Colors in Portuguese
Two of these colors start with an r, which in Brazilian Portuguese is said like an English h. That single sound catches out more beginners than any grammar rule here.
The basic colors
-
vermelho
vehr-MEH-lyoo
-
red
-
laranja
lah-RAN-zhah
-
orange
-
amarelo
ah-mah-REH-loo
-
yellow
-
verde
VEHR-jee
-
green
-
azul
ah-ZOOL
-
blue
-
roxo
HOH-shoo
-
purple
The r is said like an English h
-
rosa
HOH-zah
-
pink
-
marrom
mah-HOHNG
-
brown
castanho in Portugal
-
preto
PREH-too
-
black
-
branco
BRAN-koo
-
white
-
cinza
SEEN-zah
-
grey
-
bege
BEH-zhee
-
beige
Lighter and darker
-
azul claro
ah-ZOOL KLAH-roo
-
light blue
-
azul escuro
ah-ZOOL es-KOO-roo
-
dark blue
-
verde claro
VEHR-jee KLAH-roo
-
light green
The h sound, and which colors change
An r at the start of a word, or a double rr inside one, is said like an English h in most of Brazil. Roxo is HOH-shoo and marrom is mah-HOHNG. Nothing about the spelling hints at it.
Colors ending in o change for gender and number: vermelho, vermelha, vermelhos, vermelhas.
Colors ending in another letter change only for number: verde becomes verdes, azul becomes azuis.
Laranja, rosa, cinza and bege come from things rather than colours, so they never change: duas camisas rosa.
The colour goes after the noun: a casa branca.
- a casa brancathe white house
- os sapatos pretosthe black shoes
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