12 POPULAR EXPRESSIONS WITH COLORS (IN ITALIAN)

THE COLORS IN ITALIAN

A life in black and white would be pretty boring, don’t you agree?

So let’s talk about the Italian colors!

Today, you’ll learn first how to say the word “color” in Italian; then we’ll see how to call the most common colors – I’ll break them down by categories so they’re easier to remember.

Finally I’ll show you 12 popular phrases with colors that Italians use pretty often. 

There’s a lot to learn, so let’s go!

HOW DO YOU SAY THE WORD “COLOR” IN ITALIAN?

Let’s start from the basics. If you want to talk about the colors, then first you need to know how to say the term color … pretty obvious right?

So what is the Italian word for color? 

In Italian you call it: “colore” on the singular and “colori” on the plural. If you want to add the article, it becomes: IL COLORE/I COLORI.  

Now a question for you … did you recognize the gender of this word?

Is “colore” masculine or feminine?

If you’ve already checked my lessons on the word gender and the Italian articles, I’m sure you recognized the gender of this noun! 

The term “color” is masculine.

So generally, when you use the color as a noun you always refer to it in the masculine form. For instance: “il rosso e’ un bel colore”, meaning that the red is a nice color. 

However, if you use the color as an adjective to describe things, then they’ll have the same gender of the noun.
Look at the examples below:

1. Il libro e’ rosso (the book is red) – the word “libro” in Italian is masculine and hence the color will be in the masculine form as well.
2. La mela e’ rossa (the apple is red) – “la mela” in Italian is feminine and therefore the word “rossa” also agree with its gender.  

Out of curiosity, colors not always change their gender when used as adjectives … sometimes they are the same in the masculine or feminine form. But you’ll find out more about it in the next paragraph so keep on reading!

HOW THE COLORS ARE CALLED IN ITALIAN?

Now that you know how to say the word “color” in Italian, you can learn how the colors are actually called.

I’ve listed below the main colors in Italian and split them in different categories to make it easier to remember.

You can learn it all at once or one at the time .. it’s up to you!

1. NEUTRAL COLORS

Let’s start with the ones classified as neutral colors. In Italian, you call them: COLORI NEUTRI.

These are the colors that you can use in combination with basically any colors without being an eyesore! Generally, this category includes the following:

• Black = NERO (m.) / NERA (f.)
• White = BIANCO (m.) / BIANCA (f.)
• Gray = GRIGIO (m.) / GRIGIA (f.)
• Brown = MARRONE (m./f.) 

As you can see, they end in “o” in the masculine form and in “a” when refer to a feminine noun. However, the color brown doesn’t change: you always say “marrone” regardless of the gender.

2. COOL COLORS

In the second category, I’ve listed the ones known as cool colors (COLORI FREDDI).

According to psychologists these colors can evoke a sense of calm and peace. So they are often used in some environments like the bedrooms to help with relaxation. They include the following: 

• Blue = BLU (m./f.)
• Light blue = AZZURRO (m.) / AZZURRA (f.)
• Green = VERDE (m./f.) 
• Purple = VIOLA (m./f.) 

In this section, only the color “light blue” changes based on the gender: “azzurro” in the masculine and “azzurra” in the feminine. Azzurra is also a name for girls, but it’s not very common. 

3. WARM COLORS

Let’s move to the warm colors that in Italian are called COLORI CALDI. These are normally associated with the sun or the fire and that’s why their name. They include the below:

• Red = ROSSO (m.) / ROSSA (f.)
• Yellow = GIALLO (m.) / GIALLA (f.)
• Orange = ARANCIONE (m./f.)

Here both the colors red and yellow will be different depending on the gender: if you refer to a masculine noun they will end in “o” (rosso/giallo) while they get an “a” when in the feminine form (rossa/gialla). The orange, instead, doesn’t change and it will always be “arancione”.

4. OTHER COLORS

To finish up our list of colors, let’s see the remaining colors that didn’t fall in the above categories.  

• Pink = ROSA (m./f.) 
• Beige = BEIGE (m./f.)
• Fuchsia = FUCSIA (m./f.)

All the colors above are the same no matter the gender of the noun they refer to. 

Some useful words about the colors ….

So we’ve seen the most common colors and how you say them in Italian.

However, before we move on, let’s see some other useful words that you can use when talking about the colors.

– ACCESO 

You use the term “acceso” to say that a color is bright. So for example, “rosso acceso” means that the red is vivid.

– SBIADITO 

“Sbiadito” means “faded” and you use it when the color is all but intense.

– COLORATO 

When something is colorful, you can call it “colorato”. For instance, “una borsa colorata” means that the bag has many colors. 

– CHIARO

This word, “chiaro”, is for describing the tonality of a color and means “light”. So for example: “verde chiaro” means light green. 

– SCURO 

“Scuro” is exactly the opposite than “chiaro” and hence means dark. “Giallo scuro” means that that yellow is not light.

– FOSFORESCENTE

This is another term to talk about colors and means “fluorescent”. For example “giallo fosforescente” is a type of yellow.

COMMON ITALIAN EXPRESSIONS WITH COLORS 

To conclude this lesson, I’m going to show you 12 very common expressions that Italian use with colors.

Keep reading to find out what they are and what they mean. 

1 – Di che colore e’?  

“Di che colore e’?” is the question that you use to ask: “what color is it?”.

In the plural you have to say: “di che colore sono?” (What color are they?).

You need the verb to be for it, which is “essere” in Italian. 

If you don’t remember how to conjugate it, check out this lesson here.

2 – Sono al verde 

“Sono al verde” means that you have no money.

You can emphasize it even more by saying: “sono completamente al verde” meaning that you’re completely broke.

3 – Sono verde dall’invidia

“Essere verdi dall’invidia” is another common expression that uses the color green. Here it means that you are so jealous that your face turned green. 

It’s an interesting one where colors are often associated with feelings, but let’s move on to find out more!

4 – Sono nero

In this expression the black is used to describe the mood. If you say “Sono nero” then you are in an extremely bad mood.

5 – Vedo nero

This other example instead means that you’re pessimistic. “Vedo nero, in fact, literally means that you see everything in black and so in a negative way.

6 – Ho una fame nera

The last expression with the color black is related to a physical need. “ho una fame nera” means that you’re starving. “Fame” is the Italian word for hunger.

7 – Rosso come un peperone

Let’s move on to another color: the red. “Sono rosso come un peperone” is same as saying to blush. Literally means that you’re so ashamed or embarrassed that you became as red as a pepper.

8. Ho il conto in rosso

Another one with the color red. If you say “ho il conto in rosso” you mean that you’re bank account is completely empty. “Conto” is the Italian word for account.   

9. Bianco dalla paura

The next example still use a color to describe a feeling. The color here is the white.

“Essere bianco dalla paura” means that you are terrified. Basically you’re so afraid that you turned white.

“Paura” is the Italian word for fear. 

10. Notte in bianco 

The next expression is still with the color white. “Passare la notte in bianco” means that you spent the night without sleeping well or you haven’t slept at all.  

11. Bandiera bianca 

Another one with the color white: “alzare bandiera bianca” means to raise the white flag. So in a figurative way it means that you’re giving up. 

12. Nero su bianco 

Finally, the last expression uses the color black and white but in a completely different context. 

To put something “nero su bianco” means to write it down.

It’s very common to use for contracts or agreements especially when the parts are a bit suspicious.
In these situations, you ask to put everything in a written form to avoid any kind of misunderstanding. 

Read also:

• THE SEASONS: HOW DO YOU CALL THEM IN ITALIAN? 
• 3 COMMON WAYS TO ASK “HOW ARE YOU?” IN ITALIAN