Colours look like a simple topic until you try to say pink shoes in Portuguese. Sapatos cor-de-rosa — no plural on cor-de-rosa. Orange trousers? Calças laranja — again no plural. But black shoes? Sapatos pretos — full agreement. The rules divide cleanly into true adjectives (which inflect for gender and number like any other adjective) and colour nouns used attributively (which stay invariable). Once you see the split, everything falls into place.
This page covers the main colour adjectives of European Portuguese, the invariable colour nouns, how compound colours behave, and the rich set of metaphorical expressions built around colour.
Fully inflecting colour adjectives
The colour words that are grammatically adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, exactly like bonito or alto.
| Colour | Masc. sg. | Fem. sg. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | branco | branca | brancos | brancas |
| black | preto | preta | pretos | pretas |
| yellow | amarelo | amarela | amarelos | amarelas |
| red | vermelho / encarnado | vermelha / encarnada | vermelhos | vermelhas |
| grey | cinzento | cinzenta | cinzentos | cinzentas |
| brown | castanho | castanha | castanhos | castanhas |
| yellowish | amarelado | amarelada | amarelados | amareladas |
| light (modifier) | claro | clara | claros | claras |
| dark (modifier) | escuro | escura | escuros | escuras |
Comprei uma saia preta e uma camisola branca para o casamento.
I bought a black skirt and a white jumper for the wedding.
Os olhos dela são castanhos, como os da mãe.
Her eyes are brown, like her mother's.
As paredes da sala são cinzentas — preciso de as pintar.
The living-room walls are grey — I need to paint them.
Colour adjectives ending in -e or a consonant
Some colour adjectives have only one form for both genders because they end in -e or a consonant. They only change for number.
| Colour | Singular (M & F) | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| green | verde | verdes |
| blue | azul | azuis |
| bright, vivid (modifier) | vivo / viva (regular) | vivos |
| beige | bege | beges |
| dull, faded | baço / baça | baços |
Note the plural of azul → azuis: the l drops and you add -is. This is the regular plural pattern for words ending in -ul and other stressed -l endings; see the page on plurals of words ending in -l for the full rule.
Os mares à volta dos Açores são azuis e quase sempre calmos.
The seas around the Azores are blue and almost always calm.
Há um casaco verde pendurado no cabide — é teu?
There's a green coat on the coat rack — is it yours?
O sofá bege combina com as almofadas castanhas.
The beige sofa matches the brown cushions.
Invariable colours (colour nouns used attributively)
Here's where Portuguese does something different from English. Several colour words are actually nouns that name the thing with that characteristic colour — rosa (the flower), laranja (the fruit), creme (cream), violeta (violet). When used as colour words, they function as shorthand for da cor de X ("of the colour of X"). Because they are nouns acting adjectivally, they do not inflect — neither for gender nor for number.
| Colour | Form (unchanged) | Origin noun |
|---|---|---|
| pink | cor-de-rosa / rosa | rose |
| orange | laranja | orange (the fruit) |
| cream | creme | cream |
| violet | violeta | violet (the flower) |
| magenta | magenta | the dye |
| turquoise | turquesa | the stone |
| ice | gelo | ice |
| gold | ouro / dourado (inflecting) | gold |
| silver | prata / prateado (inflecting) | silver |
| lead / dark grey | chumbo | lead |
| mustard | mostarda | mustard |
| coffee (dark brown) | café | coffee |
| wine (burgundy) | vinho | wine |
A minha filha quer só vestidos cor-de-rosa — mais nada.
My daughter only wants pink dresses — nothing else.
Temos umas cadeiras laranja na cozinha.
We have some orange chairs in the kitchen.
Comprámos cortinas creme para a sala.
We bought cream curtains for the living room.
Os sapatos violeta são para ocasiões especiais.
The violet shoes are for special occasions.
Notice: vestidos cor-de-rosa (not cor-de-rosas), cadeiras laranja (not laranjas), sapatos violeta (not violetas). The colour nouns stay frozen.
Compound colours
When you combine a colour with a modifier like claro (light), escuro (dark), vivo (bright), pálido (pale), or azulado (bluish), the whole compound becomes invariable. The parts are usually joined by a hyphen.
| Compound colour | Example usage |
|---|---|
| azul-marinho (navy blue) | calças azul-marinho |
| azul-celeste (sky blue) | paredes azul-celeste |
| azul-claro / azul-escuro | camisolas azul-escuro |
| verde-claro / verde-escuro | folhas verde-escuro |
| verde-garrafa (bottle green) | gravatas verde-garrafa |
| vermelho-vivo (bright red) | lábios vermelho-vivo |
| cinza-azulado (bluish grey) | nuvens cinza-azulado |
| amarelo-torrado (burnt yellow) | paredes amarelo-torrado |
| castanho-claro (light brown) | olhos castanho-claro |
A Marta apareceu com uns ténis azul-marinho e uma camisola vermelho-vivo.
Marta showed up with navy-blue trainers and a bright-red jumper.
As folhas verde-escuro fazem contraste com as flores amarelas.
The dark-green leaves contrast with the yellow flowers.
Quero pintar as paredes azul-celeste.
I want to paint the walls sky blue.
The rule is straightforward: as soon as a modifier enters the picture, the whole colour complex freezes. You say camisolas azul-escuro, not camisolas azuis-escuras. This rule has exceptions in older style manuals, but modern usage strongly favours the invariable form.
Colour placement
Colour adjectives almost always come after the noun, like most descriptive adjectives in Portuguese. Placing a colour before the noun is reserved for poetry, literary prose, or emphatic/evaluative uses.
Comprei um sofá branco e uns almofadões vermelhos.
I bought a white sofa and some red cushions.
Os verdes campos do Minho estendem-se até ao horizonte.
(Literary) The green fields of Minho stretch to the horizon.
In everyday prose, keep colours after the noun. The second example — os verdes campos — sounds distinctly literary and would feel out of place in a casual text message.
Modifying a colour
To specify shades more precisely, use intensifiers:
| Construction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| claro | light |
| escuro | dark |
| vivo | bright, vivid |
| pálido | pale |
| forte | strong, intense |
| suave | soft, subtle |
| tom de X / tonalidade de X | shade of X |
Prefiro um azul mais suave para o quarto do bebé.
I prefer a softer blue for the baby's room.
O casaco é de um tom de castanho muito escuro.
The coat is a very dark shade of brown.
A tonalidade de verde da parede combina com as cortinas.
The shade of green on the wall matches the curtains.
Colour idioms and metaphorical expressions
Colours in European Portuguese carry a lot of emotional and cultural weight. Here are the most frequent expressions.
| Expression | Literal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| verde de inveja | green with envy | green with envy |
| ver tudo cor-de-rosa | see everything pink | to be naively optimistic |
| ficar negro (de raiva) | turn black (with rage) | to get furious |
| branco como a cal / como a neve | white as lime / snow | extremely pale / very white |
| ficar vermelho como um tomate | go red like a tomato | to blush |
| estar amarelo | be yellow | to look ill / jaundiced |
| passar as passas do Algarve | — | to go through a lot (idiom, not colour but Algarve-linked) |
| de pedra e cal | of stone and lime | solid, rock-solid (trustworthy) |
| mercado negro | black market | black market |
| dar carta branca | give white card | to give a free hand |
| ver a vida a preto | see life in black | to be pessimistic |
| número encarnado | red number | a debt, being in the red |
Ela ficou verde de inveja quando soube da promoção dele.
She turned green with envy when she heard about his promotion.
Não vivas a ver tudo cor-de-rosa — há problemas sérios para resolver.
Don't go around seeing everything through rose-tinted glasses — there are serious problems to solve.
Fiquei vermelho como um tomate quando ele leu a minha carta em voz alta.
I went red as a tomato when he read my letter out loud.
O patrão deu-me carta branca para decidir o menu da festa.
The boss gave me a free hand to decide the party menu.
Rosa: flower or colour?
Rosa is a useful test case for the whole invariable/variable distinction. When rosa is the noun meaning "rose" (the flower), it is feminine and pluralises normally: uma rosa, duas rosas. When rosa is a colour word, it is invariable: sapatos rosa, saias rosa.
Comprei cinco rosas para a minha mãe.
I bought five roses for my mother. (the flowers)
As minhas irmãs têm duas malas rosa idênticas.
My sisters have two identical pink bags. (the colour)
Saying malas rosas would mean "bags (that are flowers)" — clearly absurd. Keeping rosa invariable when it is a colour preserves the logic.
Describing the colour of something
To say what colour something is, use ser + colour adjective. To say what colour something is right now (perhaps temporarily), you can use estar — but for colours this is relatively rare because colour is usually a stable property.
A minha camisa é azul, mas ficou verde depois da lavagem.
My shirt is blue, but it went green after the wash.
O céu está cinzento hoje, mais parece de inverno.
The sky is grey today, it looks more like winter.
De que cor é o carro da tua mãe?
What colour is your mother's car?
The construction de que cor é is the standard way to ask what colour. Note the preposition de — you wouldn't say que cor é.
Set colours vs. individualised descriptions
When a colour is simply a label, you use the colour adjective directly. When you want to describe a particular shade you've just noticed, use a construction with cor:
A parede é azul.
The wall is blue. (basic colour)
A parede é de uma cor azul muito esquisita.
The wall is a very strange shade of blue.
O vestido é de uma cor que nem consigo descrever.
The dress is a colour I can't even describe.
Common mistakes
❌ Comprei umas camisas cor-de-rosas.
Incorrect — 'cor-de-rosa' is invariable; no plural.
✅ Comprei umas camisas cor-de-rosa.
I bought some pink shirts.
❌ As paredes são amarelo.
Incorrect — 'amarelo' is an adjective and must agree: 'amarelas' with a feminine plural noun.
✅ As paredes são amarelas.
The walls are yellow.
❌ Gosto dos sapatos violetas.
Incorrect — 'violeta' is invariable when used as a colour.
✅ Gosto dos sapatos violeta.
I like the violet shoes.
❌ As calças são azuis-escuras.
Incorrect — compound colours with modifiers like 'escuro' stay invariable.
✅ As calças são azul-escuro.
The trousers are dark blue.
❌ Que cor é o teu carro?
Incorrect — the fixed question uses 'de que cor'.
✅ De que cor é o teu carro?
What colour is your car?
❌ Os olhos dela são pretos e o cabelo é preta.
Incorrect agreement — 'cabelo' is masculine, so 'preto'.
✅ Os olhos dela são pretos e o cabelo é preto.
Her eyes are black and her hair is black.
Key takeaways
- Regular colour adjectives (branco, preto, amarelo, vermelho, cinzento, castanho) agree fully in gender and number.
- Colours ending in -e or a consonant (verde, azul, bege) have one form for both genders and inflect only for number.
- Colour nouns used as adjectives (rosa, laranja, creme, violeta, turquesa, ouro) are invariable — they don't change for gender or number.
- Compound colours (azul-marinho, verde-escuro, vermelho-vivo) are invariable.
- Colours normally follow the noun in everyday prose; putting them first is literary.
- Ask "is this word originally the name of a thing?" — if yes, it stays invariable as a colour.
Related Topics
- Adjective Gender AgreementA1 — How Portuguese adjectives change to agree with masculine and feminine nouns, plus the common irregular patterns.
- Adjective Number AgreementA1 — How to form the plural of Portuguese adjectives, including the tricky -l, -ês, -ão, and accented endings.
- Invariable AdjectivesA2 — Adjectives that don't change form — simples, grátis, cor-de-rosa, laranja, and others — and the rules behind them.
- Adjectives After the Noun (Default)A1 — Why most Portuguese adjectives follow the noun, and when this post-nominal position is obligatory.
- Adjectives OverviewA1 — How adjectives work in European Portuguese: agreement, placement, types, comparison, and invariable forms.