{"id":915,"date":"2011-08-29T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T15:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=915"},"modified":"2011-09-02T08:53:45","modified_gmt":"2011-09-02T08:53:45","slug":"quanti-colori","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/quanti-colori\/","title":{"rendered":"Quanti Colori!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bianco, rosso, blu, giallo, verde, arancio, marrone, rosa, nero \u2026 <\/strong>White, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, black \u2026 There are so many colours! However they never seem to describe the reality that is all around us. Artists use very specific names to describe the colours that they use, e.g. rosso carminio e rosso cardinale<\/strong> (carmine red and cardinal red) or giallo ocra e giallo di cromo <\/strong>(yellow ochre and chrome yellow). But us common mortals are more likely to use nouns to help us better define colours, for example: bianco panna <\/strong>(creamy white), verde oliva<\/strong>  (olive green), rosa salmone <\/strong>(salmon pink), grigio antracite <\/strong>(anthracite grey), blu notte <\/strong>(midnight blue), rosso bandiera <\/strong>(flag red, equivalent to pillar-box red), and so on. <\/p>\n

We try and describe the intensity of the colour by adding an adjective, e.g.: rosso acceso <\/strong>(bright red), verde spento <\/strong>(dull green), blu scuro <\/strong>(dark blue), grigio pallido <\/strong>(pale grey), giallo carico <\/strong>(deep\/rich yellow). We also manipulate the name of the colour by adding a suffix which helps to give it a particular nuance. If we are talking about a delicate pale colour, we use the suffix \u2013ino<\/strong>, which normally means \u201csmall, or  little\u201d, e.g.: <\/p>\n

ho comprato un giacchetto marroncino <\/strong>– I bought a pale brown cardigan <\/p>\n

Annalisa ha dipinto<\/strong> la parete di giallino <\/strong>– Annalisa painted the wall in a pale yellow<\/p>\n

Che bello quello scialle verdino! <\/strong>– How beautiful that light green shawl is!<\/p>\n

The suffix \u2013one<\/strong>, on the other hand, means \u2018big\u2019, and is used to describe a deep dark colour, but it\u2019s not used very much. We mostly use it with verde <\/strong>(green) and arancio <\/strong>(orange), i.e.:<\/p>\n

mi piace molto quel maglione verdone \u2013 <\/strong>I really like that dark green jumper<\/p>\n

questa pietra ha un bel colore arancione \u2013 <\/strong>this stone has a beautiful deep orange colour<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If we want to describe a not very well defined colour we use either the suffix \u2013astro<\/strong> or the suffix \u2013ognolo<\/strong> (equivalent to the English suffix \u2013ish). For example:<\/p>\n

in citt\u00e0 normalmente la neve diventa grigiastra dopo qualche ora <\/strong>– the snow in the town normally turns greyish after a few hours<\/p>\n

questa bibita ha un colore verdastro che non mi ispira – <\/strong>this drink has a greenish colour which doesn\u2019t inspire me<\/p>\n

le montagne all\u2019orizzonte appaiono azzurrognole \u2013 <\/strong>the mountains on the horizon seem bluish<\/p>\n

Giovanni non sta bene, ha un colorito giallognolo \u2013 <\/strong>Giovanni is not well, he\u2019s got a yellowish complexion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, we have nereggiante <\/strong>(turning black), biancheggiante <\/strong>(turning white), rosseggiante <\/strong>(turning red), and verdeggiante <\/strong>(turning green), e.g.:<\/p>\n

il cielo all\u2019orizzonte \u00e8 nereggiante <\/strong>– the sky on the horizon is turning black<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

il mare \u00e8 biancheggiante con la spuma delle onde <\/strong>– the sea is turning white from the foam of the waves<\/p>\n

\u00c8 il tramonto, e il sole \u00e8 rosseggiante \u2013<\/strong> it\u2019s sunset, and the sun is turning red<\/p>\n

dopo la pioggia l\u2019erba \u00e8 tutta verdeggiante \u2013 <\/strong>after the rain the grass is all turning green<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bianco, rosso, blu, giallo, verde, arancio, marrone, rosa, nero \u2026 White, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, black \u2026 There are so many colours! However they never seem to describe the reality that is all around us. Artists use very specific names to describe the colours that they use, e.g. rosso carminio e rosso…<\/p>\n

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