Vocabulary · Brazilian Portuguese
Colors in Brazilian Portuguese
The colors in Portuguese the way Brazilians say them, each with audio and an example sentence, and how they change to agree with the word they describe (and the few that never do).
25 words, each with audio · Quiz and flashcards
Colors in Portuguese, with audio
The basic colors
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| vermelho, vermelha | red | Ela comprou um vestido vermelho.She bought a red dress. | |
| azul | blueThe same for both genders; the plural is azuis. | O céu está muito azul hoje.The sky is really blue today. | |
| amarelo, amarela | yellow | A camisa da seleção é amarela.The national team's shirt is yellow. | |
| verde | green | A bandeira do Brasil é verde e amarela.Brazil's flag is green and yellow. | |
| preto, preta | black | Eu quero um café preto, por favor.I'd like a black coffee, please. | |
| branco, branca | white | Ela sempre usa tênis branco.She always wears white sneakers. | |
| cinzaPortugal: cinzento | grayDoesn't change: um carro cinza, uma blusa cinza. | O dia amanheceu cinza.The day started out gray. | |
| marromPortugal: castanho | brownFor hair and eyes Brazilians also say castanho. | Meu cachorro tem olhos marrons.My dog has brown eyes. | |
| rosa | pinkDoesn't change: uma blusa rosa, sapatos rosa. | Ela pintou as unhas de rosa.She painted her nails pink. | |
| cor-de-rosa | pinkDoesn't change. One of the few compounds the 2009 spelling reform left hyphenated. | O quarto do bebê é cor-de-rosa.The baby's room is pink. | |
| roxo, roxa | purplePurple, not red: Spanish rojo is a false friend. | O açaí deixa a boca roxa.Açaí turns your mouth purple. | |
| laranja | orangeDoesn't change: named after the fruit. | Ela estava com uma blusa laranja.She was wearing an orange top. |
More colors
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| dourado, dourada | gold, golden | Ela ganhou um relógio dourado.She got a gold watch. | |
| prateado, prateada | silver | Meu carro é prateado.My car is silver. | |
| bege | beige | A parede da sala é bege.The living room wall is beige. | |
| vinho | burgundy, wine-redDoesn't change: named after wine. | Ele comprou um sofá vinho.He bought a burgundy sofa. | |
| lilás | lilac | Ela usou um vestido lilás na festa.She wore a lilac dress to the party. | |
| azul-marinho | navy blue | O uniforme da escola é azul-marinho.The school uniform is navy blue. | |
| colorido, colorida | colorful | A casa dela é bem colorida.Her house is really colorful. |
Light, dark and talking about color
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a cor | color | Qual é a sua cor favorita?What's your favorite color? | |
| claro, clara | light (of a color) | Prefiro cores claras no verão.I prefer light colors in summer. | |
| escuro, escura | dark | Ela tem o cabelo escuro.She has dark hair. | |
| azul-claro | light blue | Pintei o quarto de azul-claro.I painted the bedroom light blue. | |
| azul-escuro | dark blue | Ele estava de terno azul-escuro.He was wearing a dark blue suit. | |
| loiro, loira | blond | Meu irmão era loiro quando criança.My brother was blond as a child. |
How Brazilians use them
Colors agree with the word they describe
Most colors ending in -o change like any adjective: um carro vermelho, uma casa vermelha, carros vermelhos. Those ending in -e or a consonant (verde, azul, marrom) only change in the plural: casas verdes, olhos azuis.
Some colors never change
Rosa, laranja, cinza, vinho and cor-de-rosa are named after things (a rose, an orange, ash, wine), so careful writing keeps them as they are: uma blusa rosa, sapatos laranja. In speech you'll hear blusas rosas too, and nobody minds.
Roxo is purple
Roxo means purple and vermelho means red, which trips up anyone who knows Spanish rojo. For pink, rosa and cor-de-rosa are both everyday.
Asking about color
Ask De que cor é…? (De que cor é o seu carro? É prata.) or Qual é a sua cor favorita? Light and dark come after the color, with a hyphen: azul-claro, verde-escuro.
Practise
Quick quiz · question 1 of 8
What does vermelho, vermelha mean?
Questions
How do you say “color” in Portuguese?
Cor, a feminine noun: a cor, as cores. “What's your favorite color?” is Qual é a sua cor favorita?
What are the basic colors in Portuguese?
Vermelho (red), azul (blue), amarelo (yellow), verde (green), preto (black), branco (white), cinza (gray), marrom (brown), rosa (pink), roxo (purple) and laranja (orange).
Do colors change in Portuguese?
Most do. Colors ending in -o have a feminine in -a (vermelho, vermelha) and all of them take a plural. Rosa, laranja, cinza and vinho, named after things, stay the same in careful writing.
How do you say light blue and dark blue?
Azul-claro and azul-escuro: claro (light) or escuro (dark) goes after the color, joined with a hyphen. Navy blue is azul-marinho.
Is brown marrom or castanho?
In Brazil, marrom for things, and castanho or marrom for hair and eyes. In Portugal, castanho is the usual word for brown.
More Portuguese words
Meet these words in real Brazilian stories
A list gets you started; a story makes the words stick. Read Brazilian books and stories at your level, tap any word for its meaning in that sentence, and it becomes a card you review later.
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