Colours in Italian: rosso, blu, verde, and Which Ones Agree
By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026
Italian colours are adjectives: they go after the noun and agree with it. The only real work is knowing which of three families a colour belongs to, because that decides how many forms it has.
Quick check
Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.
Pick the right one
0/3Pick the colour that agrees with the noun.
una macchina (red)
due gatti (black)
due case (white)
The whole system on one screen
| Family | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| -o: 4 forms | | |
| -e: 2 forms | | |
| never changes | | |
| Question | Answer | English |
|---|---|---|
? | . | What colour is it? It's red. |
? | . | What colour are they? They' red. |
The colours
| Italian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| red | |
| blue | |
| light blue | |
| green | |
| yellow | |
| orange | |
| purple | |
| pink | |
| brown | |
| grey | |
| black | |
| white | |
red
blue
light blue
green
yellow
orange
purple
pink
brown
grey
black
white
The word for colour is , and it is masculine, which the - ending does not tell you:
.- The colour is nice..- The colours are nice.
A colour used as a noun, the colour itself, is masculine too and takes the article: . My favourite colour is green.
Four forms, two forms, one form
The -o colours: four forms
They behave like any - adjective. The ending shows gender and number:
| Noun | With nero | English |
|---|---|---|
| | a black cat |
| | a black car |
| | two black cats |
| | two black cars |
Two spelling changes keep the sound. adds an h in the plural to keep its hard k:
drops its i in the masculine plural and usually keeps it in the feminine:
The -e colours: two forms
One form for the singular, one for the plural, masculine and feminine alike:
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| | green flower(s) |
| | green apple(s) |
| | brown shoe(s) |
Some speakers leave unchanged in the plural, , but is the standard form and always safe.
The colours that never change
is the name of a flower, a rose, and of another, a violet. Italian treats them as names, so they do not change. In casual speech you may hear them agree, but standard Italian keeps one form. never changes either:
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| | pink bag(s) |
| | purple dress(es) |
| | blue jacket(s) |
Where the colour goes
After the noun, nearly always:
After , the colour still agrees with its subject:
.- The car is red..- The cats are black..- The shoes are blue.
Light and dark: chiaro and scuro
(light) and (dark) go after the colour, and the two words then work as one name that never changes:
stays the same even with , which is feminine plural.
Azzurro or blu?
Where English says blue, Italian chooses:
| Word | Shade | Example |
|---|---|---|
| everyday, dark blue | - a blue jacket |
| light, sky blue | . - The sky is blue. |
- everyday, dark blue
- light, sky blue
is also the colour of Italian sport. The national football team plays in it, and its players are . Unlike , it has all four forms: , a light blue T-shirt.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| the colour goes after the noun | |
| è | | it agrees after too |
| due rose | | never changes |
| due case bianci | | feminine plural, and the h |
| is masculine | |
| a two-word colour never changes |
What to do next
- Name five things around you, noun first:
- Say the same five in the plural.
- Do the drill below.