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Hebrew Colors: How to Name and Agree Them with Nouns
Vocabulary
HebrewGlot Team

Hebrew Colors: How to Name and Agree Them with Nouns

Learn all Hebrew colors with transliteration, master gender and number agreement, discover color idioms, and start using colors in real Hebrew sentences.

Hebrew Colors: How to Name and Agree Them with Nouns

Colors seem like the easiest vocabulary to learn โ€” after all, red is red, right? Not so fast in Hebrew! Unlike English, where you just slap a color word after a noun and call it done, Hebrew colors are adjectives โ€” and adjectives in Hebrew agree with the nouns they describe in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). That means each color has up to four forms.

Don't panic. The system is regular and logical, and once you get the pattern, you'll apply it automatically. By the end of this guide, you'll know all basic Hebrew colors, understand how to use them in sentences, and even impress people with some colorful Hebrew idioms.

Key takeaway: Hebrew adjectives (including colors) come after the noun and agree in gender and number. One color = four forms. But the pattern is consistent โ€” learn it once, apply it everywhere.

The Four Forms of Hebrew Colors

Before diving into the color table, let's understand the agreement system. Hebrew nouns are either masculine or feminine, and adjectives must match. Here's the pattern:

FormWhen to useEnding pattern
Masculine singular (m.s.)One masculine noun (e.g., "a red book")base form
Feminine singular (f.s.)One feminine noun (e.g., "a red car")usually add ื”- or ืช-
Masculine plural (m.pl.)Multiple masculine nounsadd ื™ื-
Feminine plural (f.pl.)Multiple feminine nounsadd ื•ืช-

Quick example with "big" (ื’ื“ื•ืœ, gadol):

  • ืกืคืจ ื’ื“ื•ืœ (sefer gadol) โ€” a big book (m.s.)
  • ืžื›ื•ื ื™ืช ื’ื“ื•ืœื” (mechonit gdola) โ€” a big car (f.s.)
  • ืกืคืจื™ื ื’ื“ื•ืœื™ื (sfarim gdolim) โ€” big books (m.pl.)
  • ืžื›ื•ื ื™ื•ืช ื’ื“ื•ืœื•ืช (mechoniyot gdolot) โ€” big cars (f.pl.)

Colors follow the exact same pattern. Now let's see all the colors!

Basic Colors: All Four Forms

EnglishM. SingularF. SingularM. PluralF. Plural
Redืื“ื•ื (adom)ืื“ื•ืžื” (aduma)ืื“ื•ืžื™ื (adumim)ืื“ื•ืžื•ืช (adumot)
Blueื›ื—ื•ืœ (kachol)ื›ื—ื•ืœื” (kchola)ื›ื—ื•ืœื™ื (kcholim)ื›ื—ื•ืœื•ืช (kcholot)
Greenื™ืจื•ืง (yarok)ื™ืจื•ืงื” (yeruka)ื™ืจื•ืงื™ื (yerukim)ื™ืจื•ืงื•ืช (yerukot)
Yellowืฆื”ื•ื‘ (tsahov)ืฆื”ื•ื‘ื” (tshuva)ืฆื”ื•ื‘ื™ื (tshuvim)ืฆื”ื•ื‘ื•ืช (tshuvot)
Blackืฉื—ื•ืจ (shachor)ืฉื—ื•ืจื” (shchora)ืฉื—ื•ืจื™ื (shchorim)ืฉื—ื•ืจื•ืช (shchorot)
Whiteืœื‘ืŸ (lavan)ืœื‘ื ื” (levana)ืœื‘ื ื™ื (levanim)ืœื‘ื ื•ืช (levanot)
Orangeื›ืชื•ื (katom)ื›ืชื•ืžื” (ktuma)ื›ืชื•ืžื™ื (ktumim)ื›ืชื•ืžื•ืช (ktumot)
Purpleืกื’ื•ืœ (sagol)ืกื’ื•ืœื” (sgula)ืกื’ื•ืœื™ื (sgulim)ืกื’ื•ืœื•ืช (sgulot)
Brownื—ื•ื (chum)ื—ื•ืžื” (chuma)ื—ื•ืžื™ื (chumim)ื—ื•ืžื•ืช (chumot)
Greyืืคื•ืจ (afor)ืืคื•ืจื” (afura)ืืคื•ืจื™ื (afurim)ืืคื•ืจื•ืช (afurot)
Pinkื•ืจื•ื“ (varod)ื•ื•ืจื•ื“ื” (vruda)ื•ืจื•ื“ื™ื (vrudim)ื•ืจื•ื“ื•ืช (vrudot)
Goldื–ื”ื•ื‘ (zahov)ื–ื”ื•ื‘ื” (zhuva)ื–ื”ื•ื‘ื™ื (zhuvim)ื–ื”ื•ื‘ื•ืช (zhuvot)
Silverื›ืกื•ืฃ (kasuf)ื›ืกื•ืคื” (ksufa)ื›ืกื•ืคื™ื (ksufim)ื›ืกื•ืคื•ืช (ksufot)
Beigeื‘ื–' (bez)ื‘ื–' (bez)ื‘ื–' (bez)ื‘ื–' (bez)
Turquoiseื˜ื•ืจืงื™ื– (turkiz)ื˜ื•ืจืงื™ื– (turkiz)ื˜ื•ืจืงื™ื– (turkiz)ื˜ื•ืจืงื™ื– (turkiz)

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Borrowed color words like ื‘ื–' (beige) and ื˜ื•ืจืงื™ื– (turquoise) are usually indeclinable โ€” they don't change form. Convenient!

Masculine vs. Feminine: How to Know

"But how do I know if a noun is masculine or feminine?" Great question! Here are the main rules:

Feminine noun endings:

  • Most nouns ending in ื”- (-a) or ืช- (-t) are feminine
  • Body parts that come in pairs are often feminine

Examples:

  • ืžื›ื•ื ื™ืช (mechonit, car) โ€” feminine โ†’ ื›ื—ื•ืœื” (kchola, blue)
  • ืฉืžืœื” (simla, dress) โ€” feminine โ†’ ืื“ื•ืžื” (aduma, red)
  • ื›ื™ืกื (kise, chair) โ€” masculine โ†’ ื›ื—ื•ืœ (kachol, blue)
  • ื‘ื™ืช (bayit, house) โ€” masculine โ†’ ืœื‘ืŸ (lavan, white)

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: When in doubt, look up the noun. With practice, you develop an instinct for Hebrew gender โ€” it becomes almost musical. You'll start to feel that a word sounds masculine or feminine.

Colors in Real Sentences

Let's practice using colors in context:

Describing objects:

  • "ื™ืฉ ืœื™ ืžื›ื•ื ื™ืช ืื“ื•ืžื”" โ€” I have a red car
  • "ื”ื‘ื™ืช ื”ืœื‘ืŸ ื™ืคื” ืžืื•ื“" โ€” The white house is very beautiful
  • "ื”ื•ื ืœื•ื‘ืฉ ื—ื•ืœืฆื” ื›ื—ื•ืœื”" โ€” He's wearing a blue shirt
  • "ื”ืขื™ื ื™ื™ื ืฉืœื” ื™ืจื•ืงื•ืช" โ€” Her eyes are green

Asking about color:

  • "ืื™ื–ื” ืฆื‘ืข ื–ื”?" (Eize tseva ze?) โ€” What color is this?
  • "ืžื” ื”ืฆื‘ืข ืฉืœ...?" (Ma ha'tseva shel...?) โ€” What is the color of...?
  • "ื™ืฉ ืœืš ื–ื” ื‘ืฆื‘ืข ืื—ืจ?" (Yesh lecha ze be'tseva acher?) โ€” Do you have this in another color?

Shopping dialogue:

"ืื ื™ ืžื—ืคืฉ ื—ื•ืœืฆื” ื›ื—ื•ืœื”" โ€” I'm looking for a blue shirt
"ื™ืฉ ืœื ื• ื›ื—ื•ืœ ื‘ื”ื™ืจ ื•ื›ื—ื•ืœ ื›ื”ื”" โ€” We have light blue and dark blue
"ืื ื™ ืจื•ืฆื” ืืช ื”ื›ื—ื•ืœ ื”ื‘ื”ื™ืจ" โ€” I want the light blue one

Shades and Modifiers

To describe shades, Hebrew uses simple modifiers after the color:

ModifierHebrewTransliterationExample
Lightื‘ื”ื™ืจbahirื›ื—ื•ืœ ื‘ื”ื™ืจ โ€” light blue
Darkื›ื”ื”keheื™ืจื•ืง ื›ื”ื” โ€” dark green
Bright / Vividืขื–azืื“ื•ื ืขื– โ€” vivid red
Paleื—ื™ื•ื•ืจchiverื•ืจื•ื“ ื—ื™ื•ื•ืจ โ€” pale pink

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: The modifier follows the color: yarok kaheh (dark green) โ€” the same order as English, which makes it easy to remember!

Color Idioms in Hebrew

Hebrew is rich with color-based expressions. These are common in everyday speech:

IdiomLiteral meaningActual meaning
ืœืจืื•ืช ื”ื›ืœ ื‘ื•ื•ืจื•ื“ (lirot hakol be'varod)To see everything in pinkTo be overly optimistic
ื™ืจื•ืง ืžืงื ืื” (yarok mi'kin'a)Green with envy(Same as English!)
ืฉื—ื•ืจ ืขืœ ื’ื‘ื™ ืœื‘ืŸ (shachor al gabei lavan)Black on whiteIn writing, officially documented
ืœื›ื—ื•ืœ ืขื™ื ื™ื™ื (lecachel einayim)To blue eyesTo deceive someone, pull the wool over their eyes
ื™ื•ื ืฉื—ื•ืจ (yom shachor)A black dayA terrible/catastrophic day
ื—ื•ื˜ ืื“ื•ื (chut adom)A red threadA running theme/motif
ืื•ืจ ื™ืจื•ืง (or yarok)Green lightPermission to proceed (same as English)
ืกืจื˜ ืื“ื•ื (seret adom)Red tape(Same meaning as English!)

Interesting Facts About Hebrew Color Names

ืœื‘ืŸ (lavan, white) and ืœื‘ื ื” (levana, moon) share the same root โ€” the three-letter root ืœ-ื‘-ืŸ (L-V-N) meaning "white" or "bright." The moon is literally "the white one"!

ืื“ื•ื (adom, red) shares a root with ืื“ืžื” (adama, earth/soil) and the biblical name ืื“ื (Adam) โ€” all connected to the reddish color of clay. We are literally red earth creatures.

ื›ื—ื•ืœ (kachol, blue) has ancient origins but became the defining color of Israel โ€” it appears in the Israeli flag alongside white.

ื™ืจื•ืง (yarok, green) can also mean "pale/sickly" in colloquial usage โ€” if someone says you look yarok, they might mean you look unwell rather than complimenting your green outfit!

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Hebrew has a fascinating phenomenon where blue and green weren't always distinguished in ancient texts. The word techelet (ืชื›ืœืช) referred to a sky-blue/turquoise shade used in priestly garments. Modern Hebrew clearly distinguishes ื›ื—ื•ืœ (blue) and ื™ืจื•ืง (green), but the ancient boundary was blurrier.

Quick Reference Table

Color (English)HebrewTransliteration
Redืื“ื•ืadom
Blueื›ื—ื•ืœkachol
Greenื™ืจื•ืงyarok
Yellowืฆื”ื•ื‘tsahov
Blackืฉื—ื•ืจshachor
Whiteืœื‘ืŸlavan
Orangeื›ืชื•ืkatom
Purpleืกื’ื•ืœsagol
Brownื—ื•ืchum
Greyืืคื•ืจafor
Pinkื•ืจื•ื“varod
Goldื–ื”ื•ื‘zahov
Silverื›ืกื•ืฃkasuf
Light blueืชื›ืœืชtchelet
Colorfulืฆื‘ืขื•ื ื™tsiv'oni
Colorlessื—ืกืจ ืฆื‘ืขchaser tseva

What's Next

Your Hebrew color palette is now full โ€” keep painting your knowledge:

"ื”ืขื•ืœื ืžืœื ืฆื‘ืขื™ื" โ€” The world is full of colors. Now you can name them in Hebrew! ๐ŸŽจ

#hebrewvocabulary #hebrewcolors #learnhebrew #hebrewgrammar #colorsinh hebrew #hebrewforbeginners

#colors in hebrew#hebrew colors#red blue green hebrew#hebrew color vocabulary

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