In this article, we’re not just learning the colours in German. You might pick up a few new words, but we’re focusing on how to use them as adjectives, what to keep in mind regarding spelling, and some key questions surrounding them.
The Coffee Break German Show is a video and audio podcast series in which we talk about interesting topics for German learners. In this episode, Mark and Thomas explain everything you need to know about colours in German.
To get the most out of this article, listen to the podcast as you read along. Once you reach the end, make sure to download your free worksheet to practise what you’ve learned.
So, let’s start!
Some well-known and lesser-known colours in German
Before we move on and look at some important grammatical rules surrounding colours, let’s have a quick look at some example colours that you might already be familiar with, but also at some potentially new ones.
schwarz
black
rosa
pink
weiß
white
silber
silver
rot
red
lila
purple
blau
blue
blaugrau
cyan
grün
green
beige
beige
gelb
yellow
kastanienbraun
maroon
Basic colours in German as adjectives
Basic colours follow the same rules as other adjectives, changing their endings depending on number, gender and case. For example:
die blaue Wand
the blue wall
ein blauer Hund
a blue dog
Bitte mach den schwarzen Fleck weg.
Please remove the black spot.
These sentences show how colours are used in different contexts.
Exotic colours
When it comes to “exotic” colours like purple, pink, orange, and turquoise, the rules are a bit different. They do not always change their endings:
Ich liebe diesen lila Schal.
I love this purple scarf.
Ein rosa Kleid ist mir am liebsten.
A pink dress is my favourite choice.
These sentences sound fine and are grammatically correct.
However, while it works to use lila and rosa without adding or adjusting the ending based on the case and gender, it does not only sound strange, but is also incorrect for other colours.
Let’s take the example colour “orange” and look at the different options for its use in a sentence:
Ich habe einen orange Stift.
I have an orange pen.
This sentence is not correct and doesn’t sound natural in German.
The following sentence, however, is acceptable in spoken, colloquial German:
Ich habe einen orangen Stift.
I have an orange pen.
The next option is the grammatically correct solution:
Ich habe einen orangefarbigen / orangefarbenen Stift.
I have an orange-coloured pen.
As seen in the earlier examples, colours like lila and rosa didn’t used to have an ending that changes. However, language is evolving and moving towards having adjustable endings for all colours. For example:
Ich liebe diesen lilanen Schal.
I love this purple scarf.
This evolution of language applies to German colours as well as colours that have come into German from other languages, such as beige from French. Previously, they would not have followed the same rules on agreements, but now they do, especially in spoken German.
Colours in German derived from nouns
Colours in German can also be derived from nouns, such as:
lachsfarben
salmon-coloured
rostfarben
rust-coloured
For example:
ein lachsfarbener Pulli
a salmon-coloured jumper / sweater
Spelling of shades of colours in German
Shades of colours are always written as one word. For instance:
hellblau
light blue
dunkelrot
dark red
olivgrün
olive green
goldgelb
golden yellow
If something were described as being of two colours, e.g. “a red and blue jumper”, it is written with a hyphen. For example:
blau-rot
blue-red
Colours as nouns
When used in combination with an article or certain prepositions, colours can be used as nouns and need to be capitalised.
das Blau des Himmels
the blue of the sky
Gibt es diesen Rock auch in Türkis?
Is this skirt also available in turquoise?
Idioms with colours
To finish off with today’s topic, let’s look at two interesting German idioms involving colours.
ins Blaue fahren
to go without a specific plan (literally, “to go into the blue”)
For example:
Wir haben noch keinen genauen Plan, wir fahren einfach ins Blaue.
We don’t have an exact plan yet, we’re just going with it / going with the flow.
Here’s another nice idiom involving a colour in German:
der rote Faden
the central theme, the consistent element (literally, “the red thread”)
For example:
Dieser Geschichte fehlt der rote Faden.
This story lacks a central theme.
In conclusion, colours in the German language have a whole range of rules to keep in mind. Some are set: such as when to use a hyphen or a capital letter. Others, like the adjective endings, are still evolving and changing. Traditionally, “exotic colours”, when used as an adjective, did not have an adjustable ending like “standard” colours, and had to use a workaround using -farbigen/-farben. However, German has changed and is moving towards using the same rules for all colours, meaning an added ending that changes depending on case, number and gender.
To get the most out of this article, watch or listen to the full episode with Thomas and Mark on The Coffee Break German Show. We regularly release new episodes for German learners, so make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and our podcast feed so that you are notified when the next one is available.
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In the meantime, happy Coffee Breaking!
