Синий цвет на карте обозначает воду.

The blue color on the map indicates water.

Breakdown of Синий цвет на карте обозначает воду.

• вода: the water
• на: on
• синий: blue
• цвет: the color
• обозначать: to indicate
• карта: the map

Questions & Answers about Синий цвет на карте обозначает воду.

Why are синий and цвет both in the nominative masculine singular form?

Because синий цвет functions as the subject of the sentence. In Russian:

• The nominative case is used for the subject.
• Adjectives agree with their nouns in gender (masculine), number (singular), and case (nominative).
  Hence both words appear as masculine singular nominative.

Why is на карте in the prepositional case?

The preposition на meaning “on” or “upon” requires the prepositional case when indicating location.

• карта (feminine noun) → карте in the prepositional singular.
  Thus на карте literally means “on the map.”

Why is воду in the accusative case, and why isn’t there a preposition before it?

воду is the direct object of the verb обозначать (“to mark/denote”), so it takes the accusative case.

• Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative singular (вода → воду).
• In Russian, most direct objects do not require a preposition; the accusative ending alone shows their role.

What’s the difference between обозначать and означать?

Though both can be translated as “to mean,” they have different nuances:

• обозначать = “to designate,” “to mark,” or “to denote” (often with a symbol or sign, e.g. on a map).
• означать = “to mean” in the sense of “to signify” or “to imply” (abstract meaning).
  Here we use обозначает because the map is marking water with color.

Could you say синего цвета instead of синий цвет here?

Yes, but the constructions differ:

• синий цвет (nominative) refers to the color itself as the subject.
• синего цвета is a genitive phrase used after another noun (for example: линия синего цвета – “a line of blue color”).
  To talk about “the color” on its own, синий цвет is more natural.

Why is there no article like the or a before синий цвет or воду?

Russian does not have grammatical articles (no words for “a/an/the”). Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context or word order rather than a separate article.

How do синий and голубой differ, since both translate as “blue”?

They denote different shades:

• синий = darker, deep blue.
• голубой = lighter, sky-blue.
  On many maps, bodies of water are shown in a darker shade, so синий is the conventional choice here.