Colors in Arabic behave like adjectives — they come after the noun and agree in gender. كتاب أحمر (kitaab aḥmar) is “a red book” (masculine), while سيارة حمراء (sayyaara ḥamraa’) is “a red car” (feminine, with ء added). Tap any color above to hear it.
Color patterns
Most basic colors follow the أفعل (af3al) pattern for the masculine and add ـاء for the feminine:
| Color | Masculine | Feminine | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| red | أحمر | حمراء | أفعل / فعلاء |
| blue | أزرق | زرقاء | أفعل / فعلاء |
| green | أخضر | خضراء | أفعل / فعلاء |
| yellow | أصفر | صفراء | أفعل / فعلاء |
| white | أبيض | بيضاء | أفعل / فعلاء |
| black | أسود | سوداء | أفعل / فعلاء |
Colors like بني (bunnee), رمادي (ramaadee), وردي (wardee), and برتقالي (burtuqaalee) end in ي and do not change form for gender.
Colors in sentences
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| السيارة حمراء | as-sayyaara ḥamraa’ | the car is red |
| الكتاب أزرق | al-kitaab azraq | the book is blue |
| القميص أبيض | al-qameeṣ abyaḍ | the shirt is white |
| الحقيبة سوداء | al-ḥaqeeba sawdaa’ | the bag is black |
| الزهرة صفراء | az-zahra ṣafraa’ | the flower is yellow |
| العين خضراء | al-3ayn khaḍraa’ | the eye is green |
| الشعر بني | ash-sha3r bunnee | the hair is brown |
| السماء رمادية | as-samaa’ ramaadiyya | the sky is gray |
Definite colors
When a color is definite (with ال), it follows the noun:
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الكتاب الأحمر | al-kitaab al-aḥmar | the red book |
| السيارة الحمراء | as-sayyaara al-ḥamraa’ | the red car |
| القميص الأبيض | al-qameeṣ al-abyaḍ | the white shirt |
Colors in daily life
Clothing:
- أريد قميصا أزرقا — I want a blue shirt
- هل عندك فستان أحمر؟ — Do you have a red dress?
Food and nature:
- التفاح أحمر والليمون أصفر — The apple is red and the lemon is yellow
- الخضروات خضراء — The vegetables are green
- السماء زرقاء — The sky is blue
Color symbolism in Arabic culture
| Color | Symbolism |
|---|---|
| أخضر (green) | Islam, paradise, fertility |
| أبيض (white) | purity, peace, cleanliness |
| أسود (black) | mourning, authority, power |
| أحمر (red) | danger, love, passion |
| أزرق (blue) | protection, spirituality |
Cultural note: Green is especially significant — it is the color of Islam and appears on many national flags. The phrase العلم الأخضر (the green flag) often refers to the Saudi flag.
Practice
How do you say 'the car is red' in Arabic?
hint: Car is feminine, so use the feminine color form
What is the feminine form of 'أزرق' (blue)?
hint: Most feminine colors end in ـاء
How do you say 'the red book' in Arabic?
hint: Add ال before both the noun and the color
Shopping for clothes? See how colors are used when buying clothes.
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