Here are creative ways to learn the basic colors in German, along with 20 fun German idioms (and some quite unusual ones) involving colors.<\/p>\n
Let’s add some color to your German!<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
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Common Colors in German<\/h2>\n
“Color” in German is die Farbe<\/strong><\/em> in singular form and “colors” is die Farben<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0in plural form.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without getting into complicated shades and paint-store blends, here’s a list of the basic colors in German accompanied by their pronunciations.<\/p>\n Notice that\u00a0many of them are similar to their English translations (except for purple, which is a notoriously rebellious color).<\/p>\n There’s no better way to sound like a native and impress your friends than to throw around the idioms the Germans say themselves<\/a>. Both for your amusement and education, here are 20 fun ways the Germans use colors in idioms.<\/p>\n Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>To be in nature<\/p>\n Literal Translation: <\/strong>With Mother Green<\/p>\n What better way to pass the day than to be outdoors? Although it can’t be confirmed, it’s suspected that Mother Green is a cousin to the English Mother Nature.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> Everything is fine<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>Everything in the green area<\/p>\n On old fashion gauges, the arrow points in the green section when the machine is working fine, and in the red when something is wrong. Germany, a nation fond of order, likes it when things are in the green.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>To promise the moon<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To promise the blue of the sky<\/p>\n The blue of the sky is generally out of reach of human control, and the same goes for the moon and other celestial objects. This phrase means to promise something that is impractical or even impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can also use this phrase for intentionally dishonest statements: das Blaue vom Himmel l\u00fcgen\u00a0<\/em>(to lie through your teeth).<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> A Monday off from work<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>Blue Monday<\/p>\n While English speakers get the “Monday blues,” a blue Monday in German is something to look forward to. However, don’t tell your boss, because usually it means that you’re playing hooky.<\/p>\n Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>He is drunk<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>He is blue<\/p>\n Apparently, there are lots of words for “drunk” in every language.<\/p>\n Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>To hit the mark<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To meet in the black<\/p>\n Because profits were generally recorded in the books with black ink, to be in the black is where you’d want to be (or green, if you remember #2).<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> The common thread \/ central theme<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>The red thread<\/p>\n Now when you hear Germans speaking about the red thread, you know it’s not about clothing manufacturing.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> You can wait till the cows come home<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>You can wait there until you are black<\/p>\n Presumably, it’s not going to happen. Therefore, it’s best not to wait too long. Also note that the informal form of “you” (du)<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is used in this example. If you’re looking to insult a stranger or a superior, it’s more grammatically correct to say\u00a0Sie<\/em>.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> fare dodger<\/p>\n Literal Translation: <\/strong>black rider<\/p>\n Although a black rider sounds like something awesome out of an action movie based on a comic book<\/a>, it’s actually someone who gets on the trains or trams without paying for a ticket.<\/p>\n There’s even a separable prefix verb describing this action:\u00a0schwarzfahren.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> Bled dry \/ through the nose (concerning money)\u00a0<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To bleed white<\/p>\n This is a simple variation from the English concept… at least white blood is probably easier to clean up.<\/p>\n Das Volk muss Steuern zahlen bis zum Wei\u00dfbluten. <\/em>(The people have to pay taxes through the nose.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> To have a clean slate (be innocent)\u00a0<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To have a white vest<\/p>\n Much like the tradition of the wedding dress and the clothing of the good guys in fairy tales, white historically represents innocence and purity. Anyone wearing a white vest must simply be a good guy.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> To not reach a goal \/ to not have luck or success<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To not arrive on a green branch<\/p>\n We’re looking at a very poetic way of indicating failure. Goethe would be pleased.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> To beat someone black and blue<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To beat someone green and blue<\/p>\n If you saw a man green and blue, it would be obvious that he got it pretty bad.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> To be pessimistic<\/p>\n Literal Translation: <\/strong>To see everything gray in gray paint<\/p>\n If everything were gray, there would be fewer colors to have to learn in German\u2014but it still doesn’t make for a happy existence.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> To be overly optimistic or nostalgic\u00a0<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>To look through pink glasses<\/p>\n On the other hand, everything looks better in pink hue.<\/p>\n Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>To be envious<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>Yellow with envy<\/p>\n There might be some color-idiom disparity between English and German on this one. Still, I suppose it makes just as much sense to be yellow with envy as it does to be green with it.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> Good grief!\u00a0<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>Oh you green nine!<\/p>\n There must be a reason for such a strange expression, but so far it’s a well-kept secret.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> You’ll get a nasty surprise<\/p>\n Literal Translation:<\/strong> You’ll experience your blue wonder<\/p>\n Although experiencing a blue wonder sounds like a fun thing to happen on any given day, apparently it isn’t. At least now you can recognize when a German is threatening you via\u00a0idiom.<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> It makes no difference \/ That’s six of one and half a dozen of another\u00a0<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>That’s the same in green<\/p>\n Like we said before, if it’s in the green, it’s all good, and the same, apparently.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meaning:<\/strong> That’s mere theory<\/p>\n Literal Translation:\u00a0<\/strong>That’s gray theory<\/p>\n Something that’s gray theory (gray because it comes from the brain, which is gray?) isn’t necessarily applicable in an everyday sense, or at least it’s something not proven.<\/p>\n The unique expressions above make German colors a bit more memorable, but here are a few more ways to enhance your German color studies.<\/p>\n Instead of reading the names of colors off a piece of paper, look up\u00a0and name the colors of the shirts of people around you. This is a great way to pass time in a public place, such as a doctor’s office or on a bench outside a train station.<\/p>\n You can even put it into a sentence:<\/p>\n Er tr\u00e4gt ein schwarzes T-Shirt. <\/em>(He’s wearing a black T-shirt).<\/p>\n And, best of all, it gives you ample excuse to do some people-watching.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the most effective ways to remember German colors fast would be to make flashcards for them. But not just your usual flashcards\u2014imagine flashcards with pictures of each color, plus audio and video for an immersive experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n You can get this set up quickly with FluentU<\/a>, which lets you look up German words and then turn them into multimedia flashcards with a click.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 <\/p>\r\n 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\nRed \u2014 Rot<\/em><\/h3>\n
Pink \u2014 Rosa<\/em><\/h3>\n
Orange \u2014 Orange<\/em><\/h3>\n
Yellow \u2014 Gelb<\/em><\/h3>\n
Green \u2014 Gr\u00fcn<\/em><\/h3>\n
Blue \u2014 Blau<\/em><\/h3>\n
Light blue \u2014 Hellblau<\/em><\/h3>\n
Dark blue \u2014 Dunkelblau<\/em><\/h3>\n
Purple \u2014 Lila<\/em><\/h3>\n
Gray \u2014 Grau<\/em><\/h3>\n
Brown \u2014 Braun<\/em><\/h3>\n
Beige \u2014 Beige<\/em><\/h3>\n
White \u2014 Wei\u00df<\/em><\/h3>\n
Black \u2014 Schwarz<\/em><\/h3>\n
20 Fun and Unusual German Color Sayings<\/h2>\n
1. Bei Mutter Gr\u00fcn <\/em><\/h3>\n
2. Alles im gr\u00fcnen Bereich <\/em><\/h3>\n
3. Das blaue vom Himmel versprechen <\/em><\/h3>\n
4. Blauer Montag <\/em><\/h3>\n
5. Er ist blau <\/em><\/h3>\n
6. Ins Schwarze treffen <\/em><\/h3>\n
7. Der rote Faden <\/em><\/h3>\n
8. Da kannst du warten bis du schwarz wirst<\/em> <\/h3>\n
9. Schwarzfahrer <\/em><\/h3>\n
10. Bis zum <\/em>Wei\u00dfbluten <\/em><\/h3>\n
11. Eine wei\u00dfe Weste haben <\/em><\/h3>\n
12. Auf keinen gr\u00fcnen Zweig kommen <\/em><\/h3>\n
13. Jemanden gr\u00fcn und blau Schlagen <\/em><\/h3>\n
14. Alles grau in grau sehen <\/em><\/h3>\n
15. Durch eine rosa Brille sehen <\/em><\/h3>\n
16. Gelb vor Neid <\/em><\/h3>\n
17. Ach du gr\u00fcne Neune! <\/em><\/h3>\n
18. Du wirst dein blaues Wunder erleben <\/em><\/h3>\n
19. Das ist dasselbe in Gr\u00fcn <\/em><\/h3>\n
20. Das ist graue Theorie<\/em> \u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n
How to Practice German Colors<\/h2>\n
T-shirt watching<\/h3>\n
Multimedia flashcards<\/h3>\n
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