Colour words in Italian (I Colori)

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nero - black (cloud, hair, skin), mournful, painful, sad, evil, wicked
buio - black (night)

Shades and expressions

• nerissimo - black as night
• essere d'umore nero - to be in a black humour = to be very sad/depressed
• vedere tutto nero - to be very sad
• lavoro nero - to work on the black (illegally)

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bianco - white, clean, blank

Shades and expressions

• bianco sporco - off-white
• bianco lucido - glossy white
• biano e nero - black and white
• diventare bianco - to turn white
• sbiancare - to whiten
• lasciare in bianco - to leave (sth) blank
• assegno in bianco - blank cheque
• pasta in bianco - pasta with cheese, olive oil and butter
• matrimonio bianco - unconsumated marriage
• colletto bianco - white-collar worker
• pane bianco - white bread
• carne bianca - white meat
• mangiare in bianco - to eat plain/bland food
• andare in bianco - to draw a blank, to not score
• essere bianco come un cencio/lenzuolo - to be as white as chalk/as a sheet

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rosso - red, flushed, red-haired

Shades and expressions

• rosso brillante - bright red
• rosso Valentino - Valentino red [details]
• carminio - carmine
• vermiglio - vermillion
• porpora - crimson (the colour of the red strips on Roman senators' togas)
• diventare rosso per la vergogna/per la rabbia - to be red with shame/anger
• vedere rosso - to be very angry
• essere rosso come un gambero/un peperone - to be as red like as a beetroot/lobster (crayfish/pepper)
• a luci rosse - red light
• diventare rosso - to turn red, blush, flush
• rosso d'uovo - egg yolk

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giallo - yellow, crime, detective, yolk

Shades and expressions

• i gialli (the yellows) - detective stories/films - this is because the books were first published with yellow covers

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azzurro - light blue, sky blue, azure; blu - blue

Shades and expressions

• azzurrino - pale light blue
• celeste - baby blue
• blu cobalto - cobalt blue
• blu oltremare - ultramarine
• il profondo blu - the deep blue sea
• avere sangue blu - to have blue blood (aristocratic/royal)
• avere una fifa blu - to be in a blue funk
• Gli Azzurri - The Blues (Italian national football team)
• le auto blu - the blue cars that accompany politicians on their travels

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verde - green, unleaded, unripe

Shades and expressions

• verde acqua - turquoise green
• verde fosforescente - phosphorescent green
• verde carico / verdone - hot green
• verde smeraldo - emerald green
• verdino - pale green
• il verde pubblico - public parks and gardens
• i verdi - the environmentalists / ecologists / Greens
• essere al verde - to be broke
• essere verde di invidia - to be green with envy
• numero verde - toll-free number

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marrone - brown; castano (eyes); bruno (hair)

Shades and expressions

• marrone chiaro - light brown
• marrone rossiccio - golden brown
• diventare marrone - to go/turn brown
• abbronzarsi - to go brown (sun tanned)
• rosolare - to brown (food)
• orso bruno - brown bear
• pane integrale - brown bread
• occhi marroni - brown eyes
• capelli castani - brown hair

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rosa - pink, gay, left-wing

Shades and expressions

• rosa pallido - pale pink
• rosa confetto - baby pink
• rosa shocking - shocking pink
• arrossire - to go/turn pink

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arancione - orange

Shades

• arancione scuro - dark orange

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grigio - grey, dull; bigio - grey

Shades and expressions

• grigio carbone - charcoal grey
• zona grigia - grey area
• capelli grigi / capelli brizzolati - grey hair
• scoiattolo grigio - grey squirrel

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viola / porpora - purple

Expression

• erica viola - heather purple

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Colour modifier words

• ... brillante - bright ...
• ... fosforescente - phosphorescent ...
• ... pallido - pale ...
• ... carico - hot ...

There are also diminutive and augmentive forms of some colours, eg. verdone - hot green; verdino - pale green; rosino - pale pink.