Colours in German

Several German colours sound like their English cousins: rot, blau, grün, braun, weiß.

Endings before a noun

After the noun, a colour never changes:

  • Das Auto ist rot.

Before the noun it takes an ending that depends on the article and gender:

  • ein rotes Auto, eine rote Tür, ein roter Rock

You don't need the full table yet; just notice the endings in the example sentences.

Light and dark

Add hell- or dunkel- to the front: hellblau (light blue), dunkelgrün (dark green).

Asking about colour

Welche Farbe hat dein Auto? — literally "Which colour has your car?"

Practise with flashcards

Every word on this page, with its pronunciation and an example sentence, is in the deck below. Add it to your decks and Echoes will bring each card back just before you would forget it.

German Colours (A1)

a115 words

15 words for colours and asking what colour something is.

  • rot · red
  • blau · blue
  • grün · green
  • gelb · yellow
  • orange · orange
  • lila · purple
Show all words
WordMeaningExample
rot/ʁoːt/redIch habe ein rotes Auto.I have a red car.
blau/blaʊ̯/blueDer Himmel ist blau.The sky is blue.
grün/ɡʁyːn/greenDas Gras ist grün.The grass is green.
gelb/ɡɛlp/yellowBananen sind gelb.Bananas are yellow.
orange/oˈʁãːʒ/orangeDie Tür ist orange.The door is orange.
lila/ˈliːla/purpleLila ist meine Lieblingsfarbe.Purple is my favourite colour.
rosa/ˈʁoːza/pinkDie Blumen sind rosa.The flowers are pink.
braun/bʁaʊ̯n/brownEr hat braune Augen.He has brown eyes.
schwarz/ʃvaʁts/blackIch brauche schwarze Schuhe.I need black shoes.
weiß/vaɪ̯s/whiteDie Wände sind weiß.The walls are white.
grau/ɡʁaʊ̯/grey, grayHeute ist der Himmel grau.The sky is grey today.
hellblau/ˈhɛlblaʊ̯/light blueIch mag das hellblaue Hemd.I like the light blue shirt.
dunkelgrün/ˈdʊŋkl̩ɡʁyːn/dark greenDie Tür ist dunkelgrün.The door is dark green.
die Farbe, die Farben/ˈfaʁbə/colour, colorWelche Farbe hat dein Auto?What colour is your car?
bunt/bʊnt/colourfulDer Markt ist sehr bunt.The market is very colourful.