Green = grün [ɡʁyːn] (pronunciation: groon) Brown = braun [bʁaʊ̯n] (brown) Yellow = gelb [ɡɛlp] (gelp) White = weiß [vaɪs] (vice) Gray = grau [ɡʁaʊ] (gr - ow, as in how) Blue = blau [blaʊ] (bl - ow, as in how) Orange = orange [oˈʁaŋʃ] (or-ahn-sh) Black = schwarz [ʃvaʁt͡s] (shvarts) Beige = beige [beːʃ] (beige) Red = rot [ʁoːt] (roat) Pink = rosa ˈʁoːza this refers to a light, pale shade of pink Pink = pink [pɪŋk] (pink) this is a strong or hot pink Purple = lila [ˈliːla] (leela)
Light = hell [hɛl] (hell) Dark = dunkel [ˈdʊŋkəl] (doonkel) Colorful = bunt [bʊnt] (boont)
Examples: ein schönes rot (a beautiful red), Das schönes Lila (the beautiful purple) Why is there suddenly an -es at the end of schön? In this construction (a/the [adjective] color), the color being described is a noun. In German, adjectives describing nouns they are right next to always have endings. The -es ending is added to the adjective schön because a color is a neutral noun. All colors are neutral nouns in German, so all adjectives describing them will have the -es ending.
Examples: ein hässliches Grün (an ugly green), das hässliches Gelb (the ugly yellow)
Examples: ein elegantes Blue (an elegant blue), das elegantes Lila (the elegant purple)
The simplest version of this construction is “Das gefällt mir”. (That pleases me/I like that. ) To negate it, we add the word nicht at the end of the sentence. “Das gefällt mir nicht” (that pleases me not/that does not please me/I do not like that. ) Say it like this: Dahss gə-fellt meer nisht. You can replace “das” in the sentence with a color. “Blau gefällt mir” means “I like blue”. You can add das back in to talk about a specific color. “Das Blau gefällt mir nicht” means “I do not like the/that blue”. Add more adjectives from previous steps to be even more specific. Example: “Ein schönes Dunkelgrün gefällt mir. ” (I like a beautiful dark green. ) Example: “Das hässliches Hellbraun gefällt mir nicht. ” (I don’t like that ugly light brown. ) The colors are capitalized in the above examples because they are being used as nouns. This is not always the case, so be careful and pay attention to your writing.
Pronounce it like this: Mine-ə Leeb-lingz-fah-bə ist…. Example: If your favorite color is green, you’d say, “Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist grün. ” You could also say “… ist meine Lieblingsfarbe. "
Say it like this: Vas ist Dine-ə leeb-lingz-fah-bə? The ə sound is pronounced “uh”, like the o in “position” or the e in “the”.
This translates to “which color has…”. In German, we ask if things have a certain color rather than are a certain color. Say it like this: Vel-shə Fah-bə hat…. Example: “Welche Farbe hat der Tisch?” (Which color is the table?) Example: “Welche Farbe hat ihre Bluse?” (Which color is her blouse?) Remember that since color is the subject of this sentence, the object about which you are asking is the direct object. This means you will be using the German Akkusativ case, and the male article (word for the) will differ from that used in the Nominativ (subject) case. You will use “den” instead of “der” with male direct objects and the -en ending on any male pronouns.
Example: Der Apfel ist gelb. (The Apple is yellow. ) Example: Der Pulli ist dunkelgrau. (The sweater is dark grey. ) Example: Der Rock ist ein schönes blau. (The skirt is a beautiful blue. )
