Colors in English: Names, Pronunciation and Examples

Practice on screen

Look at the picture or number and choose the right English word. Ten questions each round.

How to teach it

1. 1. Go on a color hunt

   Name a color and ask the child to find and touch three things of that color in the room: "Find something red." Swap roles after a few turns so the child gives the instruction and practices saying the word.

2. 2. Sort by color

   Give the child a pile of blocks, buttons, crayons or socks and a sheet of paper for each color. As each thing is sorted, say a short sentence together: "It is blue." Sorting keeps hands busy while the word is repeated many times.

3. 3. Color by instruction

   Use any coloring page and give one instruction at a time: "Color the sun yellow. Color the door brown." The child listens, picks the crayon and colors. This also practices the names of the things in the picture.

4. 4. Mix two colors

   With paint or play dough, mix two colors and name what you get: red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple. Children remember the words better when they have made the color themselves.

5. 5. Ask "What color is it?"

   Point to things during the day and ask the question. Accept one-word answers at first ("Green!"), then model the full sentence: "Yes, it is green." Later, ask about favorites: "What is your favorite color?"

Common mistakes

• Putting the color after the noun

  In English the color comes before the thing: a red car, a blue bag. "A car red" is not correct. After the verb to be, the color comes at the end: the car is red.

• Adding -s to the color

  Color words do not change for the plural. It is two green apples and three black cats, never "greens apples". Only the noun takes the -s.

• Color or colour, gray or grey

  Both spellings are right. American English uses color and gray; British English uses colour and grey. Use the spelling of the books and worksheets your child works with, and keep to one.

• Saying "It has red color"

  To say what color something is, use the verb to be: "It is red." To ask, say "What color is it?" The word color is not needed in the answer.

• Orange, the color and the fruit

  Orange is both a color and a fruit, which can confuse beginners. A sentence makes it clear: "The orange is orange." Children usually find this funny, and it helps the word stick.