Color in Different Languages
Discover 'Color' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The concept of color transcends mere visual stimuli, deeply embedding itself into the fabric of cultures, expressing emotions, traditions, and beliefs that span the globe. Color symbolism varies widely across different societies, with each hue holding unique significance - from mourning to celebration, danger to safety. Historical contexts enrich this tapestry, as colors like royal purple and imperial yellow delineate status and power. Moreover, language plays a pivotal role in our understanding and appreciation of color. Knowing the translation of color in different languages opens a window to diverse worldviews, enhancing cross-cultural communication and artistic appreciation. For instance, how the vibrant 'color' morphs into 'color' in Spanish, 'couleur' in French, or '色 (iro)' in Japanese, reveals a fascinating linguistic journey. Engaging with color in different languages doesn't only broaden our vocabulary but deepens our connection to the world around us.
Below is a list of translations of color that showcases its global resonance.
Color
Color in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kleur | ||
| In Middle Dutch, "cleur" meant "shining, light, brightness" and "joy, gladness, cheerfulness, clarity". | |||
| Amharic | ቀለም | ||
| The Amharic word "ቀለም" can also refer to a "flag", "pen", "pencil", "ink", or "paint." | |||
| Hausa | launi | ||
| In Hausa, "launi" also refers to a person's character or personality. | |||
| Igbo | agba | ||
| "Agba" also means "paint," "dye," or "stain" which may also mean "varnish" or "enamel." | |||
| Malagasy | loko | ||
| The word "loko" in Malagasy also means "hue". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mtundu | ||
| Mtundu means "kind" in Nyanja, but it can also refer to a person's skin tone, with lighter skin referred to as "mtundu uli" and darker skin as "mtundu ukakulu". | |||
| Shona | ruvara | ||
| The word "ruvara" can also refer to the "skin color" or "race" of a person. | |||
| Somali | midab | ||
| The Somali word "midab" is derived from the Arabic word "midāba", which means "painting" or "ink". | |||
| Sesotho | 'mala | ||
| 'Mala' can also mean 'beauty' or 'blemish' | |||
| Swahili | rangi | ||
| The Swahili word "rangi" can also refer to "variety" or "type". | |||
| Xhosa | umbala | ||
| The word "umbala" can also refer to a specific shade of brown or red, similar to the color of ochre. | |||
| Yoruba | awọ | ||
| The word 'awọ' in Yoruba also means 'change' or 'transformation'. | |||
| Zulu | umbala | ||
| The word 'umbala' in Zulu can also refer to a type of chameleon. | |||
| Bambara | ɲɛ | ||
| Ewe | amadede | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibara | ||
| Lingala | langi | ||
| Luganda | erangi | ||
| Sepedi | mmala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ahosuo | ||
Color in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | اللون | ||
| The word "اللون" (al-lawn) in Arabic is derived from the Semitic root "l-w-n", which means "to be dyed" or "to take a color." | |||
| Hebrew | צֶבַע | ||
| The Semitic root of צֶבַע also signifies "to dip" as in dyeing cloth. | |||
| Pashto | رنګ | ||
| The Pashto word "رنګ" ("color") is said to hold the additional connotation of "variety" or "change" in different contexts. | |||
| Arabic | اللون | ||
| The word "اللون" (al-lawn) in Arabic is derived from the Semitic root "l-w-n", which means "to be dyed" or "to take a color." | |||
Color in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ngjyrë | ||
| "Ngjyrë" shares the same root with "njeri" (human) and "njohur" (known), suggesting a connection between perception, knowledge, and humanity. | |||
| Basque | kolore | ||
| The word "kolore" also refers to a type of plant dye used to produce a purple-red color in Basque textiles and clothing. | |||
| Catalan | color | ||
| The Catalan word "color" is derived from the Latin word "color", meaning "hue" or "tint". | |||
| Croatian | boja | ||
| The word "boja" also means "paint" and comes from the Proto-Slavic *bojь- or *bojа, meaning "fight" or "struggle", alluding to the violent action of applying paint. | |||
| Danish | farve | ||
| In Old Norse, “farve” meant 'to dye,' and still does in modern Danish, whereas in most other Germanic languages it became 'color'. | |||
| Dutch | kleur | ||
| Derived from the Proto-Germanic */klutiz/ "to wash"; related to "clean" and "cloth". | |||
| English | color | ||
| Color (Latin: colorem), also spelled colour, is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, etc. | |||
| French | couleur | ||
| "Couleur" comes from Latin "color", which means "to dye" or "to color", like "coloring" in English. | |||
| Frisian | kleur | ||
| The Frisian word "kleur" is related to the Dutch word "kleur" (meaning "hue" or "shade"). | |||
| Galician | cor | ||
| The Galician word "cor" also means "heart" in the same language, possibly deriving from the Latin word "cor," meaning "heart." | |||
| German | farbe | ||
| The German word 'Farbe' does not only refer to physical color but also to a hue or type. | |||
| Icelandic | litur | ||
| The word "litur" also means "appearance" or "form" and is an aspect of an idiom meaning "to look well". | |||
| Irish | dath | ||
| Irish 'dath' also means 'tooth', from PIE root *dent-, with cognates in a wide range of Indo-European languages | |||
| Italian | colore | ||
| "Colore" in Italian can also refer to a monk's habit, flag, or the suit of a playing card. | |||
| Luxembourgish | faarf | ||
| The word "Faarf" is cognate with the German word "Farbe" and the English word "colour". It can also refer to the suit of cards known as "diamonds". | |||
| Maltese | kulur | ||
| The Maltese word "kulur" originates from the Arabic word "kull" meaning "whole" or "all" and is also used to refer to a person's complexion. | |||
| Norwegian | farge | ||
| In Norwegian, "farge" comes from Proto-Germanic *ferχwa-, akin to Old English "fearwian" (to dye) and modern "variegated" (multicolored). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | cor | ||
| Curiously, "cor" can also mean "heart" as in "dar o coração" (to give your heart). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dath | ||
| The word "dath" in Scots Gaelic also means "stain" or "paint" and is cognate with the Irish word "dath". | |||
| Spanish | color | ||
| In Spanish, the word "color" can also mean "hue", "shade", "tint", or "pigment". | |||
| Swedish | färg | ||
| The word "färg" is derived from the Old Norse word "fargr", which means "beautiful". | |||
| Welsh | lliw | ||
| "Lliw" derives from the Proto-Celtic "*liwo-" or "*liwos", a cognate of the Latin "līvor," meaning "blueness or leaden color", and the Old Church Slavonic "liva", meaning "slight blush". | |||
Color in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | колер | ||
| The word 'колер' is also used to describe the shade or tint of a color. | |||
| Bosnian | boja | ||
| 'Boja' also means 'fight' or 'struggle' in the context of 'boja i muka' (agony and torment) | |||
| Bulgarian | цвят | ||
| Цвят ('color') also means 'flower' in Bulgarian, a usage seen in other Slavic languages such as Serbian and Russian. | |||
| Czech | barva | ||
| The word "barva" also means "paint" or "dye" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | värv | ||
| Värv is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *wäre, which means both | |||
| Finnish | väri- | ||
| The word "väri" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*wärje" meaning "paint, dye, or ink". | |||
| Hungarian | szín | ||
| The Hungarian word "szín" not only means "color", but also "scene", "play", or "stage". | |||
| Latvian | krāsa | ||
| The word "krāsa" also has extended meanings like "paint" and "beauty". | |||
| Lithuanian | spalva | ||
| The word "spalva" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*spel-," which means "to shine" or "to be bright." | |||
| Macedonian | боја | ||
| The word "боја" in Macedonian can also refer to paint, dye, or a suit in a deck of cards. | |||
| Polish | kolor | ||
| The Polish word 'kolor' comes from the Latin 'color' and also refers to a 'kind' or 'type'. | |||
| Romanian | culoare | ||
| Russian | цвет | ||
| The word "цвет" (color) in Russian can also refer to "a plant" or "a bloom". | |||
| Serbian | боја | ||
| The word "боја" also means "paint" in Serbian, with the two meanings sharing the same etymology. | |||
| Slovak | farba | ||
| The Slovak word "farba" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pьstra, meaning "spotted" or "variegated." | |||
| Slovenian | barva | ||
| The word 'barva' in Slovenian also refers to the act of dyeing. | |||
| Ukrainian | колір | ||
| The word "колір" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *kolorъ, which also means "wheel" or "circle". | |||
Color in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | রঙ | ||
| The Bengali word "রঙ" (rong) is also used figuratively to describe the character, mood, or overall tone of something. | |||
| Gujarati | રંગ | ||
| The word "રંગ" can also refer to a particular shade or hue of a color. | |||
| Hindi | रंग | ||
| The word 'रंग' also means 'melody' in music and 'essence' in philosophy. | |||
| Kannada | ಬಣ್ಣ | ||
| ಬಣ್ಣ is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *paṇṇu, meaning 'to adorn' or 'to paint'. | |||
| Malayalam | നിറം | ||
| The word "നിറം" also means "caste" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | रंग | ||
| The Marathi word "रंग" (rang) also refers to a type of folk music or theater from Maharashtra, India. | |||
| Nepali | रंग | ||
| The word "रंग" in Nepali also means "hue" or "tint". | |||
| Punjabi | ਰੰਗ | ||
| The word "ਰੰਗ" (rang) in Punjabi refers to the concept of "emotion" or "mood" in addition to its primary meaning of "color." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වර්ණ | ||
| "වර්ණ" can also mean "caste" or "complexion" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | நிறம் | ||
| The word 'நிறம்' can also refer to a person's caste or social status in Tamil culture. | |||
| Telugu | రంగు | ||
| The word "రంగు" (color) in Telugu is also used to refer to "paint" or "dye". | |||
| Urdu | رنگ | ||
| The word رنگ (rang) in Urdu has Persian and Sanskrit roots, with its original meaning being "dye" or "pigment" and later expanding to encompass the concept of "color." | |||
Color in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 颜色 | ||
| 颜色 also means "mood" in Chinese, as in "good mood" (好颜色) or "bad mood" (坏颜色). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 顏色 | ||
| 顏色 can refer to a person's complexion, such as 紅潤 (rosy) or 蒼白 (pale). | |||
| Japanese | 色 | ||
| Korean | 색깔 | ||
| The word "색깔" is derived from the words "색채" (hue) and "깔" (to spread or lay out), suggesting that color is something that is spread or laid out over an object. | |||
| Mongolian | өнгө | ||
| The word's root, 'öngö' or 'üngü', means 'to dye' or 'to paint', indicating a primary association with altering or applying color rather than perceiving it. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အရောင် | ||
| "အရောင်" also means "the appearance of a person or thing to the eye, as distinguished from its substance or essential character." | |||
Color in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | warna | ||
| Warna also means 'caste' in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. | |||
| Javanese | warna | ||
| In Javanese, "warna" is also used to refer to the "character" or "nature" of something or someone. | |||
| Khmer | ពណ៌ | ||
| ពណ៌ (pŏərn) is a Khmer word that has multiple meanings, including 'color', 'quality', 'nature', and 'kind'. | |||
| Lao | ສີ | ||
| The word ສີ (sí) in Lao can also mean 'hue', 'tint', 'shade', or 'complexion'. | |||
| Malay | warna | ||
| The word "warna" in Malay is cognate with the Sanskrit word "varna" (meaning "caste" or "social class"), suggesting a historical connection between color and social hierarchy. | |||
| Thai | สี | ||
| "สี" also means "hue" or "tone" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | màu sắc | ||
| "Màu sắc" derives from the Chinese word "màu sắc", which also means "color", and is used in some contexts to refer to the visual appearance of objects. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kulay | ||
Color in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | rəng | ||
| The word "rəng" also means "paint" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | түс | ||
| The Kazakh word "түс" can also mean "image" or "figure". | |||
| Kyrgyz | түс | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "түс" also refers to the complexion of a person's skin. | |||
| Tajik | ранг | ||
| In the Tajik language, "ранг" can also mean "type" or "species", broadening its semantic range beyond just "color" | |||
| Turkmen | reňk | ||
| Uzbek | rang | ||
| In Old Uyghur, the word "rang" referred to the concept of light, and was later used to refer to both "light" and "color" by the 14th century. | |||
| Uyghur | رەڭ | ||
Color in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kala | ||
| Kala also means "to turn pale" or "to blanch" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | tae | ||
| The word "tae" has other meanings such as "sign", "appearance", and "symbol" in the Maori language. | |||
| Samoan | lanu | ||
| The Samoan word "lanu" is also used to describe the color of a person's skin. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kulay | ||
| "kulay" also means "meaning, purpose, or intention" | |||
Color in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | sami | ||
| Guarani | sa'y | ||
Color in International Languages
| Esperanto | koloro | ||
| Esperanto's "koloro" ultimately derives from the medieval Latin "coloro", but is pronounced with a shorter "o" as in the French word "couleur". | |||
| Latin | color | ||
| "Color" can also mean "dye" in Latin. | |||
Color in Others Languages
| Greek | χρώμα | ||
| Ancient Greeks used "Χρωμα" for both "color" and "skin color". | |||
| Hmong | xim | ||
| "Xim" can also mean "hue" or the "appearance of an object to the eye". | |||
| Kurdish | reng | ||
| The Kurdish word 'reng', meaning 'color', may also be used in the phrase 'rengîn çêkirin', where it denotes the action of 'decorating' or 'beautifying'. | |||
| Turkish | renk | ||
| "Renk" comes from the Persian verb "reng āmadan" which means "to come to life". | |||
| Xhosa | umbala | ||
| The word "umbala" can also refer to a specific shade of brown or red, similar to the color of ochre. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרב | ||
| In Yiddish, "פאַרב" can also refer to complexion or blush, stemming from Proto-Germanic *farbaz, meaning "hue" or "dye." | |||
| Zulu | umbala | ||
| The word 'umbala' in Zulu can also refer to a type of chameleon. | |||
| Assamese | ৰং | ||
| Aymara | sami | ||
| Bhojpuri | रंग | ||
| Dhivehi | ކުލަ | ||
| Dogri | रंग | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kulay | ||
| Guarani | sa'y | ||
| Ilocano | maris | ||
| Krio | kɔlɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕەنگ | ||
| Maithili | रंग | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯆꯨ | ||
| Mizo | rawng | ||
| Oromo | halluu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ରଙ୍ଗ | ||
| Quechua | llinpi | ||
| Sanskrit | वर्ण | ||
| Tatar | төс | ||
| Tigrinya | ሕብሪ | ||
| Tsonga | muhlovo | ||