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Do you know the difference between blue and burgundy or green and graphite? Knowing the words for colors in English helps you describe the beauty of the world around you more accurately. Discover important color vocabulary words, their pronunciations, and how you’ll use these names for colors in your everyday conversations.

Important English color vocabulary

Before you learn the basic English words for colors, you need to know how to talk about them! Learn these important color vocabulary words to be more specific when working on how to speak English.

• bright colors: bold colors that get your attention
• color wheel: a circle that includes all the colors you can see
• glossy: a shiny, smooth appearance of a color
• hue: a specific appearance of a color
• neutral colors: natural colors that aren’t bright, and aren’t on the color wheel
• metallic colors: shiny colors that look like polished metal
• pastel: pale colors that aren’t bright
• primary colors: the three basic colors (red, blue, yellow)
• rainbow: a spectrum of visible colors
• shade: the darker version of a color
• tint: the lighter version of a color
• vibrant: another word to describe bright colors

Basic colors in English

A lesson on basic English words starts with the colors of the rainbow. These basic colors include the three primary colors on the color wheel (blue, red, and yellow) and the colors you make when you combine them. 

Descriptive colors in English

When you know the basic color vocabulary words, you can get more descriptive. Find out how to describe darker, brighter, and lighter versions of colors to describe the world around.

Shades of blue and green

When you know how to use words for cool colors like blue and green, you can show the difference between sapphire blue and mint green. If you love trees or the ocean, you’ll want to learn all the ways to describe those colors. Common varieties of blue and green can be found in this chart of colors in English.

Shades of yellow and orange

Bright yellow may be more like canary yellow, while a blend of yellow and orange might be closer to saffron. These colors are important to know when you’re picking flowers or shopping for a new dress. Find out how to say colors that describe specific shades of warm colors like yellow and orange.

Shades of red and pink

There’s not just one specific shade of red or pink! You can easily talk about scarlet birds or magenta blossoms when you know the different shades of red and pink. It’s helpful when you’re talking about the colors of wine or lipstick. Some English colors in Spanish are very similar, such as rose and maroon and rosa and marrón (Spanish).

Shades of purple

Each shade of purple describes a different flower, fruit, or jewel. Learn the difference between light lilac and deep violet with a list of the shades of purple.

Neutral colors in English

Neutral colors aren’t on the color wheel, but they’re still considered colors. There are four main neutral color names in English, plus the different shades of each neutral color to be even more specific. If you’re shopping for more professional clothing, it’s likely you’ll ask for a suit or slacks in these colors.

Shades of brown

The color name brown can describe something dark (like mocha) or light (like khaki). These common shades of brown may appear in your English conversations about nature or clothes.

Shades of gray

Neutral gray colors might describe stones or other minerals from the natural world. Learn how to use color names charcoal or slate when you describe something that’s gray.

Shades of white

White might look like there’s no color. But there’s not just one shade of white! Use eggshell or porcelain to describe specific white shades when you’re painting.

Shades of black

Black isn’t just one dark color. There are many ways to describe different shades of black, including lighter ebony and darker midnight. Some of these words come from everyday objects that match their specific color of black.

English words for metallic colors

In English, there are several different ways to talk about metallic colors. Find out how to describe shiny items that are gold, silver, or copper.

Common English color expressions

Learning common colors in English can help you with more than visual descriptions! Use these common expressions and idioms that include English names for colors. They have a meaning that’s different from the color, so pay attention to what the phrase describes.

• a gray area: Not easy to define
• black sheep: Someone who is different from the people around them
• catch red-handed: Seeing someone committing a crime
• green with envy: Feeling very jealous
• feeling blue: Feeling sad
• out of the blue: Something unexpected
• red flag: A warning sign
• rose-colored glasses: not seeing the bad things
• silver lining: A good result from a bad situation
• white lie: A very small lie

How do English colors get their names?

The English language gets vocabulary words from many different sources. Discover how we got these English words for colors, and how they’re similar to color names in other languages.

English color names from other languages

Many English color names come from Old English. For example, the Old English word blæc (black) means “dark,” and hwīt from Old English means “the color of milk.” But many other color names come from other languages.

Some colors in Spanish, such as rojo (red) and violeta (violet) sound similar to English color names. Other colors, including German colors like blau (blue) and silber (silver), also resemble English words. 

More language influences on English words include French words beige and chartreuse, Urdu words like khākī (khaki), Persian words like līlak (lilac), and Italian color words like porcellana (porcelain).

English color names from plants and nature

You’ll see many English colors that are named after the plants that have those colors. 

Heather, lilac, lavender, rose, orange, lemon, and banana are just a few examples of colors in English that you’ll also see in nature. Some colors, like eggshell and smoke, also come from the natural elements that share those colors. 

Other nature colors come from historical people or places. The pink hue fuchsia comes from the flower that was named after Leonhard Fuchs, a 16th century German botanist. The brown shade of mocha comes from Mocha, the Red Sea port of Yemen, where coffee beans were exported to Europe in the 28th century.

English color names from gems

Many gemstones are named after the colors they show! Amethyst, sapphire, and onyx are all examples of colors that are also the names of the gems that have those colors. Another example is turquoise, which comes from the French turquois meaning “Turkish,” and describes the blue-green gems exported from Turkey.

How to describe hair color in English

If you want to describe a person you met this week, you’ll need to know how to talk about their hair color. In English, we don’t use colors to describe hair color. There are specific words you’ll need to learn in this chart.

Paint a picture with the English language

Learning the basic English words for colors is a great step in your English language journey. You can use your new vocabulary to describe what you see and add details to writing to make your English even more clear. Master how to say these new words with a guide to the English alphabet, and you’ll become fluent before you know it!

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