Today you will learn 11 colors in Portuguese and 10 very useful colloquial expressions using the colors.  This lesson is organized in three parts:

1. 11 most commonly used colors in Portuguese
2. Some needed grammar so you can use the colors correctly and be happy with your Portuguese 🙂
3. Idiomatic expressions with the colors

Here’s the video:

As Cores

You are probably wondering if I made a typo when I used the feminine article “a” with the word “cores” above. Nope. Cor is a feminine noun. To form the plural, add “es” at the end:

• a cor = color
• as cores = colors

Qual é a sua cor favorita? Eu adoro azul, rosa e preto 🙂

Vocabulary: 11 Colors in Portuguese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a Bit of Grammar to Help You Speak Correctly

Colors Vary in Gender and Number

In Portuguese, the colors agree in gender and number with the noun that they describe. That means that we have a masculine and a feminine form for the colors and we have their singular and plural versions.

For example:

• Eu tenho um carro branco. = I have a white car.
• Eu tenho uma camiseta branca. = I have a white t-shirt.
• Gosto de roupas brancas. = I like white clothes.

When you are talking about a color (and not describing an object), use the masculine, singular version. For example:

• Não gosto de amarelo. = I don’t like yellow.
• Adoro vermelho. = I love red.

However, not all the colors have a feminine and a masculine version. The general rules are below.

3 Rules to Help You Along the Way

1. Colors that have a masculine and a feminine version end in “o” in the masculine and end in “a” in the feminine.

For example:

• Meu casaco vermelho combina com minha bolsa vermelha. = My red coat matches my red purse.

2. Colors that end in a letter other than “a” or “o” have only one form that applies to both genders.

For example:

• Comprei uma saia azul para combinar com o meu casaco azul. = I got a blue skirt to match my blue coat.

• O carro de João é verde. A bicicleta dele também é verde. = João’s car is green. His bicycle is also green.

3. Now, to make things just a bit crazier: Some colors have only one form for both masculine and feminine and they don’t have a plural form. This happens when the word is originally a noun (and not an adjective/color). For example:

For example:

• Rosa is originally a noun; it means rose. So when we use it as an adjective (as a color), it doesn’t vary in any way. Look at this example:

Aninha adora vestidos e sapatos rosa. = Aninha loves pink dresses and shoes.

• Laranja = orange (the fruit)

Eu tenho dois gatos laranja. = I have two orange cats.

• Cinza = ash

Luciana adora gatos cinza. = Luciana loves gray cats.

10 Idiomatic Expressions with Colors

1. Oi! Tudo azul? = Hi! Is all well?

2. Estou verde de fome! = I’m starving!

3. Joana ficou roxa de raiva com o seu comentário. = Joana got very angry at your comment.

4. Que desculpa amarela! = What a lame excuse!

5. Ana fica vermelha quando recebe um elogio. = Ana feels embarrassed when she receives praise.

6. Ninguém gosta de estar no vermelho. = No one likes to be in the red.

7. Passei várias noites em branco preocupada com o trabalho. = I’ve spent several sleepless nights thinking about work.

8. Milena me deu carta branca para criar o website dela. = Milena gave me free rein to create her website.

9. Jéssica vê a vida cor-de-rosa. = Jéssica looks at life with rose-colored glasses.

10. Finalmente recebi o sinal verde para contratar o novo funcionário. = I finally got the green light to hire the new employee.

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