Dutch vocabulary: Colors

29 Dutch words for colors, from A1 to C2 — each one checked in Wiktionary, with de or het for nouns, the plural, the pronunciation and a recording from Wikimedia Commons.

Level A1

  • zwart/zʋɑrt/adjectiveblack
  • rood/roːt/adjectivered
  • blauw/blɑu̯/adjectiveblue
  • wit/ʋɪt/adjectivewhite

Level A2

  • groen/ɣrun/adjectivegreen
  • bruin/brœy̯n/adjectivebrown
  • de room/roːm/nouncream
  • het zilver/ˈzɪl.vər/nounsilver
  • roze/rɔːzə/adjectivepink, rosy
  • het zand/zɑnt/nounsand
  • geel/ɣeːl/adjectiveyellow
  • marineblauwadjectivenavy

Level B1

  • de citroen· de citroenen/siˈtrun/nounlemon
  • het robijn/roːˈbɛi̯n/nounruby
  • paars/paːrs/adjectivepurple
  • de olijf· de olijven/oːˈlɛi̯f/nounolive
  • de/het jade/ˈjaː.də/nounjade
  • zalmkleurig/ˌzɑlmˈkløː.rəx/adjectivesalmon

Level B2

  • de mosterd· de mosterds/ˈmɔs.tərt/nounmustard
  • de limoen· de limoenen/liˈmun/nounlime
  • de pruim· de pruimen/prœy̯m/nounplum
  • de/het roest/rust/nounrust
  • bordeauxrood/bɔrˈdoːˌroːt/adjectivemaroon, burgundy

Level C1

  • de kastanje· de kastanjes/ˌkɑsˈtɑnjə/nounchestnut
  • het saffier/sɑˈfiːr/nounsapphire
  • beige/ˈbɛː.ʒə/adjectivebeige
  • lila/ˈli.laː/adjectivelilac

Level C2

  • cyaan/siˈaːn/adjectivecyan
  • magenta/maːˈɣɛntaː/adjectivemagenta

In real sentences

Example sentences and their English from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

  • De auto is zwart.The car is black.
  • Veel dakpannen zijn rood.A lot of roof tiles are red.
  • De lucht is vandaag zo blauw en helder.The sky is so blue and clear today.
  • De muur is wit.The wall is white.

Questions

How do you say “black” in Dutch?

zwart (/zʋɑrt/) — Wiktionary glosses it as black.

How do you say “red” in Dutch?

rood (/roːt/) — Wiktionary glosses it as red.

How do you say “blue” in Dutch?

blauw (/blɑu̯/) — Wiktionary glosses it as blue.

Recordings

GerardM, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): zwart, rood, groen, bruin, room, zilver, zand, geel, marineblauw, paars, olijf, zalmkleurig, mosterd, pruim, roest, beige, lila, cyaan, magenta.

Grunnen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): blauw.

GerardM, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): wit, roze, citroen.

Marcel coenders, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): robijn, jade, saffier.

Annabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): limoen.

Marcel Coenders, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): bordeauxrood.

marcel coenders, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (MP3 versions): kastanje.

Words, de/het, plurals, IPA, English glosses and example sentences: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org. Recordings: Wikimedia Commons contributors, credited under Recordings. Selection by topic: 16Word.

Learn the colors words for good

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