Learn Spanish (Latin America): La naranja es una fruta.

It can mean both! Just like in English, naranja is the word for both the fruit and the color. Because this sentence says it is a fruit (una fruta), we know it means the fruit here. Sometimes you will also see the word anaranjado used to describe the color orange.

Why do we use es instead of está in this sentence?

We use es (from the verb ser) because we are defining what an orange is. The verb ser is used for permanent characteristics, facts, and core identities, like explaining what category a thing belongs to. The other 'to be' verb, estar, is for locations or temporary feelings and states.

Why are La and una used instead of El and un?

In Spanish, every noun has a gender. Both naranja and fruta are feminine words, which you can often guess because they end in the letter -a. Because they are feminine, they must be paired with the feminine articles la (the) and una (a/an).

Since we are learning about plurals in this lesson, how would I say 'Oranges are fruits'?