Colour words in Spanish (los colores)

Expressions with color (colour, hue, shade)

• huevos de color - brown eggs
• zapatos de color - brown shoes
• so color de - under pretext of
• no hay color / no tienen color - there's no comparison / they're streets apart
• ese no tiene color - that seems unlikely / that's not on

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negro - black, dark, swarthy, gloomy, atrocious, awful

Shades / expressions

• negro azabache / negro como boca de lobo - pitch-black, coal-black (jet black / as the inside of a wolf's mouth)
• la cosa se pone negra - it's not going well, it looks bad
• lo ve todo negro - he's terriby pessimistic about everything
• dinero negro - hot money (not declared for tax)
• poner negro a uno - to make sb cross, upset sb
• azúcar negro - brown sugar
• oscuro / tenebroso - dark
• oscuro como boca de lobo - as black as pitch (as dark as a wolf's mouth)
• sucio - black / dirty (with smoke)
• prieto - blackish / dark / swarthy (LAm) / brunette

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blanco - white, light, fair, blank, cowardly

Shades / expressions

• más blanco que el jazmín - whiter than white, as white as snow
• más blanco que el papel - as white as a sheet
• poner los ojos en blanco - to roll one's eyes; to look ecstatic
• dejar a uno en blanco - to disappoint sb
• estoy en blanco - I haven't a clue
• pasar la noche en blanco - to have a sleepless night

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rojo - red, ruddy, sandy

Shades / expressions

• pelirrojo (m), pelirroja (f) - red-haired
• bermellón - vermillion
• rojo burdeos - maroon, dark red
• rojo cereza - cherry-red
• rojo teja - brick-red
• poner rojo a uno - to make sb blush
• ponerse rojo de la ira - to be fighting mad
• la atmósfera está al rojo vivo - the atmosphere is electric
• rojo de labios - rouge, lipstick
• ponerse colorado - to blush
• poner colorado a uno - to make sb blush

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amarillo - yellow, amber, sensational, gutter

Shades / expressions

• gualda - yellow or gold colour
• amarillo canario - canary yellow
• amarillo mostaza - mustard yellow
• amarillo paja - straw colour
• sindicato amarillo - trade union which is in league with the bosses

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azul - blue, conservative

Shades

• celeste - light blue
• azul celeste - sky blue
• azul de mar/marino - navy blue
• azul pavo - peacock blue
• azul turquesa - turquoise
• azul ultramar - ultramarine

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verde - green, unripe, fresh, unseasoned, randy, blue, smutty, dirty, pasture, salad, countryside

Shades / expressions

• verde botella - bottle-green
• verde lima - lime-green
• verde oliva - olive-green
• ¡están verdes! - sour grapes!
• viejo verde - randy/dirty old man
• ser verde - to be dirty, smutty, randy
• viuda verde - merry widow
• está verde - he's very green (ignorant), he doesn't know anything
• estar verde de envida - to be green with envy
• darse un verde - to eat a lot / one's fill
• darse un verde de algo - to have one's fill of sth / to be all sthed out

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marrón - brown
castaño - chestnut, brown (hair, eyes, skin)
moreno - brown, tan; tanned; dark-haired; dark, swarthy; coloured;
color café - brown / coffee-coloured

Expressions

• muy moreno / muy bronceado - as brown as a berry
• ponerse moreno / morenarse / broncearse - to get brown (in the sun)
• pan moreno - brown bread
• papel de embalar / papel de estraza - brown paper
• arroz integral - brown rice
• azúcar moreno / negro / terciado - brown sugar

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rosa - rose, pink
rosado - pink, rosy, pinkish, rosé (wine)

Expressions

• revista rosa - magazine of sentimental stories
• verlo todo color de rosa - to see everything through rose-tinted spectacles

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color naranja / naranja - orange

Shades

• naranja chillón - a loud, garish or lurid orange colour
• naranja fuerte - bright orange

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gris - grey; rucio - grey (horse)

Expressions

• zona en penumbra / zona gris - grey area
• ardilla gris - grey squirrel
• anciano / viejo - greybeard
• encanecer - to go / turn grey (of hair)
• canoso - grey-haired

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púrpura - purple
morado - purple (redish purple)
violeta - violet (bluish purple)
lila - lilac (pale purple / violet)
lavanda = lavender

Expressions

• ojo morado - black eye
• pasarlas moradas - to have a tough time of it
• conservador a la violeta - dyed-in-the-wool conservative