Describing an object, its colour, size, shape and what it is made of, is everyday vocabulary you reach for shopping, at home, and giving directions. Here are the Dutch colours and the words that go around them.
The colours
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| rood | red |
| blauw | blue |
| groen | green |
| geel | yellow |
| oranje | orange |
| paars | purple |
| roze | pink |
| bruin | brown |
| zwart | black |
| wit | white |
| grijs | grey |
Oranje deserves a note: it is the colour of the royal House of Orange and the national sports teams, which is why the country turns orange on Koningsdag and during a big match.
Light and dark shades
Build shades with licht- (light) and donker- (dark):
- lichtblauw (light blue), donkerblauw (dark blue)
- lichtgroen, donkergroen
- lichtgrijs, donkergrijs
Onze Taal notes these are written as one word.
Colours are adjectives: the -e ending
Because colours are adjectives, they follow the adjective-ending rules:
- with the -e: de rode auto, de groene deur, rode appels (plural).
- without the -e: een rood huis, wit brood (het-word + een or no article).
- after the verb, no ending: de auto is rood.
So the same colour is rood after the verb but rode before a de-word, exactly as Dutch grammar references describe.
Size, shape and material
To describe more than colour:
| Type | Dutch |
|---|---|
| size | groot / klein, lang / kort |
| shape | rond, vierkant, plat |
| material | van hout (wooden), van metaal, van glas, van plastic, van katoen |
You stack adjectives before the noun: een grote, ronde, houten tafel (a big, round, wooden table). Materials often use van + noun (van hout) or the -en adjective (houten, gouden), which never takes an extra -e.
Shopping with colours
The phrase to remember:
- Heeft u dit in het blauw? (Do you have this in blue?)
- Heeft u een grotere maat? (Do you have a bigger size?)
- Welke kleuren heeft u? (What colours do you have?)
This connects to describing people (hair and eye colour) and shopping for clothes. The Van Dale dictionary is a good check for less common shades.
Where it connects
Colours and descriptors pair with adjective endings, describing people, clothing vocabulary, and describing your home.
The bottom line
Learn the colours, rood, blauw, groen, geel, paars, zwart, wit, grijs, and build shades with licht- and donker-. Remember colours are adjectives that take the -e before most nouns (de rode auto) but not before a het-word with een (een rood huis). Add size, shape and material (een grote, ronde, houten tafel), and ask Heeft u dit in het blauw? to get exactly what you want.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that drills colours and object-describing words, rood, blauw, lichtgroen, groot, rond, van hout, in five-minute lessons, so you can describe and ask for any object in a shop or at home.
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours in Dutch?
The main colours are: rood (red), blauw (blue), groen (green), geel (yellow), oranje (orange), paars (purple), roze (pink), bruin (brown), zwart (black), wit (white) and grijs (grey). For shades you add licht- (light) or donker- (dark): lichtblauw (light blue), donkergroen (dark green). Oranje is also the colour of the royal family and the national sports teams, hence everyone wearing it on Koningsdag.
Do Dutch colours change form before a noun?
Yes, colours are adjectives, so they follow the adjective-ending rules: they take an -e before most nouns (de rode auto, de groene deur, rode appels) but no -e before a het-word with een or no article (een rood huis, wit brood). After the verb there is no ending: de auto is rood. So the same colour is rood after the verb but rode before a de-word.
How do you describe an object’s size, shape and material in Dutch?
Size: groot (big), klein (small), lang (long), kort (short). Shape: rond (round), vierkant (square), plat (flat). Material: van hout (wooden), van metaal (metal), van glas (glass), van plastic, van katoen (cotton). You stack adjectives before the noun: een grote, ronde, houten tafel (a big, round, wooden table). To ask for a colour while shopping: Heeft u dit in het blauw? (Do you have this in blue?).
What is the best app to learn Dutch colours and descriptive words?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it drills colours and object-describing vocabulary, rood, blauw, lichtgroen, groot, rond, van hout, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so you can describe things at home and ask for exactly what you want in a shop.
