Colors are of great importance in our life. Just imagine your life without them for one day - the world around you will become gray and uninteresting - and you will see how much we need them. With the help of colors, they even determine the sides of the character and personality traits in psychology! As for English, just like in all languages ​​of the world, colors are used everywhere to describe objects, their state; people and their appearance, environment, etc.

Let's look at the basic nuances of using colors in English, and also stop and remember some interesting exceptions and idioms associated with them.

Let's start with the very basics. From the very word "color" in English.

Which is correct "colour" or "color"?

Some beginners who begin to learn English come across both versions of this word and are perplexed which version is correct or preferable. In fact, both are correct!

Color is the American version color used in Britain, New Zealand. The second option is more traditional and classic. There are no differences in pronunciation. Therefore, feel free to write as you like.

Let's look at a few examples of both variants of the word "colour/color":

• What's your favorite color? - What's your favorite color?
• Foods which go through a factory process lose much of their color, flavor and texture. - Food subjected to industrial processing loses quite a lot of color, smell and quality.
• This garden was a mass of color /color. This garden was a concentration of flowers.

The following are examples of how you can replace the word "color":

• a bright, dark, deep color/shade/hue - bright, dark, deep shade/color/tone;
• a pale, delicate color/shade/hue - pale, subtle color/shade/tone;
• a light / strong /natural color/shade - light, saturated, natural color/shade.

Vocabulary
The main synonyms for the word "color" are:
shade- shade, shade
hue- tone, color
tint- shade
tinge- shade

Interesting idioms with the word "color":

• your true colors - your true face, character.
  People will never know my true colours. People will never know my true face.
• with flying colors - very good; with great success, great results
  I am going to pass my English test with flying colours. - I'm going to pass my English exam with great success.

Primary colors of the English language

As you know, there are a huge variety of colors, however, the main and most used are the following:

Red- red
Gray- Gray
Blue- blue
dark blue- blue
Green- green
Yellow- yellow
Pink- pink
Orange- Orange
Brown- brown
White- white
Black- black
violet- purple

For a more detailed description, you can use a huge variety of colors that are present in English in the same way as in Russian:

Gold- golden
Silver- silver
Amber- amber
Azure- blue, azure
Beige- beige
body color- flesh color
Bronze- bronze
Chocolate- chocolate
Coral- coral
Denim blue- denim
Lilac- purple
Pearl- pearl
Raspberry- raspberry
Sand- sandy
Snow- snow-white
Vinous- burgundy
light sea green- aquamarine

As for shades, it is quite simple to form them in English. Just follow the following scheme and you will be fine:

Green(green) + light(light) = light green(light green);
green + dark(dark) = dark green(dark green).

• She has very beautiful dark green eyes. She has very beautiful dark green eyes.
• This light green color suits you so much. - This light yellow suits you very well.
• I would like to buy this green curtain. - I would like to buy this green curtain.

And if something is not clear, the teachers of our school will be happy to help you.

Also, there is an option to add words bright and pale:

bright green- bright green;
pale green- pale green.

Vocabulary
To suit- go, approach
Curtain- curtain, curtain
Bright- bright
Pale- pale, dim

The use of colors in sentences

There are several options:

The name of the color is used after the verb

• This plate is white. - This plate is white.
• This cup has pleasant yellow color. - This cup is a nice yellow color.

Color is a noun

• This white plate is nice. - This white plate is beautiful.
• Yellow cup was bought yesterday. We bought a yellow cup yesterday.

The color comes before the noun it describes.

• This white plate is mine. This white cup is mine.
• That yellow cup belongs to him. - This yellow cup belongs to him.

Idioms about flowers

Modern English contains a huge number of idioms and set expressions. No native speaker can do without them. And of course, for all English learners, it would be quite nice to master a couple of idioms regarding colors.

black as ink- gloomy, gloomy
to look blue- look sad
Once in a blue moon- very rarely, almost never
out of the blue- thunder among clear sky, suddenly
Grass is always greener on the other side- Well, where we do not
green hand- an inexperienced person, a novice in some business
to see red- get angry, get angry
golden opportunity- a great, brilliant opportunity for something
To give the green light- allow something
A gray area- riddle, riddle

jokes in english related to flowers
What's black and white and red all over?
(A newspaper!)

What happens when you throw a white hat into the Black Sea?
(It gets wet!)

(A penguin rolling down a hill!)

What's black and white, black and white, and black and white?
(A zebra caught in a revolving door!)

What's black and white, black and white, and black and white?
(A panda bear rolling down a hill!)

Just like in life, in our everyday communication, both in Russian and in English, knowledge of colors is simply necessary. Without them, it is impossible to fully express everything that you see, feel and imagine. Learn something new and interesting, improve, and your life will not only become brighter and more colorful, but you will definitely find your “golden opportunity”.

Large and friendly EnglishDom family.

Hello to all beginners to learn spoken English with us! When learning English online with the help of audio lessons, you should pay attention to such an important class of words as colors. Indeed, in everyday conversations, we often use their names when we describe something: nature, animals, cars, furniture, etc. Knowing colors in English helps to convey information about the subject to the interlocutor most accurately and clearly.

In our world, all objects have a certain color, except for transparent objects. Colors are very diverse, there are a great many of them, not to mention the limitless variety of shades and tones. Therefore, our today's online audio lesson is devoted to the study of the topic " Colors in English". There is no need to know them all, it is enough to memorize the most basic colors of the spectrum well, which is what we will do today.

I recommend to look at another interesting article English adverbs: Yesterday - today - tomorrow so you can say: yesterday I saw my dream - a yellow Lamborghini, or tomorrow I will drive a stunning red Ferrari, and today I will drive my pink Cadillac.

Studying only colors separately, there will be little sense. For greater efficiency words need to be studied in context. Therefore, we will consider color scheme in English in the context of phrases, sentences, questions and answers, in order to reinforce the association associated with each individual color. Pronounce each phrase voiced by the announcer clearly and clearly so that you train your pronunciation to a decent level: /wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RUEN014.mp3 describing something will be in vain, even if you learn all the material of today's audio lesson. Therefore, do not treat this moment negligently, but on the contrary, pay due attention to it.

Colors in English

Carefully study the table below to find out how each phrase is spelled and translated. Note that the very word Colour» is spelled differently in British and American English: color - British spelling color - American. Therefore, in the table you can find a few more words marked “am”, which means the American version of the spelling of this word. The unmarked vocabulary is the classic English spelling.

It is for such cases that the text material of the audio lesson is needed, since it is very difficult to reflect such moments on an audio recording. And the text version of the lesson can demonstrate all the nuances, with the exception of pronunciation. Therefore, we try to make our online lessons as accessible and understandable as possible for beginners to learn English.

Now you can describe any subject in English if you learn all the phrases and train your pronunciation with this audio lesson.

Listen also online and learn 100 English lessons for beginners

Personally, I prefer red and black. And what is your favorite color? May only green color! Good luck!

Hello kids, their parents, nannies and teachers!

I noticed a long time ago that along with numbers, children love to learn words for colors in English. Apparently, therefore, according to the well-known law "The more interesting, the faster", they remember such words with lightning speed!

If you don't believe us, let's check it out right now! And let's start with songs and videos, which, I'll tell you, are just an abundance on the Internet. But I have chosen the best ones for you! And she provided a dictionary with a translation of those without a single Russian word))

So, learning colors in English for kids is our goal today! Go...

balloon - balloon
bye-bye - bye-bye
say "bye-bye" to all the beautiful balloons - say "bye-bye" to all the beautiful balloons!

Let "s learn the colors song together - Let's sing a song of flowers together
Apple is red - red apple
Leaves are green - leaves are green
Lemon is yellow - yellow lemon
Sky is blue - the sky is blue
Carrot is orange - orange carrots
Berries are purple - purple berries
Flowers are pink - pink flowers
Night and day for black and white - Night and day for black and white
Rainbows are always bright - rainbows are always bright

What colors do you like? - What colors do you like?
I like blue sky - I love the blue sky
I like green grass - I love green grass
I like purple butterflies - I love purple butterflies
I like yellow daisies - I love yellow daisies
Pink and orange sunsets - pink-orange sunsets
I like white - snowy white - I love white - snow white
Black of the night - Black as night
I like the brown of the earth in the ground - I love brown like the earth
I like blueberry-pie - I love blueberry pie
Green cabbage and broccoli - green cabbage and broccoli
I like yellow corn - I love yellow grain
Orange carrots too - orange carrots too
White mashed potato - white mashed potatoes
And a brown gravy stew
I like red strawberries - I love red strawberries
Purple grapes - purple grapes
I like pink grapefruit - I love pink grapefruit

There are also a lot of interesting things in Russian-language videos, but keep in mind that if the child is not more than 3 years old, it is better for him to show only the English-language versions (those above). If he's older, it's up to you to decide. And if his age is approaching 8 years or more, then a video with Russian comments will be just right!

And here they are:

It's time to add to this riot of emotions and voiced cards in the form of a table (under it you will find a file for printing), which will help you repeat the colors and come up with different games with them.

The following game came to my mind: The kid chooses any card from your hands at random. When he sees a color, you are together or he himself must remember the word corresponding to the color, and then you go in search of an object of that color - at home, in the garden, on the street! When this stage is completed (several such sessions are required), you can do the opposite - show the baby an object and ask him to find a card with the appropriate color and pronounce it. Or you offer him two oral options, and he chooses.

You can invent games on the go - it's very easy and fun!

By the way, if you need a word with transcription, there is a service in the sidebar on the right that can provide it to you. Just enter the word and click "Transcribe"

And we continue:

	red
	green
	blue
	orange
	purple
	pink
	black
	white
	brown
	yellow

File for downloading and printing cards with colors and words in English

Dear friends, if the selection of materials seemed interesting and useful to you, share this page on social media!

I will also be glad to your comments with your questions, wishes or thoughts on today's topic.

Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting. And every knowledge hunter wants to knowall colors and shades in Englishto describe the natural beauties encountered along the way. After all, how sometimes you want to say something like: “Look at this golden sunset, dissolving behind the pale green and blue hills, throwing the last crimson flashes at them ...” Say in English. But a sigh escapes from the chest and the phrase "The sky is beautiful." Maybe you already know the basiccolors in english, but let's look at this issue in more depth.

Colors of the rainbow spectrum in English

Run Off You Girls, Boys In View! (Run girls, boys are coming! ) It - one of the special phrases that are used to memorize the sequence color s in english. Here is another such "memory":R ichardO fY orkG aveB liveI nV ain (Richard of York fought in vain). Let's go through the spectrum.

Colors in English with transcription and translation:

Here we have already met with cultural differences: a slight confusion with the blue color and incomprehensible for Russian speakers "indigo".

Newton invented to include indigo in a rainbow. He took as a basis the idea that since there are seven musical notes, the colors of the rainbow must also be seven.Indigo- it is a deep saturated blue tending towards red. Note that the accent is English word you need to put on the first syllable, and not on the second, as in Russian. Previously, the pigment for indigo paint was extracted from the plant of the same name in India, which is why this color is also called "indian blue ».

Why are "blue" and "light blue" denoted the same way? "Blue" - what color is itin fact? Answer: both blue and cyan. There are no separate words for light blue and dark blue in English.

Blue color translation in English as light blue (light- light coloured).

Color, shade and tint

"Color" in English - color (in the American version it is written color).The word will be easy to remember if you have ever done repairs. You may remember that construction stores sell a special pigment called tint, they tint the mixture, that is, they create exactly the paint that you need.

While in Russian we use one word to denote a variety of the same color -"tint" in Englishit can be expressed in two words- tint and shade. The difference is that tint- is the hue that results when white is added to the base color, and shade- black. That is, in the case of tint, the paint will turn out to be lighter, pastel, while shade gives depth.

The table above does not include the names of many colors, which, nevertheless, are actively used in everyday speech.

Frequently used English colors with translation into Russian:

Black: what color is it?Of course, black. In English, as in our native language, it is associated with something bad, evil. For example, to a person who has done something nasty to you, you can say: “Your soul is as black as night (Your soul is black as night).

But black sheep (black sheep) - this is not necessarily someone bad, but the attitude towards him, to put it mildly, is not very good.black sheep - this is an idiom describing an outcast, a "black sheep", a person who is not accepted by the environment:

I "m theblack sheepof the family because I get bad grades (I am the black sheep in the family because I get bad grades).

to blackmail - another word with a negative connotation that containsblack. It means: to blackmail someone, to get money by threatening something.

My ex-boyfriendblackmailedme (My ex-boyfriend blackmailed me).

Is it a matter white , what color hope, goodness and purity! Even a lie if it's white- white lie - not so terrible, a kind of “white lie”, so as not to upset the interlocutor, or even a compliment:

You look… erm… good in this dress! - Oh please don't tell white lies! (You look…uh…good in that dress! - Oh, please don't deceive/comfort me!)

Speaking of emotional content, it should be mentioned that the word "white" can describe fear. A frightened person looks pale, and therefore in Russian there are such expressions as “turn white with fear”, “white as a sheet”. There is an idiom in English:white as a sheet" (white as a sheet).

Although a suddenly frightened person looks "white as a sheet",constantlyfearful, cowardly person- this is yellow-bellied man. Literally, he has a "yellow belly" (stomach- belly).

What color do you think is used to describe someone who is angry? And the embarrassed person whose blood rushes to his face with shame? Of course this Colour - red and englishlanguage has in its arsenal such expressions as "red in the face " and " to get (be, turn) red ". Analyze examples:

He immediatelyturned red , and I knew he was embarrassed. (He immediately blushed, and I realized that he was embarrassed)

Olga turnedred in the face with anger. (Olga blushed with anger).

Pink used when talking about health and wellness. One song contains the words:

enjoy yourself
While you're stillin the pink
(Have fun while your health allows).

In the pink means in good shape, young, healthy. This is a direct association with skin color.

To be tickled pink - “to be delighted”, “to be very pleased”. Literally, this idiom translates as "to be tickled pink."

I wastickled pink to meet my favorite singer. (I was thrilled to meet my favorite singer).

As for green, it is the color of envy and jealousy. In English, you can "turn green with envy"- to be/turn green with envy.

Also, when yougreen, it means that you are new to something, you do not have enough experience. Russian also has this meaning for green:young- green about.

But green is also the color of opportunities and respect for nature.

To give the green light (to give a green light) means to approve something, to give an opportunity to do something.

green economy - it is an economy that takes into account the requirements of ecology.

Recycling is an important part of green economy (Recycling - is an important part of the green » economy).

Now about blue color in English.Blue - the color of sadness and sad music calledblues. It is curious that quite recently in Russian the blue color was not emotionally colored, well, blue and blue, the color of the sky and the sea, what is there to be sad about? But we got the song “Mood color- blue”, and this phrase has spread all over the Internet in hashtags. Now we, too, can proudly declare that we have our own understanding of blue color like moods.

- Why are youfeeling blue , Masha?

- I haven't been learning English lately.

- Why are you sad, Masha?

- I have recently abandoned English.

Emotionally charged and the wordgrey: to what color , if not gray, will express boredom, melancholy, rainy weather and bad mood?

gray day- gloomy day

And also gray - it's gray. gray hair- grey hair.

There are two possible spellings:gray and gray. The former is more common in the US, the latter- in other English speaking countries.

Color subtleties: shades, gradations, multicolor

Imagine that you have a piece of amber in your hands. It shimmers in different shades and it's hard to tell orange or yellow, which color is predominant. In Russian we say: yellow-orange, i.e. add-aboutand write the second part through a hyphen. In English add a suffix-ish:

Yellowish orange - yellowish orange.

Amber is yellowish-orange. (Amber is yellowish-orange).

Exceptions:

• in the word reddish (reddish) the letter d is doubled

• black (black)- does not change

Incidentally, the very word amber"- also color, its translation- amber. It's more of a shade though.

The analogue of our Russian "black and white" will be "black and white". As you can see, the union "and" is used, and the form of the words remains unchanged.

If you want to express gradation- the tone is lighter, darker or richer, words come to the rescuelight (light coloured), dark (dark) and bright (bright). For example, light pink - Colour lighter pink, white-pink.

Dull - dull, dull;

Pale - pale.

Colors and shades in English, as in many other languages, often come from the names of plants, stones, metals, everything that surrounds us. Coloursilver - it's "silver"golden - "golden" purple color in english will be " lilac ", like the corresponding plant, andplum - Colour plums because plum- this is the plum.

More examples of natural shades:

Most likely, you yourself will guess the meaning if you meet colors, translation which coincides with the names of plants and other natural materials.

For example, purple color translation in English as violet , which coincides with the name of the plant (violet). True, "violet" is not used as often as the everyday "purple". People who do not have specific knowledge of colors will name any shade between blue and red as such. They might say "bluish purple" or "pinkish purple" if they want to get into the details.

Perception of colors- thing is subjective. There's an old rhyme that says violets are... blue!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
So are you.

(Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, just like you)

The author sins a little against the truth, becauseviolets are violet, or purple. The problem is that it doesn't rhyme as well asblueso the violets turned blue.

And you can use the first lines of this poem to say something obvious, like:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I enjoy learning English
And I hope so do you.

If you think that the names of flowers in English are a purely feminine topic, we hasten to convince you.

First, flowers and plants are British national symbols: rose(rose) - a symbol of England, thistle(thistle) - a symbol of Scotland, shamrock(shamrock) - a symbol of Northern Ireland, daffodil(yellow daffodil) - a symbol of Wales.

Secondly, many flower names are simultaneously used as female names: your new acquaintance from Brighton or Edinburgh may be called Lily(as Harry Potter's mother) iris(as mother of U2 vocalist Bono) Rose(as the heroine of "Titanic"), Jasmine, Sage, Heather, , Poppy, Daisy or Myrtle.

Thirdly, many flowers have given their names to shades that repeat their color:

• - hot pink or red
• lavender- lavender, lavender, lilac
• periwinkle- pale blue with a lilac tint
• primrose- pale yellow, lemon color
• - purple, lilac color
• fuchsia- fuchsia color, hot pink with a lilac tint

Don't forget that the names of colors are used to describe the fragrance pyramid: the most popular notes remain peonies,freesia, jasmine, orange blossom,orchid, tuberose, gardenia.

Besides, beautiful bouquet is still considered a nice gesture and the color names will come in handy for you to order it in flowershop(flower shop). Watch the video where teacher Dave breaks down how to order flowers for his girlfriend:

By the way, what is the difference between abouquet and abunchof flowers?

• abouquetofflowers- a complex bouquet, assembled from different types colors
• abunchofflowers- a modest bouquet or a bunch of flowers of the same kind
• a position- a small bouquet with shorter stems and simple decoration

So, our list of colors in English with translation and transcription. Let's start with gardenflowers(garden flowers) and hothouseflowers(greenhouse flowers), which are often sold as cut flowers- cut flowers.

To learn the correct pronunciation of color names, turn on the video and repeat them after the announcer:

How did some color names appear in English? Dive into the etymology of the beautiful flora!

• (anemone)

Anemone is also known as anemone. The word , first recorded in English in the mid-1500s, may be derived from a Greek word meaning "daughter of the wind." It was believed that the brightly colored petals of this flower opened only when the wind blew.

• (amaryllis)

In the poems of Theocritus, Ovid and Virgil, the name Amaryllis was often found, which was worn by beautiful village girls. Carl Linnaeus, the father of the modern classification system for flora and fauna, used this name for a separate flower family in the late 1700s. The name probably comes from a Greek verb meaning "to sparkle" or "to shine," a fitting association for a flower whose long white petals burst with rich red streaks and veins.

• (carnation)

There are two theories about how the word came into English in the early 1500s. According to the first, distorted coronation"coronation", perhaps due to the fact that the jagged petals of the flower resembled a crown, or because a garland of carnations was worn as a wreath. The second theory has to do with the shade of the carnation flower: the word may be derived from the Middle French word "pink complexion", which in turn is based on the Latin root caro"flesh" - it is found in not the most pleasant modern English words carnal"carnal" and carnage"massacre, slaughter"

• (chrysanthemum)

In accordance with their etymology, chrysanthemum flowers are often bright yellow, almost golden in color. The word comes from the Greek krysanthemon meaning "golden flower". First component krysos"golden" is preserved in the English word chrysalis"chrysalis, cocoon". Second component anthos"flower" appears in the word anthology"anthology", literally - "collection of flowers". Colloquial name for chrysanthemums - mums- first appeared in the late 1800s.

• DAISY(daisy)

Daisy may rightly be considered English title flower. As attested in one of the earliest English written sources, the word Daisy derived from the Old English combination dæ gesege"day eye": the white petals of the flower close at sunset and open at dawn, like a "day eye" that falls asleep and wakes up.

• (forget-me-not)

Name forget- me- not- literal translation of Old French nem’ oubliez mye"do not forget me". Renaissance romantics believed that if they wore these delicately colored flowers, their lovers would never forget them - so the humble flower became a symbol of fidelity and eternal love. Other languages ​​also translated nem’ oubliezmye literally: in German forget-me-not - Vergissmeinnicht, in Swedish - fö rgä tmigej, in Czech - nezabudka.

• (lupine)

The elongated, tapering upward blue bunches of lupins outwardly hardly correspond to their etymology: it comes from the Latin lupinus"wolf". Where did such a ferocious name come from? Perhaps it was previously believed that flowers depleted the earth in which they grew, absorbing from it nutrients like wolves devouring prey. Most likely, this theory is still closer to folk etymology, because in fact lupins enrich the soil and are valued for the nutritional properties of their seeds.

• PEONY(pion)

At the dawn of medicine, it was believed that the peony is the name peony found already in Old English - possessed healing properties, so its name could be given in honor of Paean, the physician who healed the gods and heroes in Greek mythology. A related word for modern peony is the word paean"song of praise", as Pean became identified with Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry.

• TULIP(tulip)

Arriving in English via Dutch and German in the late 1500s, the word tulip actually came from Turkish tü lbent which developed from the Persian dulband"turban". Obviously, those who in the deep past endowed the tulip with this name, the flower recalled the male headdress worn throughout the Middle East, India and regions of northern and eastern Africa.

• (violet)

Before the word in English began to mean purple (this happened in the late 1300s), the same word already meant a flower. derived from French or , and this french word derived from Latin viola. This viola has no etymological connection with the name of a musical instrument viola"viola". Some linguists believe that in Latin this name came from the Greek name for a flower, ion. It is interesting to trace the connection between botany and chemistry: the name iodine"iodine" comes from the Greek ioeides « purple because this chemical releases purple fumes.