Χρώματα (Colours)

Do you remember what colour καφέ represents?

The Greek word for ‘colour’ (or ‘color’) is χρώμα (as in ‘monochromatic’ or ‘polychromatic’), and the plural is χρώματα. But what are the names of the different colours?

Here are 6 of the most important χρώματα in Modern Greek:

Note that all of these words end with a consonant followed by –ος in the masculine form and –η in the feminine, except for γαλάζιος which ends with -ιος and ια. This is a special word meaning light or ‘sky blue’.

You’ll find a list including all 6 of these colours in their neuter form on page 63 of Ελληνικά Τώρα 1+1. Using coloured pencils, find each and underline it with the appropriate colour.

Once you’re done, there should be 3 colours left over. Can you guess their meaning? Have a think about what English words they might be similar to, then see if you can find them in the table below.

These colours look a little different. None of them end in –ος, –η/α or –ο. In fact, these words don’t change depending on gender or number. That is, they are indeclinable.

All of these words were borrowed from other languages, Italian or French – as are most of their English equivalents.

You can hear the names of many of these colours pronounced in this kids’ song by Little Feather:

Oranges and Lemons

You may be interested to know that, just as in English, both the colour and the fruit are called πορτοκαλι in Greek. The only difference is the stress: πορτοκάλι is the fruit, while πορτοκαλί with the stress on the end refers to its colour.

You can hear the difference between the fruit and the colour in Thanasis’ Better Greek video:

You might also notice how similar the words κίτρινος and ‘citrus’ are. Most colours in Greek are named after things in nature. Κόκκινος is named after the kermes oak which produces a red dye. Πράσινος comes from πράσον, meaning leek. Γαλάζιος comes from kálaïs, a turquoise-like stone.

If you’re not sure whether a colour word needs to agree with the gender or number of a noun or not, remember that this is only true for native Greek colour words that end in –ος. Words with other endings, borrowed from other languages, stay the same regardless of how many or what gender an object is:

Ο κίτρινος χάρτης, Η κίτρινη τσάντα, Το κίτρινο φόρεμα

But

Ο πορτοκαλί χάρτης, Η πορτοκαλί τσάντα, Το πορτοκαλί φόρεμα

Colours, Sizes and Patterns

Pages 16-17 in Λοιπόν, τι λες; (Well, what do you say?) have a spread of colours, patterns, sizes, and clothing types. Take a look over these pages, then read the dialogue on page 16 out loud. Can you work out which items of clothing are being asked about? Use a dictionary to check the meanings of any of the verbs in the speech bubble you are unsure of.

Now, listen to the dialogue on page 63 of Ελληνικά Τώρα 1+1. Can you catch what colours of μπλούζα are mentioned? (Hint, there are two!)

Complete the exercises on the bottom of the page.

Colourful questions!

There are two questions asked in these exercises: Τι χρώμα είναι…; (What colour is…?) and Πόσο κάνει…; (literally ‘How much does…?’)

In this context, Πόσο κάνει…; means ‘How much does… cost?’ or ‘How much does… come to?’

For example:

Πόσο κάνει η γαλάζια μπλούζα;

(How much is the blue blouse?)

Notice how a feminine colour (γαλάζια) is used to describe the feminine noun (μπλούζα).

What other feminine item appears in exercise B with a feminine colour?

Finally, answer the questions on page 29 of the Ελληνικά Τώρα 1 workbook. Notice how the verb changes when multiple items are being asked about:

Πόσο κάνει η φούστα; (How much does the skirt cost?)

Πόσο κάνουν οι φούστες; (How much do the skirts cost?)

Notice how similar these sentences are to the following:

Μου αρέσει το φόρεμα; (I like the skirt, lit. ‘The skirt pleases me.’)

Μου αρέσουν οι φούστες;ες; (I like the skirts, lit. ‘The skirts please me.’)

In both cases, the skirts are the subjects doing the verbs (they are the ones costing you money or pleasing you).

If you have a conversation partner, take turns asking each other the questions on page 29, this time using the prices displayed on the tags in the picture on page 28 to answer.

For listening practice, take a colorful tour through Athens with Dimitris from Easy Greek. See how many colours you can pick out: