Colors in Hebrew: Common Words, Pronunciation, and Gender Forms

If you want to describe clothes, objects, signs, or people in Hebrew, colors are a great place to start.

Common colors in Hebrew

• אדום — red
• כחול — blue
• ירוק — green
• צהוב — yellow
• שחור — black
• לבן — white
• כתום — orange
• ורוד — pink
• סגול — purple
• חום — brown
• אפור — gray

If you are still building your basics, it may help to start with the Complete Beginner Guide to Hebrew and 100 Common Hebrew Words.

Pronunciation

• אדום — adom
• כחול — kachol
• ירוק — yarok
• צהוב — tsahov
• שחור — shachor
• לבן — lavan
• כתום — katom
• ורוד — varod
• סגול — sagol
• חום — chum
• אפור — afor

Gender forms in Hebrew

Hebrew color words usually act like adjectives, so they change to match the noun they describe.

• אדום / אדומה — red
• כחול / כחולה — blue
• ירוק / ירוקה — green
• צהוב / צהובה — yellow
• שחור / שחורה — black
• לבן / לבנה — white
• כתום / כתומה — orange
• ורוד / ורודה — pink
• סגול / סגולה — purple
• חום / חומה — brown
• אפור / אפורה — gray

Simple examples

• חולצה אדומה — a red shirt
• בית לבן — a white house
• מכונית כחולה — a blue car
• שמיים כחולים — blue skies

Notice the agreement:

• חולצה is feminine, so the color is אדומה.
• בית is masculine, so the color is לבן.
• מכונית is feminine, so the color is כחולה.
• שמיים is plural in Hebrew, so the adjective is plural too: כחולים.

A few useful notes

• In everyday Hebrew, you will often hear colors used exactly this way: noun + color adjective.
• The masculine form is usually the dictionary form.
• The feminine form is the one you need when the noun is feminine.
• Some color words can also appear in plural form when they describe plural nouns, as in שמיים כחולים.

More Hebrew vocabulary

If you want to keep learning practical words, these pages fit well with colors:

• Hebrew Food Vocabulary You’ll Hear in Restaurants
• Family Words in Hebrew
• Numbers in Hebrew
• Essential Hebrew Phrases

Related grammar help

If gender agreement still feels new, see Masculine vs Feminine in Hebrew: The Survival Guide.

Learning colors is useful because you can start using them immediately: in shopping, directions, descriptions, and everyday conversation.