La pintura, ¿qué color es?
The paint, what color is it?
Two people in a dark kitchen look up at the paint and ask about its color. This is the casual version; the full question you should learn is ¿De qué color es?
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "color" in Spanish
el color
nounmasculineplural: los colores
"Color" in Spanish is el color, spelled like the American English word but stressed on the end: koh-LOHR. The plural is los colores. To ask what color something is, say ¿De qué color es?
Hear "color" in real movie scenes
A question about paint and a complaint in the garden. Each video starts and stops on that line.
No, no son del color adecuado.
No, they're not the right color.
Out in the garden, someone is unhappy with what they see because of its color. Spanish says del color adecuado, literally of the right color.
From El último gran héroe · Spanish audio
Useful phrases with color
Six phrases for asking about and describing colors.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿De qué color es? | What color is it? |
| ¿Cuál es tu color favorito? | What's your favorite color? |
| de color rojo | red, red in color |
| un color claro, un color oscuro | a light color, a dark color |
| a todo color | in full color |
| los lápices de colores | colored pencils |
Tip: De colores means multicolored: una camisa de colores has more than one color on it.
Grammar: el color, los colores
Four points for talking about colors in general.
Masculine, plural in -es
el color, los colores. The consonant ending adds -es, and the stress stays on -lo-: koh-LOH-res.Ask with de
¿De qué color es tu maleta? The answer agrees with the object: Es roja, because maleta is feminine.Color names are masculine
When a color is the noun, it takes el: El rojo es mi color. That holds for every color name.De color + a color
una camiseta de color azul = una camiseta azul. After de color, the color describes color, so it stays masculine: de color rojo.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
El color es bonito.
The color is pretty.
El color rojo es bonito.
The color red is pretty.
Mal trenzada, colores feos.
Badly braided, ugly colors.
No, ese color es feo.
No, that color is ugly.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗la color
✓el color
Color is masculine, so it's el color, un color and los colores.
✗Mi color favorito es la roja
✓Mi color favorito es el rojo
As the name of a color, rojo is a masculine noun.
✗KUH-ler (pronunciation)
✓koh-LOHR
Both o's are full o sounds, the stress lands on the end, and the final r is a quick tap.
✗una camiseta de color roja
✓una camiseta de color rojo
After de color, the color word goes with color, which is masculine.
Real conversation: which suitcase is yours?
A short phone call from the baggage belt. Tap to listen.
Your roommate Andrés is at the airport, looking for your suitcase on the baggage belt.
¿De qué color es tu maleta?
What color is your suitcase?
Es roja.
It's red.
Aquí solo hay una verde.
There's only a green one here.
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 32 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Same spelling as English, new rhythm: say co-LOR like a cheer at a game, with the punch on the last beat.
Questions about "color" in Spanish
How do you say color in Spanish?
El color, with the stress at the end: koh-LOHR. More than one is los colores.
How do you ask "what color is it" in Spanish?
¿De qué color es? For two or more things, ask ¿De qué color son?
Is color masculine or feminine in Spanish?
Masculine: el color, un color bonito, los colores oscuros.
How do you say "favorite color" in Spanish?
Color favorito, with the adjective after the noun: Mi color favorito es el azul.
