark violet)
72, 61, 139 - Azul pizarra oscuro (dark slate blue)
138, 43, 226 - Violeta azulado (blue violet)
153, 50, 204 - Color orquídea oscuro (dark orchid)
255, 0, 255 - Fucsia / magenta (fuchsia / magenta)
106, 90, 205 - Azul pizarra (slate blue)
123, 104, 238 - Azul pizarra medio (medium slate blue)
186, 85, 211 - Color orquídea medio (medium orchid)
147, 112, 219 - Púrpura medio (medium purple)
218, 112, 214 - Color orquídea (orchid)
238, 130, 238 - Violeta (violet)
221, 160, 221 - Ciruela (plum)
216, 191, 216 - Cardo (thistle)
230, 230, 250 - Lavanda (lavander)
0, 128, 128 - Verde azulado (teal)
0, 139, 139 - Cian oscuro (dark cian)
32, 178, 170 - Verdemar claro (light sea green)
95, 158, 160 - Azul cadete (cadet blue)
0, 206, 209 - Turquesa oscuro (dark turquoise)
72, 209, 204 - Turquesa medio (medium turquoise)
64, 224, 208 - Turquesa (turquoise)
0, 255, 255 - Cian (cyan)
127, 255, 212 - Aguamarina (aquamarine)
175, 238, 238 - Turquesa pálido (pale turquoise)
224, 255, 255 - Cian claro (light cyan)
0, 100, 0 - Verde oscuro (dark green)
0, 128, 0 - Verde (green)
85, 107, 47 - Verde oliva oscuro (dark olive green)
34, 139, 34 - Verde bosque (forest green)
46, 139, 87 - Verdemar (sea green)
128, 128, 0 - Oliva (olive)
107, 142, 35 - Verde militar (olive drab)
60, 179, 113 - Verdemar medio (medium sea green)
50, 205, 50 - Verde lima (lime green)
0, 255, 0 - Lima (lime)
0, 255, 127 - Verde primavera (spring green)
0, 250, 154 - Verde primavera medio (medium spring green)
143, 188, 143 - Verdemar oscuro (dark sea green)
102, 205, 170 - Aguamarina medio (medium aquamarine)
154, 205, 50 - Verde amarillento (yellow green)
124, 252, 0 - Verde pradera (lawn green)
127, 255, 0 - Chartreuse (chartreuse)
144, 238, 144 - Verde claro (light green)
173, 255, 47 - Amarillo verdoso (green yellow)
152, 251, 152 - Verde pálido (pale green)
255, 228, 225 - Rosa brumoso (misty rose)
250, 235, 215 - Blanco antiguo (antique white)
250, 240, 230 - Lino (linen)
245, 245, 220 - Beige (beige)
245, 245, 245 - Blanco humo (smoke white)
255, 240, 245 - Rubor lavanda (lavander blush)
253, 245, 230 - Encaje antiguo (old lace)
240, 248, 255 - Azul Alicia (Alice blue)
255, 245, 238 - Blanco concha (seashell)
248, 248, 255 - Blanco fantasma (ghost white)
240, 255, 240 - Mielada (honeydew)
255, 250, 240 - Blanco floral (floral white)
240, 255, 255 - Azul celeste (azure)
245, 255, 250 - Crema de menta (mint cream)
255, 250, 250 - Blanco nieve (snow)
255, 255, 240 - Marfil (ivory)
255, 255, 255 - Blanco (white)
0, 0, 0 - Negro (black)
47, 79, 79 - Gris pizarra oscuro (dark slate gray)
105, 105, 105 - Gris tenue (dim gray)
112, 128, 144 - Gris pizarra (slate gray)
128, 128, 128 - Gris (gray)
119, 136, 153 - Gris pizarra claro (light slate gray)
169, 169, 169 - Gris oscuro (dark gray)
192, 192, 192 - Color plata / plateado (silver)
211, 211, 211 - Gris claro (light gray)
220, 220, 220 - Gainsboro (Gainsboro)
Note: In the RGB color model, gris (gray) is darker than gris oscuro (dark gray).
We’ll use the nouns piano and guitarra, which are respectively masculine and feminine, for the examples.
In general, to build the feminine version, for colors that end in -o, we change -o for -a: piano rojo, guitarra roja, piano amarillo, guitarra amarilla. All the other colors are neutral, and don’t change for the feminine version: piano verde, guitarra verde, piano azul, guitarrra azul.
Those colors that are called “color X” are also neutral: piano color ladrillo, guitarra color ladrillo.
For colors that have more than one word, instead of matching every word ("guitarra blanca antigua"), we usually just add color right before and keep the singular masculine version: guitarra color blanco antiguo, guitarra color verde pálido.
For colors that end in a vowel, we’ll add an S at the end: pianos rojos, guitarras amarillas. For colors that end in a consonant, we’ll add -es at the end: pianos azules, guitarras grises.
For colors that have more than one word, instead of changing every word ("guitarras blancas antiguas"), we usually just add color right before and keep the singular masculine version: guitarras color blanco antiguo, guitarras color verde pálido.
Here is Dan Berges pronouncing some basic colors and building their feminine and plural versions:
If we want to say something is a certain color, we’ll usually use ser, as a color is usually a permanent, defining trait:
El coche es rojo. (The car is red.)
Mis ojos son marrones. (My eyes are brown.)
Las casas son blancas. (The houses are white.)
In some cases, if the color is a temporary state, we can use estar instead:
Mis ojos están rojos. (My eyes are red.)
El cielo está gris. (The sky is gray.)
To ask someone about their favorite color in Spanish, we'll say:
¿Cuál es tu color favorito? (Literally: Which is your favorite color?
And we'll reply:
Mi color favorito es el negro. (My favorite color is black.)
Note we have to use the definite article: el negro.
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