As the warmer air of spring rolls around and the pleasant spring sunlight tickles our faces, have you noticed a transition of colors around us? Trees have started to unfold their green leaves, and spring flowers have been released their vibrant white, pink, and purple petals around us. Do you know how to describe their colors in Korean? Or simply express your favorite color in Korean?

Colors are everywhere. Our everyday lives are filled with colors: foods that we eat, clothes that we wear, cars that we ride, and plants around us. It is not surprising that we use colors to describe things around us or to express our preferences on a day-to-day basis. In Korean, colors can be used as nouns, adjectives, or verbs. Though using color words in Korean may seem somewhat complicated at first, it is not as hard as it may seem once you figure out the patterns. For now let’s take a look at the color words as nouns. The following is the list of common color names in Korean. “색” means color in Korean.

If you want to be more descriptive with the colors, you can simply add “연한 (light) or 진한 (dark)” to your choice of color.

• 연한 (light) + 초록색 (green) = 연한 초록색 (light green)
• 진한 (dark) + 초록색 (green) = 진한 초록색 (dark green)

These are some expressions that you can incorporate color names into your conversation. For example, when someone asks you “좋아하는 색이 뭐예요? (Which color do you like?),” how would you answer this question? Do you remember this post, “Like or don’t like in Korean”? You can answer the above question by using these patterns.

• _____ 을/를 좋아해요. (I like __________.)

주황색을 좋아해요. (I like the color orange.)

• ______을/를 안 좋아해요. (I don’t like __________.)

분홍색을 안 좋아해요. (I don’t like the color pink.)

When someone asks you, “파란색을 좋아해요? (Do you like the color blue?),” you can simple answer him or her:

• 네, 파란색을 좋아해요. (Yes, I like the color blue.)

or

• 아니요, 파란색을 안 좋아해요. (No, I don’t like the color blue.)

How about when you want to ask for a specific color of clothing from a salesperson?

Do you remember “_______주세요” from this post, “10 Vital but Simple Expression In Korean #1”? . You can use “______ 주세요” to ask for something politely in Korean. You can simply add your choice of color to 주세요.

• 노란색 주세요. (The yellow one, please.)
• 하얀색 주세요. (The white one, please.)

I hope this post will help you to describe colors around you in Korean. To practice color names in Korean, please listen to the audio recording at the bottom of the post.

“저는 주황색을 좋아해요. (I like the color orange.)”

“좋아하는 색이 뭐예요? (Which color do you like?)”

What is your answer to this question?

I would love to hear what your favorite color is in Korean.

감사합니다! (Thank you!)

***Related Vocabulary***

1. 색 (color)
2. 빨간색 (red)
3. 주황색 (orange)
4. 노란색 (yellow)
5. 초록색 (green)
6. 파란색 (blue)
7. 보라색 (purple)
8. 검정색 (black)
9. 하얀색 (white)
10. 분홍색 (pink)
11. 연한 (light)
12. 진한 (dark)
13. 연한 초록색 (light green)
14. 진한 초록색 (dark green)
15. 좋아하는 색이 뭐예요? (Which color do you like?)
16. 주황색을 좋아해요. (I like the color orange.)
17. 분홍색을 안 좋아해요. (I don’t like the color pink.)
18. “파란색을 좋아해요? (Do you like the color blue?)”
19. 네, 파란색을 좋아해요. (Yes, I like the color blue.)
20. 아니요, 파란색을 안 좋아해요. (No, I don’t like the color blue.)
21. 노란색 주세요. (The yellow one, please.)
22. 하얀색 주세요. (The white one, please.)