13. Colors in Italian

In the Italian language, colors works like adjectives, so they need to agree in gender and number with the noun.

ItalianTranslationVariations
neroblacknero, nera, neri, nere
biancowhitebianco, bianca, bianchi, bianche
rossoredvaries with the gender and number
blublueinvariable, always “blu”
azzurrowhite bluevaries according to the noun
verdegreenverde (singular), verdi (plural)
gialloyellowvaries according to the noun
grigiograyvaries according to the noun
marronebrownusually invariable, doesn’t change
arancioneorangeusually invariable, doesn’t change
rosapinkinvariable
violapurpleinvariable

Here are a few examples:

  • La macchina è rossa (the car is red)
  • I pantaloni sono verdi (the jeans are green)
  • Il cielo è azzurro (the sky is white blue)

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