Colors in Korean
Every Korean colour on this page ends in 색, saek, which simply means colour. Learn that one syllable and the whole list becomes readable.
The basic colors
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빨간색 ppalgansaek
pahl-gahn-SAEK
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red
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주황색 juhwangsaek
joo-hwahng-SAEK
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orange
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노란색 noransaek
noh-rahn-SAEK
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yellow
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초록색 choroksaek
choh-rohk-SAEK
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green
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파란색 paransaek
pah-rahn-SAEK
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blue
Also covers green in older usage
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보라색 borasaek
boh-rah-SAEK
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purple
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분홍색 bunhongsaek
boon-hohng-SAEK
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pink
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갈색 galsaek
gahl-SAEK
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brown
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검은색 geomeunsaek
guh-meun-SAEK
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black
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하얀색 hayansaek
hah-yahn-SAEK
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white
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회색 hoesaek
hweh-SAEK
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grey
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하늘색 haneulsaek
hah-neul-SAEK
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sky blue
Literally sky colour
The 색 suffix, and the blue traffic light
색, saek, means colour. Strip it and you are left with the descriptive part: 빨간 ppalgan, 파란 paran, 노란 noran. Those shorter forms go directly in front of a noun, so a red car is 빨간 차.
Keep the 색 when the colour is the thing you are talking about: 빨간색을 좋아해요, I like red.
Korean shares the blue-green overlap with Japanese. A green traffic light is 파란불, a blue light, and green vegetables are often 파란 rather than 초록. 초록 is the modern, precise word for green, but 파란 still covers the old ground.
- 빨간 차a red car, using the short form
- 파란불a green traffic light, literally blue light
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