Colors in English are usually the first words we teach children when we want to introduce them to this new language. In addition to being part of our everyday vocabulary, using these terms with children makes it easier to memorize them since we can use toys and other objects from their universe to teach them.

To help you when teaching these words to children, CCAA will guide you on how to write and say the names of the colors we use most in English. Let's go!

First of all, how do you say “color” in English?

“Color” is one of the words that presents difference in American and British English, and the reasons for this have already been explained in the content about the two accents. See below the writing in each one:

• American: color;
• British: color.

Since the American way of speaking is the most used in audiovisual materials and productions, we will focus only on this way of pronouncing each of the colors in English, okay? By the way, The correct pronunciation of this term in the accent used in the USA is: kâ-lêR. The “R” in this case is pronounced with emphasis, very similar to the way we pronounce it when speaking Portuguese.

What are the names of the colors in English? See the list of the main ones

Colors are classified as primary, secondary and tertiary regardless of the language in which they are spoken. The primary colors, primary colors, are the pure ones. By mixing them together it is possible to make all the other colors. They are: blue, red and yellow.

The secondary colors, secondary colors, are those derived from the mixture of two primary colors. They are: purple (red + blue), green (blue + yellow) and orange (red + yellow). And tertiary colors are formed from the mixture of a primary color and a secondary color.

Blue in English

It is written: blue.

Correct pronunciation: blue.

Here are some examples:

• The blue car is expensive. – The blue car is expensive.
• I like the color blue. – I like the color blue.
• Why is the sky blue? – Why is the sky blue?

Red in English

It is written: red.

Correct pronunciation: red.

Some examples of the word red applied in a sentence:

• I dyed my hair red. – I dyed my hair red.
• I bought a red tie. – I bought a red tie.
• This apple is red. – That apple is very red.

Yellow in English

It is written: andellow.

Correct pronunciation: yee-loe.

Check out some examples with the word yellow in English:

• This yellow toy is John's. – This yellow toy is John’s.
• The garden was full of yellow flowers. – The garden was full of yellow flowers.
• The door of the office is yellow. – The office door is yellow.

Purple in English

It is written: purple.

Correct pronunciation: pâR-pâL.

See some examples of the application of purple in sentences:

• If you mix red and blue, you get purple. – If you mix blue and red, the result is purple.
• My mother bought my brother a purple umbrella. – Mom bought a purple umbrella for my brother.
• I have never seen a purple submarine in my life. – I've never seen a purple submarine in my life.

Orange in English

It is written: orange.

Correct pronunciation: o-Rãndj.

Check out how the word looks orange in everyday phrases:

• I like this orange dress. – I like this orange dress.
• This orange sweater is very pretty. – That orange sweater is very pretty.
• Light hues of orange are soothing. – Light shades of orange are calming.

Green in English

It is written: green.

Correct pronunciation: gríiN.

See some examples with the color green in English:

• The traffic light turned green. – The traffic light turned green.
• I painted the fence green. – I painted the fence green.
• The walls of my room are green. – The walls of my room are green.

White in English

The color white is the purest pigment that exists. Here's how to use it in English sentences:

It is written: white.

Correct pronunciation: wow.

Examples:

• This white house is old. – The white house is old.
• She has a white cat. – She has a white cat.
• His beard is as white the snow. – His beard is white as snow.

Black in English

It is written: black.

Correct pronunciation: black.

Check out how the word looks black in a few sentences:

• Do you like black cats? – Do you like black cats?
• He has a black shirt. – He has a black shirt.
• Tom dyed his hair black. – Tom dyed his hair black.

Rose in English

It is written: pink.

Correct pronunciation: pink.

See some examples with pink in English:

• She painted the wall pink. – She painted the wall pink.
• The girl is holding a pink flower. – The girl is holding a pink flower.
• Her face was pink with embarrassment. – Her face was pink with embarrassment.

Gray in English

It is written: gray.

Correct pronunciation: group.

Check out examples with the word gray:

• She was wearing a gray hat. – She was wearing a gray hat.
• He prefers the gray shirt. – He prefers the gray shirt.
• The boy hid behind the gray car. – The boy hid behind the gray car.

How to say that a color is light or dark in English?

In addition to pure colors like white, black or red, there are situations where we need to indicate that a tone is lighter or darker. But do you know how to say this in English? We'll explain it to you!

The translation for “clear” in English is “light”. Therefore, to indicate that a color is light, just use the following structure:

light + color in English

So light blue in English is “light blue”, light pink becomes “light pink” and so on.

To indicate that the color is dark, the word is used “dark”, and this term is used in contexts about colors as follows:

dark + color in english

Check out some examples:

• She is wearing a light green dress. – She is wearing a light green dress.
• He wears dark blue pants. – He wears dark blue pants.
• The ball is dark green. – The ball is dark green.

Did you see how easy it is to write and say colors in English? To further increase your vocabulary in the language, check out the post Most used words in English. Fluency in the language comes with learning and lots of practice! Keep following the blog from CCAA, here you will always find different topics to help you on your language learning journey.