Combiniamo i colori.

Combiniamo comes from the infinitive combinare.

In this sentence, it can mean either:

• we combine
• let’s combine

Italian uses the same form for both meanings here, so the exact translation depends on context.

With a sentence said as a suggestion or instruction, Combiniamo i colori will often mean Let’s combine the colors.

Because in Italian, the 1st person plural present form often does double duty.

So combiniamo is grammatically the present tense, we-form, but it can also be used as an exhortation:

• Combiniamo i colori. = We combine the colors.
• Combiniamo i colori! = Let’s combine the colors!

This is very normal in Italian. English separates these ideas more clearly than Italian does.

The ending -iamo tells you the verb is:

• 1st person plural
• meaning we

So:

• io combino = I combine
• tu combini = you combine
• noi combiniamo = we combine / let’s combine

This ending is very useful because it often lets Italian omit the subject pronoun.

Italian usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Since combiniamo already means we, there is no need to say noi unless you want emphasis.

So both are possible:

• Combiniamo i colori.
• Noi combiniamo i colori.

The first is more natural in most contexts.

Italian uses articles more often than English does.

So where English might say simply colors, Italian often prefers i colori.

Here, i is the masculine plural definite article, so i colori means the colors.

Even if English translation sounds more natural without the in some contexts, Italian still commonly includes the article.

Because colore is a masculine singular noun, and its plural is colori, which is masculine plural.

For most masculine plural nouns beginning with a normal consonant, the definite article is i.

So:

• il colore = the color
• i colori = the colors

If the noun began with certain other sounds, Italian might use gli instead, but colori takes i.

Not exactly.

These verbs are related, but they are not always interchangeable:

• combinare = to combine, put together
• mescolare = to mix, blend
• abbinare = to match, pair well together

So with colors:

• mescolare i colori often suggests physically mixing colors, like paint
• abbinare i colori often suggests matching colors, like in clothing or design
• combinare i colori is more general: combining colors together

So combinare works, but the most natural choice depends on what kind of combining you mean.

A helpful pronunciation is:

com-bee-NYAH-mo ee koh-LOH-ree

A few details:

• combiniamo has the stress on -nia-
• colori has the stress on -lo-
• in -niamo, the ni + a sounds like nya
• the r in colori should be tapped or lightly rolled in standard Italian pronunciation

A more approximate IPA version is:

/kombiˈnjamo i koˈlori/

Yes, but Combiniamo i colori is the most neutral and straightforward order.

Italian often uses:

• Verb + object
  Combiniamo i colori.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, contrast, or style, for example:

• I colori li combiniamo dopo. = We’ll combine the colors later.
• Noi combiniamo i colori, non le forme. = We combine the colors, not the shapes.

So the original sentence is perfectly standard, but Italian word order is somewhat flexible.

By itself, it is neither especially formal nor especially informal.

It is a normal, neutral sentence.

If used as a suggestion — Let’s combine the colors — it sounds natural in everyday speech, class instructions, art activities, design discussion, and similar contexts.

The level of formality would depend more on the surrounding conversation than on this sentence alone.