{"id":69943,"date":"2018-06-26T00:15:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T04:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/colors-in-italian\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T09:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T14:10:07","slug":"colors-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/colors-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"Colors in Italian: Vocab, Mnemonics, Grammar and Expressions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life in Italy is wonderfully colorful, from the food<\/a><\/span> to the landscape in colore vivace <\/em>(in vivid color). And if you want to add vibrance to your language practice, then it’s time to learn how to talk about colors in Italian.<\/p>\n

The words and expressions below are taken straight from bell\u2019Italia<\/em> (beautiful Italy), and they show just how expressive Italian can be.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

12 Essential Colors in Italian<\/h2>\n

\"rainbow<\/p>\n

Learning colors in any language can be tough but you can minimize the challenge with a mnemonic technique. <\/strong>Take the first letter of each color word to memorize the order of the colors in a rainbow.<\/p>\n

VIBVGAR <\/strong>is the Italian take on this little trick.<\/p>\n

When I break it up into Vib V Gar<\/strong>, it almost seems like a character\u2019s name\u2014cue the mental picture of a colorful unicorn!\u2014so the sequence pops instantly into my head. I know it\u2019s silly but it works for me; hopefully it\u2019ll work for you, too.<\/p>\n

Below are the names of the colors in Italian, following Vib V Gar. <\/strong>You can make these colors more specific by adding chiaro<\/em> (light) or scuro <\/em>(dark) after, like with verde scuro <\/em>(dark green).<\/p>\n

We’ve also included some other common colors that aren\u2019t part of the rainbow.<\/p>\n

Viola<\/em> \u2014 Violet<\/h3>\n

Gli occhi viola<\/strong> sono adorabili.<\/em>
\n(The violet<\/strong> eyes are lovely.)<\/p>\n

Indaco<\/em> \u2014 Indigo<\/h3>\n

Even though indaco<\/em> technically means dark blue, it\u2019s used more commonly than blu scuro<\/em> (dark blue).<\/p>\n

Le sue orecchie indaco<\/strong> sono bellissimi.<\/em>
\n(Her indigo<\/strong> ears are beautiful.)<\/p>\n

Blu<\/em> \u2014 Blue<\/h3>\n

Nuvole blu<\/strong> la circondano.<\/em>
\n(Blue<\/strong> clouds surround her.)<\/p>\n

Verde<\/em> \u2014 Green<\/h3>\n

L’erba verde<\/strong> cresce sotto di lei.<\/em>
\n(Green<\/strong> grass grows beneath her.)<\/p>\n

Giallo<\/em> \u2014 Yellow<\/h3>\n

Le sue ali gialle<\/strong> sbattano.<\/em>
\n(Her yellow<\/strong> wings flutter.)<\/p>\n

Arancione<\/em> \u2014 Orange<\/h3>\n

Il suo corno arancione<\/strong> \u00e8 lucido.<\/em>
\n(Her orange<\/strong> horn is shiny.)<\/p>\n

Rosso<\/em> \u2014 Red<\/h3>\n

La sua pelliccia rossa<\/strong> \u00e8 bellissima.<\/em>
\n(Her red<\/strong> fur is beautiful.)<\/p>\n

Nero<\/em> \u2014 Black<\/h3>\n

La notte \u00e8 cos\u00ec nera.<\/strong><\/em>
\n(The night is so black<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Marrone<\/em> \u2014 Brown<\/h3>\n

L’orso marrone<\/strong> \u00e8 enorme.<\/em>
\n(The brown<\/strong> bear is huge.)<\/p>\n

Rosa<\/em> \u2014 Pink<\/h3>\n

Mi piace il rosa.<\/strong><\/em>
\n(I like pink<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Bianco<\/em> \u2014 White<\/h3>\n

Le colombe bianche<\/strong> sono per i matrimoni.<\/em>
\n(White<\/strong> doves are for weddings.)<\/p>\n

Azzurro<\/em> \u2014 Light blue, blue<\/h3>\n

A special note about azzurro<\/em>,\u00a0the color that’s so\u00a0very important in Italy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Azzurro<\/em> is a shade of light blue that’s so well-loved it\u2019s actually the Italian national color<\/a>.<\/strong> The national football (that is, soccer) team is named Gli Azzurri<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (The Blues) because of their blue jerseys. And a wildly popular song is titled \u201cAzzurro<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

La squadra indossa l’azzurro.<\/strong><\/em>
\n(The team wears light blue<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

The Grammar of Colors in Italian<\/h2>\n

Remember that color words are adjectives,<\/strong> so they’re used to describe or clarify nouns. In Italian<\/a>, adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify.<\/p>\n

Italian adjectives must agree with the gender<\/strong>\u2014masculine or feminine\u2014state of the noun they describe. Colors are no exception!<\/p>\n

For instance, take a look at these two examples:<\/p>\n

la scarpa rossa<\/em> (the red shoe)
\nun cane rosso<\/em> (a red dog)<\/p>\n

The first noun, “shoe,” is feminine in Italian while the second, “dog,” is masculine. Notice how the adjective changes its ending based on the noun it’s modifying.<\/p>\n

Finally,\u00a0Italian adjectives also agree with the noun in number<\/strong>\u2014singular or plural:<\/p>\n

un<\/em> cane rosso<\/em> (a red dog) \u2192 cani rossi<\/em> (red dogs)<\/p>\n

Masculine adjectives end in -o<\/em>\u00a0and change their ending to\u00a0-i<\/em> in their plural form. Feminine adjectives end in -a<\/em> and become plural by changing the ending to -e<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As always, there are exceptions to these rules. There are a few colors (blu<\/em>, viola<\/em>, rosa, indaco)\u00a0<\/em>that don’t change in gender or number.<\/p>\n

Mi piace leggere i romanzi rosa.<\/em>
\n(I like to read romance novels.)<\/p>\n

Compro\u00a0<\/em>le scarpe blu.<\/em>
\n<\/em>(I’m buying blue shoes.)<\/p>\n

A good way to become familiar with how to use color words in Italian is by practicing writing your own sentences. You could also use an immersion program like FluentU<\/a> to find more examples of this vocabulary used in context.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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