40+ Colors in English (+Vocabulary Expressions)
Can you imagine the world without colors? Wherever we go, we see colors. Colors make our lives vibrant and cheerful. We normally see green color in nature, blue color in skies, red color in love, and many other primary colors that give meaning to everything around us. That’s how colors give beauty to our lives.
Colors add life to our everyday mood – whether we are happy, sad, scared, or worried. Each color represents our everyday existence. Do you know that there are other colors in English that exist, but we are just unaware of it? You probably know some of these less-known colors in English. Let’s read through this article and discover these colors in English together.
Primary Colors in English
Red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors in English. They are the colors from which all other colors can be mixed to form a new color. However, these colors alone cannot be created by mixing other colors. By mixing two primary colors, we get secondary colors: orange, green, and purple.
Red + yellow = orange
Yellow + blue = green
Blue + red = purple
The primary and secondary colors make up the color wheel.
Common Colors
Colors are everywhere. When we are asked, “What’s your favorite color?” we tend to be excited about it. There are so many common colors in English and we learn them at an early age. Colors are introduced to us at a very young age, so we already have the idea of the common colors in English.
Aside from the primary and secondary colors, there are other common colors that surround us.
Black
Brown
Cyan
Gold
Gray
Indigo
Maroon
Mustard
Pink
Silver
Violet
White
The Rainbow
Colors in English and their Shades
You must have known a lot about colors in English, but did you know that there are other variants of the primary and secondary colors that we think are the same? These colors are not commonly known, but they exist. Below are the terms for these less-known colors.
Red
- Burgundy
- Crimson
- Scarlet
- Vermilion
- Carmine
- Rust
- Ruby
- Raspberry
- Coral
- Salmon
Blue
- Periwinkle
- Teal
- Turquoise
- Azure
- Cyan
- Sapphire
- Indigo
Yellow
- Cream
- Buttercup
- Goldenrod
- Mustard yellow
- Saffron
- Amber
- Ochre
- Maize
- Ivory
Green
- Chartreuse
- Emerald
- Jade
- Olive green
- Kelly green
- Forest green
- Army green
- Apple green
- Spring green
Orange
- Peach
- Apricot
- Rust
- Burnt orange
- Tangerine
- Orange yellow
- Khaki
Purple
- Lavender
- Lilac
- Eggplant
- Plum
- Orchid
- Amethyst
- Mauve
Vocabulary and Expressions Associated with Colors
General Color Terms
Hue -The specific color or tone of a color.
Shade – A darker version of a color, created by adding black.
Tint – A lighter version of a color, created by adding white.
Tone – A color modified by adding both black and white.
Saturation – The intensity or purity of a color.Pale
tte – A range of colors used by an artist or designer.
Common expressions
Black and white – A situation with only two options.
I am caught in a black and white situation; I need to decide right now.
Feeling blue – Feeling sad or depressed.
My friend has been feeling blue due to a recent break-up.
Green with envy – Feeling jealous.
Zandro was green with envy seeing Lavender with Tyrone.
Seeing red – Being very angry.
The manager was seen red about the recent decline in sales.
Painting a rosy picture – Portraying a situation in a positive light.
Despite her problems, Jasmin is painting a rosy picture.
Out of the blue – Unexpectedly, suddenly.
My friend cannot cope with her mom’s passing out of the blue.
Golden opportunity – A very good chance.
This is your golden opportunity to showcase your talent.
A black sheep – Someone who is different from the rest of their family or group.
My brother is the black sheep of our family.
White lie – A small, harmless lie.
It’s sometimes good to tell white lies.
Once in a blue moon – Very rarely.
This vacation is once in a blue moon, so I should enjoy it.
A red herring – Something that distracts attention from the main issue.
Politicians create a red herring to cover their own political issues.
Blue blood – a person who belongs to a noble or aristocratic family.
Princess Charlotte has a blue blood.
Example Sentences and Questions about Colors in English
“What is your favorite color?” – “My favorite color is blue.”
“What color are the walls of your bedroom?” – “They are white.”
“What color is your attire for the party?” – “I’m going to wear a royal blue gown with silver beads.”
“Do you like red?” – “No, I prefer pink.”
“Which color do you like?” – “I like yellow.”
Colors for Emotions
Did you know that our emotions can be associated with colors? Colors can evoke a wide range of emotions. Here are common associations of colors with our emotions.
Red: Passion, energy, excitement, danger, anger
Orange: Enthusiasm, creativity, warmth, happiness
Yellow: Optimism, joy, energy, caution
Green: Peace, harmony, growth, nature, envy
Blue: Calm, serenity, trust, sadness
Purple: Royalty, luxury, creativity, wisdom, mystery
Pink: Love, compassion, femininity, innocence
Black: Power, elegance, mystery, mourning, evil
White: Purity, innocence, peace, clarity
Differences
Color vs colour – color is the American spelling; colour is the British spelling. They both differ in spelling, but not in meaning.
Grey vs gray – grey is commonly used in British; gray is American. No further difference in meaning.
Learn Colors in English Now!
Learning colors is fun and exciting. By knowing the different names of colors in English, and learning their different shades, you can become confident in your language skills. Start learning the colors in English now! Enroll with our teachers and track your progress easily. Color your world, color your language.
