Colors in Korean: 40 Words with Romanization and Audio

Colors in Korean at a Glance

Color words are among the first adjectives and nouns any learner needs: to describe clothes, food, a car or a flag. Most Korean color nouns are built from a color word and 색 (color), as in 빨간색 (red-color) and 파란색 (blue-color). Once you know the pattern, you can make a new color word from any base.

The list has four groups. The basic colors come first, with the two general words 색 and 색깔. Then come the words for shades such as light and dark, then metals and neutral words such as gold, silver and transparent, and last the five traditional colors of Korean culture, 오방색.

The list holds 40 words. By origin, the list has 3 native, 22 Sino-Korean and 15 mixed words. "Mixed" means a word that combines parts of different origins: in 빨간색 a native color root joins the Sino-Korean 색 (色), and in 베이지색 an English loanword does. Colors such as 주황색 and 초록색 are Sino-Korean throughout.

This list sits inside Nature and the World. It lists the color nouns only. The adjective forms, such as 빨갛다, are on the color adjectives page, and the next topic in this section is Geography and Countries.

Which Color Words Should You Learn First?

Start with five colors you use every day: 빨간색, 파란색, 검은색, 하얀색 and 갈색. Use the scene to see eight colors at once, then press play and the slow button on each of the five and say the word aloud.

Word · 8

1. 1

   빨간색

   Play

   ppalgansaek

   red

2. 2

   노란색

   Play

   noransaek

   yellow

3. 3

   파란색

   Play

   paransaek

   blue

4. 4

   초록색

   Play

   choroksaek

   green

5. 5

   보라색

   Play

   borasaek

   purple

6. 6

   분홍색

   Play

   bunhongsaek

   pink

7. 7

   검은색

   Play

   geomeunsaek

   black

8. 8

   하얀색

   Play

   hayansaek

   white

빨간색 (ppalgansaek) means red. The root 빨간 means red. The tense ㅃ at the start is said without a puff of air. Example: 빨간색 사과를 먹어요. (I eat a red apple.)

파란색 (paransaek) means blue. The root 파란 means blue. In daily speech 파란 can also cover the green of a traffic light. Example: 하늘이 파란색이에요. (The sky is blue.)

검은색 (geomeunsaek) means black. The root 검은 comes from the adjective 검다. 까만색 is also used. Example: 검은색 고양이가 지나가요. (A black cat passes by.)

하얀색 (hayansaek) means white. The root 하얀 comes from the adjective 하얗다. The ㅎ drops in the modifier form. Example: 하얀색 셔츠를 입어요. (I wear a white shirt.)

갈색 (galsaek) means brown. Example: 갈색 곰이 있어요. (There is a brown bear.)

Basic Colors

The first group has fourteen words: the two general words for color, and twelve basic colors. Each color has a base word plus 색, so the pattern is easy to see.

• 색 and 색깔 both mean color. 색 is the short word that ends most color names, and 색깔 is the word you use to ask about the color of something: 색깔이 뭐예요? (What color is it?).
• Most basic colors end in 색. Before a noun, the adjective form without 색 is very common: 빨간 사과 (a red apple) is more usual than 빨간색 사과.
• 검은색 and 까만색 are both black. Both are standard and common, and the adjective 까맣다 often suggests a deep, glossy black.

Example Sentences

Color sentences use color + noun, or noun + 이/가 + color + 이에요. In the first pattern the color goes before the noun: 빨간색 사과 (a red apple). In the second pattern the color ends the sentence: 하늘이 파란색이에요 (the sky is blue). Every color noun ends in 색, which ends in a consonant, so the copula is always 이에요, never 예요: 하늘이 파란색이에요 and 물은 무색이에요. To ask a color, say 무슨 색이에요? (What color is it?) or 색깔이 뭐예요?

How Do You Say Shades and Light/Dark in Korean?

Shades add detail to the basic colors. The group has ten words. Six are color names, three of them named after things (sky, apricot, chestnut), and four are shade words that go before another color.

• 하늘색, 살구색 and 밤색 are named after things. 하늘 is sky, 살구 is apricot and 밤 is chestnut. The pattern is object + 색.
• 연한 and 진한 are modifier forms of the adjectives 연하다 and 진하다. They go before a noun, like 연한 파란색 (light blue).
• 밝은 comes from 밝다 (to be bright), and 어두운 comes from 어둡다 (to be dark). The ㅂ of 어둡다 changes to 우 before a vowel.

Metals and Neutrals

The third group has eight words for metal colors and for words that describe color in general. These words are useful for shopping, art and school. 알록달록 is a sound-symbolic word that paints a picture of many colors together.

• 금색 and 은색 are the colors of gold and silver. The word for gold itself is 금, and for silver it is 은.
• 투명 is a noun, and you add 하다 to make a description: 투명해요 means "it is transparent".
• 알록달록 belongs to the group of mimetic words, which are explained on the Onomatopoeia and Mimetic Words page.

How Do You Say Colors in Culture (obangsaek) in Korean?

The last group has eight words from traditional Korean culture. The five Sino-Korean color words are formal names. They are less common in daily speech than 파란색 or 빨간색, but they appear in museums, at palaces, in traditional ceremonies and in technical terms such as 백색 가전 (white goods).

• The five color words are short and have one Sino-Korean syllable plus 색: 청색, 적색, 황색, 백색, 흑색.
• 오방색 means "five directional colors". The table below shows how each color matches a direction.
• 단청 is the colorful pattern painted on palaces and temples. It uses the five traditional colors.

Noun Forms and Adjective Forms

Most basic colors have two forms: a noun that ends in 색 (color), and an adjective that describes something. The noun is used as a name: 빨간색 is "red". The adjective is used before a noun or at the end of a sentence: 빨간 사과 (a red apple) and 사과가 빨개요 (the apple is red).

Four of these adjectives (빨갛다, 노랗다, 파랗다, 하얗다) end in ㅎ and are called ㅎ-irregular. Their ㅎ drops before an ending that starts with a vowel, and the stem vowel changes before 아/어: 빨갛다 becomes 빨개요, not 빨갛어요. The adjective 까맣다 follows the same rule. The adjective 검다 is regular: its sentence form is 검어요. The page on color adjectives explains all these forms in detail, and this list gives only the nouns.

Shade Words: Light, Dark and Bright

Shade words go before a color to make it lighter, darker or brighter. They are adjectives in the form that comes before a noun, so they are placed first: 연한 파란색 (light blue), 진한 파란색 (dark or deep blue), 밝은 파란색 (bright blue), 어두운 파란색 (dark blue).

연한 and 진한 describe how much pigment a color has. 밝은 and 어두운 describe how bright it is. Both pairs work with any color noun from the first group.

The Five Traditional Colors: 오방색

오방색 (obangsaek) means "five directional colors". It is a traditional system of five colors, and each color stands for a direction and an element. The five are blue-green (청), red (적), yellow (황), white (백) and black (흑). The system belongs to traditional East Asian thought, and it shows up in Korean art and clothing.

You can see the five colors in the stripes of 색동 (saekdong) sleeves on a child's festival hanbok, and in the painted patterns on palace and temple beams called 단청 (dancheong). Each color word above ends in 색 (color) and starts with one Sino-Korean syllable, so they are easy to link to Chinese-based words you may already know. The common spoken names for the same colors are 파란색, 빨간색, 노란색, 하얀색 and 검은색.

The words 오방색, 색동 and 단청 appear in museums, palaces and traditional events, so they are worth knowing if you visit Korea. For more culture words, see the traditional culture list for clothing, crafts and heritage terms.

Color Words in Everyday Phrases

Korean groups blue and green differently from English in some speech. The word 파란색 means blue, and 초록색 means green, but in everyday speech the traffic light is described with 파란불 (paranbul), literally "blue light", for the green light that means go. The red light is 빨간불 (ppalganbul). The same habit appears in 푸른 하늘 (a blue sky) and 푸른 숲 (a green forest), where 푸른 can describe either blue or green.

In practice, use 초록색 when you want to say green on purpose, as in 초록색 나무 (a green tree). Use 파란불 when you talk about the traffic light. The border between 파란 and 초록 varies a little between speakers, so 초록색 is the safe choice when you mean green.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Color words have many final-consonant changes. The table lists five words whose sound differs from the spelling, following the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원.

Revised Romanization is the official romanization system of South Korea, announced on 7 July 2000. It follows most sound changes, such as linking and nasalization, and it spells the written double letters (ㄲ as kk), but it does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound: 색동 is said [색똥] but written saekdong. It is a learning aid, so always read the Hangul as well.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each headword and each example sentence has its own audio clip, and the five words in the learn-first section also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed. Nothing plays until you press a button. Listen once, repeat aloud, and only then check the romanization.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Color Words?

• Writing the adjective instead of the noun. Say 빨간색 for the color name and 빨개요 for the sentence "it is red".
• Saying 빨갛어요 for "it is red". The ㅎ-irregular rule makes it 빨개요.
• Using 파란색 and 초록색 as the same word. In general the sky is 파란색 and leaves are 초록색, but a traffic light for "go" is called 파란불.
• Using 노란 alone as a color name. 노란 must stand before a noun (노란 택시); as a name, say 노란색.
• Reading the romanization instead of the sounds. Words such as 색동 contain a tense sound, [색똥], but Revised Romanization shows only saekdong.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Drill these 40 words with the vocabulary flashcard decks: each card shows the Hangul on one side and the meaning on the other, so you can test recall instead of recognition. Print a labelling sheet from the vocabulary worksheets and write the Korean word for each numbered object in the scene above. A simple plan is to learn eight words a day, one group at a time.

Try this five-question check, then say the words aloud once more.

Self-Test: 10 Sentences

Fill each blank with a word from this page. Say the whole sentence aloud when you have it. The answers follow the test.

1. 이 옷은 ___이 예뻐요. (The color of these clothes is pretty.)
2. ___ 택시가 와요. (A yellow taxi comes.)
3. ___ 꽃이 예뻐요. (The purple flower is pretty.)
4. ___ 셔츠를 입어요. (I wear a white shirt.)
5. ___ 바다가 예뻐요. (The teal sea is pretty.)
6. ___ 파란색이 좋아요. (I like light blue.)
7. ___ 반지를 샀어요. (I bought a gold ring.)
8. 유리는 ___해요. (Glass is transparent.)
9. ___은 한국 전통 색이에요. (Obangsaek are traditional Korean colors.)
10. ___은 서쪽을 뜻해요. (White means west.)

Answers: 1. 색깔; 2. 노란색; 3. 보라색; 4. 하얀색; 5. 청록색; 6. 연한; 7. 금색; 8. 투명; 9. 오방색; 10. 백색.

A score of 8 or more suggests the words are settling in. If you scored lower, reread the groups where you missed words.

Where to Go Next

After colors, many learners move on to Geography and Countries. This list sits inside Nature and the World.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Black in Korean?

Say 검은색 (geomeunsaek) for black as a noun. You will also hear 까만색 (kkamansaek). Before a noun the adjective forms are 검은 and 까만: 검은 머리 (black hair) and 까만 밤 (a black night). In a sentence, say 검어요 or 까매요.

How Do You Pronounce 파란색 (paransaek)?

Say pa-ran-saek. The first two syllables are plain, and the last one ends in ㄱ, which you hold short without releasing it. The three beats are even. Press the audio button on this page to hear it, then say it slowly twice.

How Many Color Words Should I Learn First?

Learn the five starter words, 빨간색, 파란색, 검은색, 하얀색 and 갈색, then add yellow, green, purple and pink. Eight new words a day with a short review of the older ones is a steady pace, and the whole list takes about five days.

Where Can I Practise Color Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. Start with the basic colors, then add the shades and the neutral words. Review the older cards before you add new ones, so the earlier words do not fade.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

Yes, as a learning aid. It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, the system South Korea has officially used since 7 July 2000, and the page also gives the Hangul for every word. It follows most sound changes but does not show tensing: 색동 is written saekdong but is said [색똥]. Treat the Hangul as the real spelling.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Color Words?

The vocabulary worksheets page lists the printable sheets. The sheet for this topic is a labelling task built on the same illustrated scene as this page, so you write the Korean word next to each numbered object.