Verde y gris.
Green and gray.
In a dark warehouse, someone names the colors of a painting like an expert, and gris sits next to verde without changing.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "gray" in Spanish
gris
adjectivesame for both gendersplural: grisesone syllable
"Gray" in Spanish is gris, one word for masculine and feminine nouns alike: un bolso gris, una mesa gris. The plural is grises. For gray hair, Spanish usually talks about las canas, or pelo canoso.
Hear "gris" in a real scene
An expert eye on a painting. The video starts and stops on that line.
Gray in everyday Spanish
Shades, hair, weather and one phrase about brains.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| gris claro | light gray |
| gris oscuro | dark gray |
| las canas | gray hairs |
| canoso, canosa | gray-haired |
| un día gris | a dull, overcast day |
| la materia gris | gray matter, brains |
Tip: To say someone is going gray, use salir canas: Me salen canas means I'm getting gray hairs.
Grammar: gris, grises
Four points, and gender isn't one of them.
No -o, no -a
Gris keeps one form: un traje gris, una llave gris.Plural with -es
Gris ends in a consonant, so the plural is grises: los zapatos grises, las mesas grises.The color goes after the noun
Say la casa gris and el bolígrafo gris. With two colors, link them with y: gris y negro.Gloomy and dull
Un día gris is an overcast day. Una persona gris is someone dull who doesn't stand out.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
La llave gris es importante.
The gray key is important.
La casa número catorce es gris.
House number fourteen is gray.
La mesa es gris.
The table is gray.
Este zapato es gris y negro.
This shoe is gray and black.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una mesa grisa
✓una mesa gris
Gris has no feminine form, so it never takes -a.
✗los zapatos gris
✓los zapatos grises
A plural noun needs the plural color: add -es.
✗Tengo el pelo gris. (about hair that has turned gray)
✓Tengo canas.
For hair that goes gray with age, people say canas or pelo canoso.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Gris sounds like grease. Old engine grease turns a dull gray, so picture a greasy rag every time you say gris.
Questions about "gray" in Spanish
How do you say gray in Spanish?
Gris, the same for every noun: un coche gris, una casa gris. The plural is grises.
Is gris masculine or feminine?
Both. Gris has one form for both genders and changes only in the plural, to grises.
How do you say gray hair in Spanish?
Las canas: Tengo canas. To describe the hair or the person, use canoso: pelo canoso, una mujer canosa.
How do you say light gray and dark gray in Spanish?
Gris claro and gris oscuro, as in un abrigo gris oscuro.
