Learning English involves not only mastering grammatical and lexical rules, but also learning new words, that is, expanding your vocabulary of English words.
One of the important topics that you should definitely pay attention to when learning new words is the different colors in English. It's not the most complex vocabulary family, but it's definitely one of the most important, as colors are used in almost all descriptive sentences.
Spend more time on the topic of flowers and learn as many new words as possible. And you can find them in this article.
Color and Color - what is the difference?
All English colors can be called the word color (“colo”). But here many people have a question, because there is also the word color. What is the difference between the two and what is the correct spelling of the word color.
The answer is quite simple. Both of these words are grammatically correct, but they are spelled differently due to differences in British and American English.
Color - British version.
Color - American version.
Moreover, both words are absolutely grammatically correct.
Color names in the table
It is simply impossible to learn the names of absolutely all the colors of the English language, just as it is unrealistic to do this in Russian. But learning the basic colors and the most commonly used ones is simply necessary for a normal vocabulary.
The table below shows the names of flowers in English, their translation and transcription:
| Color | Transcription and pronunciation | Translation |
| Red | /"red" | Red |
| Blue | / "blue" | Blue |
| Violet | [ˈvʌɪələt] / "violet" | Violet |
| Pink | / "pink" | Pink |
| Black | / "black" | Black |
| White | / "white" | White |
| Brown | / "brown" | Brown |
| Yellow | [ɡriːn] / "yellow" | Yellow |
| Green | [ɡriːn] / "green" | Green |
| Orange | [ˈɒrɪn(d)ʒ] / "orange" | Orange |
| Gold | [ɡəʊld] / "gold" | Gold |
| Silver | [ˈsɪlvə] / "silve" | Silver |
| Scarlet | [ˈskɑ:lɪt] / "grins" | Scarlet |
| Emerald | [ˈemər(ə)ld] / "emereld" | Emerald |
| Gray | [ɡreɪ] / "gray" | Grey |
Shades of color
People don’t always name pure colors; sometimes you can find shades of one color or another, so knowing how to correctly name a shade in English is a must.
To convey light shades
To convey light colors in English, the two most popular words are used:
- Light- light.
- Pale- pale.
Examples:
- Look at her! Her eyes are light blue. It looks like the sky in the sunny day.- Look at her! His eyes are light blue. They look like the sky on a sunny day.
- Evelin`s face is pale pink. It seems like she is afraid of a ghost in this house.– Evelyn’s face was pale pink. It seems she was afraid of the ghost in this house.
- My light pink socks were bought three days ago by my mother and grandmother.– My light pink socks were bought three days ago by my mother and grandmother.
- A pale pink note is laid on the table of my daughter and a light blue is laid on the table of my elder son.– A pale pink notebook is on my daughter’s desk, a light blue one is on my eldest son’s desk.
- I do not (don`t) want those light gray trousers. They do not (don`t) fit me and look terrible.– I don’t want to wear pants that aren’t light gray. They don't suit me and they look terrible.
To convey dark shades
In order to name the dark shade of a color in English, you need to use the following words:
- Dark– dark.
- Deep– deep, rich.
Examples:
- The sea was dark green that day. That looked very strange and unusual.– The sea that day was dark green. It looked very strange and unusual.
- My new blouse is deep blue and my shoes are scarlet.– My new blouse is deep blue, and my shoes are scarlet.
- The books in the dark brown covers have been stolen from our local library.– Books with dark brown covers were stolen from our local library.
- My daughter's eyes are dark green. She looks like a real witch.– My daughter’s eyes are dark green. She looks like a real witch.
- My mother prefers to wear only deep red lipstick. It looks amazing on her and she looks perfect.– My mother prefers to wear only deep red lipstick. She looks absolutely amazing with it.
Other shades
It is not always necessary to convey light or dark shades; sometimes it is necessary to determine some other shade of color in English.
Other color shades:
Examples:
- This mat color on your nails is very beautiful. Who has done this manicure for you?– This matte color on your nails is very beautiful. Who gave you such an interesting manicure?
- Today the sky is dirty gray. Maybe, it will be raining on the evening or at late night.– Today the sky is dirty gray. It may rain in the evening or late at night.
- There are all pastel colors from red till blue. But Mila has not yet decided which color her hair would die.– All pastel colors from red to blue are depicted here. But Mila has not yet decided what color she wants to dye her hair.
- The door of Elly`s room is painted in soft red . It looks very nice.– The door to Ellie’s room is painted soft red. She looks very cute.
- I want that the picture on the cover of this book will be beautiful pastel color.– I want the picture on the cover of the new book to be a beautiful pastel color.
If you are tired of learning English for years?
Those who attend even 1 lesson will learn more than in several years! Surprised?
No homework. No cramming. No textbooks
From the course “ENGLISH BEFORE AUTOMATION” you:
- Learn to write competent sentences in English without memorizing grammar
- Learn the secret of a progressive approach, thanks to which you can reduce English learning from 3 years to 15 weeks
- You will check your answers instantly+ get a thorough analysis of each task
- Download the dictionary in PDF and MP3 formats, educational tables and audio recordings of all phrases
Suffix –ish
Sometimes, when describing an object or an unknown thing, we cannot confidently name one color or another. In this case, in Russian we would say: “reddish or grayish, probably pinkish.”
In English, people use the special suffix ish to talk about a color they're not sure about. It denotes uncertainty in color.
Examples:
- Alice wants to receive that pinkish pillow and those reddish headphones.“Alice wants that pinkish pillow and those reddish headphones for her birthday.”
- My mother decided to paint the walls in her room in blueish colors. I think it would look very beautifully.– My mother decided to paint the walls of her room in bluish colors. I think it will look very beautiful.
- The sky was grayish a week ago and today it is blue and pink at the same time.– The sky was grayish a week ago, but today it is blue and pink at the same time.
- Please, help Mary to wash those blueish dishes. And these red cups put on the table.– Please help Mary wash those bluish plates. And put these red mugs on the table.
- The whole bouquet of reddish roses was given to my grandmother. It looks amazing. – My grandmother was given a whole bouquet of reddish roses. They look absolutely amazing.
How to ask about color in English?
Sometimes we ourselves do not describe certain colors in English, because we want to convey the picture in more detail. Very often you need to ask what color it is, for example, a mug or my friend Dan's new car. That is why it is important to be able to correctly and beautifully ask questions in English about the color of an object.
For this purpose, there is one English construction that is always used when we want to ask about a color.
What color is…? - (What colour…?)
Examples:
Learning colors in English in a playful way
The topic of flowers in English is most often taught by young children, since it is one of the first to learn because of its simplicity.
But still, it is not so easy for children to learn new words, especially in English. Therefore, learning through play is suitable for them. Children perceive color better if you ask them leading questions, for example, about the color of animals or plants.
Examples:
- What color is our cat? – Brown (red).— What color is our cat? – Brown (red).
- What color are the trees? – Green.— What color are the trees? - Green.
- What color is your tongue? –Red. -What color is your tongue? - Red.
- What color is the grass under our feet? – Green.-What color is the grass under your feet? - Green.
- What color are elephants? – Grey.— What color are elephants? - Gray.
In this way, you can play with your child absolutely anywhere, for example, while walking in the park. The main thing is to ask him the right questions about what he can see at the moment. And if he does not know the name of a color, you must tell him what it is called and give an example of where it can be seen.
Your child will benefit greatly from coloring books, songs or cartoons that can be found online. Also, children remember the meaning of colors well with the help of a rainbow.
Color memorization exercise
It is also not necessary for an older person to learn colors by memorizing them, as this can be long and tedious. That is why it is worth doing various interesting exercises that will help you remember colors in English as quickly as possible and without boring cramming.
Below are several tasks that will help you remember the names of flowers in English. Try to complete them, relying only on your knowledge and without looking at the answers.
Substitute the appropriate word:
- The apples on my plate are ___.
a) red b) white c) purple - When I was a child I was the ___ sea. It looked wonderful.
a) black b) blue c) pink - I really hate to eat ___ lemons. They are so sour.
a) brown b) gold c) yellow - What color are zebras? They are ___
a) pink and green b) black and white c) black and blue
Choose the right combination:
- What color do you want a new phone? I want to ____.
a) a black one b) red ones c) blue one - My parents decided to make ___ cake.
a) a rainbow b) red c) silver ones - Dilan does not (doesn`t) want to wear ___.
a) red trousers b) a black trousers c) purple trousers - This book in ___ is very terrible.
a) red carpet b) a black cover c) green covers.
Answers to the first task:
Answers to task 2:
Conclusion
The topic of color names in English is quite simple, but still you should not rely only on “maybe” and pay enough attention to this topic, since colors are used very often in English speech.
Do exercises like those given in this article at least a couple of times a week and then you will confidently use the theme of flowers in English. Cards will also help in memorizing colors.
In speech, we are often faced with the need to describe something: buildings, clothing, food, animals and much more. Of all the external characteristics that can be described, the most obvious is color. This is why it is so important to know colors in English.
All colors can be divided into general colors, tones or tints, half-tints or semi-tones, and shades.
Primary colors
When we learn colors in English, we should also remember their pronunciation, as this affects an additional sense organ, and therefore creates a more complete picture of perception.
Below is a table showing colors in English with transcription and pronunciation.
| Russian variant | color | English version and pronunciation | transcription |
| white | 🔊 Listen to white | ||
| black | 🔊 Listen black | ||
| red | 🔊 Listen to red | ||
| blue | 🔊 Listen to dark blue | ||
| green | 🔊 Listen to green | ||
| blue | 🔊 Listen to blue | ||
| yellow | 🔊 Listen to yellow | [ˈyɛloʊ] | |
| grey | 🔊 Listen gray | ||
| violet | 🔊 Listen to violet | [‘vaɪə.lət] | |
| pink | 🔊 Listen to pink | ||
| orange | 🔊 Listen to orange | [‘ɔrɪndʒ, ‘ɒrɪndʒ] | |
| brown | 🔊 Listen to brown | ||
| lilac | 🔊 Listen to purple | [ˈpɜrpəl] |
You can listen to the pronunciation of the English names of primary colors in the video.
Shades, tones, halftones
In order to clarify the depth or intensity of a color, words such as deep (deep, saturated), light (light), dark (dark), pale (pale) and many others are used. For example:
- dark-green (dark green)
- pale-red (pale red)
However, shades and tones also have independent names. There are a huge number of them. We will give just a few of them.
- amber (amber)
- aqua (sea wave)
- aquamarine (aquamarine)
- ash (ash gray)
- azure (azure)
- beige (beige)
- berry
- bronze (bronze)
- buff (light brown)
- burgundy (burgundy)
- burly wood (yellowish)
- burnt (burnt)
- cadet blue (gray-blue)
- cambridge blue (light blue)
- cerise (light cherry)
- chartreuse (pale green)
- chartreuse (greenish yellow)
- chlorine (light green)
- chocolate (chocolate)
- claret (Bordeaux)
- cocoa (cocoa color)
- copper (copper)
- coral (coral)
- cornflower (cornflower)
- cornsilk (silk shade)
- cream (cream)
- cyan (greenish blue)
- emerald (emerald)
- fallow (light yellow)
- firebrick (brick)
- forest green (khaki)
- fuchsia (fuchsia)
- garnet (dark red)
- ghostwhite (ghostly white)
- golden (golden)
- honeydew (honey)
- hot pink (warm pink)
- indigo (indigo)
- ivory (ivory)
- jade (yellowish green)
- khaki (khaki)
- lavender (pale lilac)
- lavender (lavender)
- avender blush (blue with red tint)
- lemon (lemon)
- lime (lime color)
- liver-coloured (dark chestnut)
- magenta (purple)
- magenta (magenta)
- maroon (dark burgundy)
- mastic (pale yellow, mastic color)
- mauve (mauve)
- mazarine (dark blue)
- mint (mint)
- murrey (dark red)
- navy blue (dark blue)
- nutmeg (nutmeg color)
- olive (olive)
- olive green - olive green
- oyster white (grayish white)
- peach (peach)
- pearl
- petunia (dark purple)
- pewter (tin)
- photo magenta (light purple)
- pistachio (pistachio, greenish color)
- plum (plum)
- plum (dark purple)
- powder blue (blue with a powder tint)
- pumpkin (pumpkin color)
- raspberry (raspberry)
- rosy brown
- royal blue (royal blue (pure, bright shade of blue))
- rust (rusty)
- saddle brown (leather brown)
- salmon
- sand
- seafoam (sea foam color)
- seagreen (sea green)
- silvery (silver)
- sky blue
- slate (blue-gray)
- smoke blue (pale gray-blue)
- snow (snow-white)
- spring green
- steel blue (blue with a steel tint)
- steel gray
- tan (yellowish brown)
- tanned (bronze)
- taupe (taupe)
- tawny (dark yellow)
- terra cotta (terracotta)
- turquoise (turquoise)
- vinous (burgundy)
- wheat
Peculiarities of using color names in speech
1. To indicate a change in color, use the verbs to turn or to go. For example: the leaves turned yellow in the autumn - in the fall the leaves turned yellow; he went red with anger - he turned red with anger.
2. If several adjectives of different quality apply to a noun, then most often they are arranged in the following order: assessment or judgment, size, age, shape, color, material or nationality. For example: good blue pencil - a good blue pencil.
In a different meaning
The presence of a word denoting color in a sentence does not always mean that we are talking about some kind of shade. The fact is that many set expressions in English use color symbols. Among them, for example, are the following:
- See red (become enraged, go mad);
- be green about the gills (appear healthy);
- white night (sleepless night);
- white coffee (coffee with milk);
- to be blue (to mope);
- pink of the perfection (top of perfection).
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 his path. 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 on them...” In English, say. But a sigh escapes from my chest and the phrase “The sky is beautiful.” Maybe you already know the basicscolors in English, but let's look at this issue deeper.
Colors of the rainbow spectrum in English
Run Off You Girls, Boys In View! (Run, girls, boys are coming! ) This - one of the special phrases used to remember the sequence color of ov in English. Here is another such “memory”:R ichardO fY orkG aveB attleI nV ain (Richard of York gave the battle in vain). Let's walk along the spectrum.
Colors in English with transcription and translation:
Now we have already encountered cultural differences: a slight confusion with the color blue and incomprehensible for Russian speakers “indigo".
Newton came up with the idea of including indigo in the rainbow. He took as his basis the idea that since there are seven musical notes, there must also be seven colors in the rainbow.Indigo- it's a deep, rich blue tending towards red. Please note that the stress in an English word should be placed 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 "cyan" referred to the same? "Blue - what color is itIn fact? Answer: and blue and blue. In English there are no separate words for light blue and dark blue.
Blue color translation translates into English as light blue (light- light).
Color, shade and tint
“Color” in English is 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 tin, which is used to tint the mixture, that is, to create exactly the paint that you need.
While in Russian we use one word to denote a variety of the same color -"shade" in Englishthis can be expressed in two words- tint And shade. The difference is that tint- is the shade that is obtained by adding white 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 adds depth.
The table above does not include the names of many colors, which, nevertheless, are actively used in everyday speech.
Frequently usedEnglish 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).
And here 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 that describes an outcast, a “black sheep”, a person who is not accepted by his 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, which containsblack. It means: to blackmail someone, to get money by threatening something.
My ex-boyfriendblackmailedme (My ex-boyfriend blackmailed me).
Either way white , what color is that hope, goodness and purity! Even a lie if she's white- white lie - not so scary, 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 about emotional content, it should be mentioned that the word “white” can describe fear. A frightened person looks pale, which is why in Russian there are such expressions as “white with fear”, “white as a sheet”. In English there is an idiom: “white as a sheet" (white, like a sheet).
Although a suddenly frightened person looks "white as a sheet"constantlya person who is afraid of something, a cowardly person- This yellow-bellied man. Literally, he has a “yellow belly” (belly- belly).
What color do you think is used to describe someone who is angry? What about an embarrassed person whose blood rushes to his face from shame? Of course this one color - red and englishthe language has in its arsenal such expressions as “red in the face " And " to get (be, turn) red " Analyze the examples:
He immediatelyturned red , and I knew he was embarrassed. (He immediately blushed and I realized he was embarrassed)
Olga turnedred in the face with anger. (Olga blushed with anger).
Pink used when talking about health and well-being. One song has 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”. This idiom literally translates to “to be tickled pink.”
I wastickled pink to meet my favorite singer. (I was delighted to meet my favorite singer).
As for green, it is the color of envy and jealousy. In English you can be “green with envy”- to be/turn green with envy.
Also, when yougreen, this means that you are new to something, you don’t have enough experience. Russian also has this meaning for the color green:young- green O.
But green is also the color of opportunity and respect for nature.
To give the green light (to give green light) means to approve something, to give the opportunity to do something.
Green economy - This is an economy that takes into account environmental requirements.
Recycling is an important part of green economy (Recycling - this is an important part of green » economy).
Now about blue color in English.Blue - the color of sadness and sad music calledblues. It is curious that quite recently in the Russian language the color blue was not emotionally charged, well, blue and blue, the color of the sky and the sea, what is there to be sad about? But we have a song “Color of Mood- blue,” and this phrase spread with hashtags throughout the Internet. Now we can also proudly declare that we have our own understanding of blue as a mood.
- Why are youfeeling blue , Masha?
- I haven’t been learning English lately.
- Why are you sad, Masha?
- I've recently given up English.
Emotionally charged and the wordgray: 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-haired. Gray hair- White hair.
There are two possible spellings:gray And gray. The first is more common in the USA, the second- 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 say orange or yellow, whichever color predominates. In Russian we say: yellow-orange, i.e. add-Oand write the second part with a hyphen. In English we add a suffix-ish:
Yellowish orange - yellowish-orange.
Amber is yellowish-orange. (Amber is yellowish-orange).
Exceptions:
- in the word reddish the letter d is doubled
- black (black)- does not change
By the way, the very word “ amber" - also color, its translation- amber. Although, it's more likely a shade.
The analogue of our Russian “black and white” is “black and white”. As you can see, the conjunction “and” is used, but the form of the words remains unchanged.
If you need to express gradation- tone is lighter, darker or richer, words come to the rescuelight (light), dark (dark) and bright (bright). For example, light pink - color lighter pink, white-pink.
Dull - dull, boring;
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. Colorsilver - this is "silver"golden - “golden”, lilac color in English will " lilac ", like the corresponding plant, andplum - color plums because plum- this is a 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 translates into 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 about colors will call this any shade between blue and red. They might say "bluish purple" or "pinkish purple" if they want to go into more detail.
Color perception- It's a subjective thing. There is an old rhyme that says that 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, becauseviolet are violet, or purple. The problem is that it doesn't rhyme as well asblue, that's why 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.
Colors are of great importance in our lives. 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 aspects of character and personality traits in psychology! As for English, just like in all languages of the world, colors are used everywhere to describe objects and their condition; people and their appearance, environment, etc.
Let's look at the main nuances of the use of colors in English, and also stop and remember some interesting exceptions and idioms associated with them.
Let's start, perhaps, with the very basics. From the very word “color” in English.
Which is correct: “colour” or “color”?
Some beginners who begin to learn English are faced with both versions of this word and are perplexed which option is correct or preferable. In fact, both options are correct!
Сolor 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, you can safely write as you like.
Let's look at some examples of both variations of the word "colour/color":
- What's your favorite color? - What is your favorite color?
- Foods which go through a factory process lose much of their color, flavor and texture. - Food that is 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.
Below 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, sophisticated color/shade/tone;
- a light/strong/natural color/shade - light, rich, natural color/shade.
Vocabulary
Main synonyms for the word “color” are:
shade- tint, shadow
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 colors. - People will never know my true face. - with flying colors - very good; with great success, high results
I am going to pass my English test with flying colors. - I'm going to pass my English exam with great success.
Basic colors of the English language
As you know, there are a huge variety of colors, however, the main and most commonly used are the following:
Red- red
Gray- grey
Blue- blue
Dark blue- blue
Green- green
Yellow- yellow
Pink- pink
Orange- orange
Brown- brown
White- white
Black- black
Violet- violet
For a more detailed description, you can use a huge variety of colors that are present in English as well as in Russian:
Gold- gold
Silver- silver
Amber- amber
Azure- blue, azure
Beige- beige
Body color- flesh color
Bronze- bronze
Chocolate- chocolate
Coral- coral
Denim blue- denim
Lilac- lilac
Pearl- pearl
Raspberry- raspberry
Sand- sandy
Snow- snow-white
Vinous- burgundy
Light sea green- aquamarine
As for shades, forming them in English is quite simple. Just follow the following scheme and everything will work out:
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 anything is not clear, our school’s teachers will be happy to help you.
There is also 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, dull
Using 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 acts as a noun
- This white plate is nice. - This white plate is beautiful.
- Yellow cup was bought yesterday. - We bought the yellow cup yesterday.
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. Not a single native speaker can do without them. And of course, for all English learners, it would be a great idea to master a couple of idioms relating to colors.
Black as ink- gloomy, joyless
To look blue- look sad
Once in a blue moon- very rarely, almost never
Out of the blue- bolt from the blue, unexpectedly
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, be angry
Golden opportunity- a great, brilliant opportunity for something
To give the green light- allow something
A gray area- riddle, snag
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 as 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 you see, feel and imagine. Learn something new and interesting, improve yourself, and your life will not only become brighter and more colorful, but you will definitely find your “golden opportunity”.
A large and friendly EnglishDom family.
Have you ever wondered how many colors and shades there are in nature? More than 10 million. Quite a lot, right? And all because absolutely all the objects and objects around us have a certain color. Colors may be cold ( cool), warm ( warm) and neutral ( neutral), saturated ( vibrant, intense) and blurry ( dithered).
In English, as well as in Russian, there are several primary colors ( colors – BrE / colors – AmE) and many shades ( shades).
Let's look at the primary colors using the color wheel as an example ( a color wheel).
The color wheel, as a rule, provides 12 basic colors in addition to 3 neutral ones - white ( white), black ( black) and gray ( gray – BrE / gray – AmE).
The circle is based on only three primary ones ( primary) colors - red, yellow and blue, which, in turn, form three secondary ( secondary): green, orange and purple. By mixing primary and secondary colors, six more tertiary colors are created ( tertiary) options.
Elements of a circle can combine well with each other, forming so-called color harmonies ( color harmonies).
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| red | red |
| orange | orange |
| brown | brown |
| beige | beige |
| yellow | yellow |
| light-green | light green |
| green | green |
| cyan / light-blue | blue |
| blue-green | sea green (blue-green) |
| blue / dark blue | blue |
| violet/purple | violet |
| pink / light magenta | pink/raspberry |
Please note: the colors shown ( light magenta, dark blue etc.) are written with a hyphen when they come before a noun, that is, when we use them to characterize a noun: a dark blue suit(dark blue suit). If the name of the color does not appear before the noun, we write it without a hyphen: This suit is dark blue(This suit is dark blue).
You can learn more about mixing and creating colors, as well as the colors of the rainbow in English, from this educational video:
Earlier we mentioned warm and cool colors. Why are they called that? It's simple: warm colors and shades are quite vibrant, bright ( vivid and bright), filling with energy ( energetic). Cool colors create a feeling of calm and tranquility ( give calm and soothing impression). Lighter shades of both warm and cool colors visually expand the space ( advance in space).
Each primary color has countless tones, halftones and shades, called by the general word hues. There are several concepts to denote them in English: a tint, a tone And a shade.
Tones called tints, are formed by adding white to a pure hue ( a hue):
If you add gray to a pure color, you get a tone:
And adding black to the pure color, we get a shade:
Many shades and tones in the English language have fairly simple names, formed by adding words to the prevailing color light- / pale- (for light shades) and dark- / deep- (for dark ones):
- pale pink- pale pink;
- light-brown- light brown;
- dark gray- dark grey;
- deep-red– burgundy, dark red.
Also, a number of shade names are formed by “adding” the two colors that form them:
- red-orange– red-orange;
- yellow-green– greenish-yellow, the color of young foliage;
- blue-violet– blue-violet, indigo.
However, there are much more interesting options for names. Here are examples of some of them:
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| turquoise | turquoise |
| lilac | lilac |
| maroon | dark burgundy, chestnut |
| carnation | hot pink |
| eggplant | eggplant, deep purple |
| poppy red | coral |
| coquelicot | scarlet, “poppy” |
| scarlet | crimson red |
| vermillion | cinnabar, matte red |
| cerise | light cherry |
| honeydew | honey |
| charcoal | dark gray, charcoal |
| taupe | taupe |
| teal | rich blue-green color |
| copper | copper |
| bronze | bronze |
| silver | silver |
| gold | golden |
| crimson/garnet | Dark red |
| tawny | dark yellow |
| orangey | light orange |
| fallow | light yellow |
| chlorine | light green |
| azure | azure |
| burgundy | burgundy |
| indigo | indigo |
Quite a lot of shades get their name due to their similarity with the color of natural phenomena and representatives of flora and fauna:
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| apricot | apricot |
| olive | olive (dark yellowish green) |
| plum | plum |
| peacock | deep blue (literally – the color of a peacock) |
| mustard | mustard |
| canary | bright yellow (literally – canary) |
| lavender | lavender (light purple) |
| salmon | salmon (pink-coral) |
| chocolate | chocolate |
| denim blue | denim blue |
In continuation of our topic, it is impossible not to mention drawing, since we often associate colors with paints. To be fair, it should be noted that the verb “to draw” in English can be translated as to draw And to paint.
Verb to draw used for sketching and fairly schematic drawing in one color, for example, with a simple pencil ( a pencil) or ink ( ink / writing ink).
Verb to paint has the meaning “to paint with paints”, “to paint”. In this case, the drawing can be made in watercolor ( watercolor – BrE / watercolor – AmE), gouache ( gouache), oil ( oil), acrylic ( acryl), felt-tip pens ( felt pens), colored pens ( colorful pens), pencils ( pencils), paints ( paints) or even colored crayons ( colored / colored chalks).
The names of colors have even penetrated into stable combinations (idioms) and are often used by English speakers not only in everyday speech, but also in business speech. Therefore, for dessert we have prepared for you several interesting phrases with the names of different colors:
| Expression | Translation |
|---|---|
| red tape | complicated process of paperwork (in other words, bureaucracy, excessive formalism) |
| a red flag | warning signal or sign, reason for doubt |
| out of the blue | unexpectedly, completely unexpectedly (like a bolt from the blue, out of the blue) |
| a bluestocking | "bluestocking", female pedant |
| a blue collar | industrial worker ("blue collar") |
| a white collar | clerk, office worker ("white collar") |
| the silver screen | film industry, cinematography |
| a pink slip | notice of dismissal |
| a yellow streak | timidity, cowardice |
| a black sheep | black sheep |
| once in a blue moon | once every hundred years, very rarely |
| the pot calling the kettle black | whose cow would moo and yours would be silent |
| to blackmail | blackmail, extort money |
| to blacklist | blacklist |
| to be browned off | to be fed up, to be irritated |
| to be tickled pink | to be happy as an elephant, to be incredibly happy |
| to be as white as a sheet | be white as chalk (or as white as a sheet) |
| to be green with envy | turn green with envy |
| to give the green light | give the go-ahead, approve something |
| to catch somebody red-handed | catch someone red-handed |
| to talk a blue streak | talk incessantly, chatter |
| to see red | go mad, become enraged |
| to be in the red | to be in debt |
| to be in black book | to be in someone's disfavor, in bad standing |
| to be green about the gills | look unhealthy |
| to be in the pink | be in good health, bloom and smell |