Colours · free
Colours (Colors) in Hindi
The colour words are easy. The one thing worth learning is that half of them change their ending to match what they’re describing — लाल stays लाल, but नीला can become नीली. Here’s which is which.
Half of Hindi’s colours agree with the noun. Learn that split and you’ll never say “a नीला car” when it should be नीली.
The colours
Devanagari, pronunciation, English — the dozen you’ll actually use.
red
Never changes.
blue
Changes: नीली (f.), नीले (m. pl.).
green
Changes: हरी, हरे.
yellow
Changes: पीली, पीले.
black
Changes: काली, काले.
white
Never changes.
orange
Never changes. Also the word for the fruit.
pink
Never changes. From गुलाब, “rose.”
brown
Changes: भूरी, भूरे.
purple
Never changes. From बैंगन, “aubergine.”
grey
Never changes. Also ग्रे (gre) casually.
golden
Changes: सुनहरी, सुनहरे.
The one rule: the -ā colours agree
Hindi adjectives split into two kinds, and colours are the clearest example. The ones that end in -ा (-ā) — नीला, हरा, पीला, काला, भूरा, सुनहरा — change their ending to agree with the noun they describe. The ones that end in anything else — लाल, सफ़ेद, नारंगी, गुलाबी, बैंगनी — never change at all.
So for a masculine noun it’s काला कुत्ता (kālā kuttā, a black dog); for a feminine noun the ending flips to -ी (-ī): काली बिल्ली (kālī billī, a black cat); and for plural or “oblique” masculine it becomes -े (-e): काले कुत्ते (kāle kutte, black dogs). Meanwhile लाल never budges: लाल कुत्ता, लाल बिल्ली, लाल कुत्ते — one form for all.
Light, dark, and “what colour is it?”
Two handy modifiers: हल्का (halkā) means light/pale and गहरा (gaharā) means deep/dark — हल्का नीला (halkā nīlā) is light blue, गहरा लाल (gaharā lāl) is deep red. Both हल्का and गहरा are themselves -ā adjectives, so they agree too.
The word for “colour” is रंग (raṅg). To ask “what colour is it?” you’d say यह किस रंग का है? (yah kis raṅg kā hai?). And रंग carries extra warmth in Hindi — it’s the same word at the heart of Holi, the festival of colours, रंगों का त्योहार (raṅgoṁ kā tyauhār).
Reading रंग (colour) words is a perfect first win — short, familiar, and everywhere. Learn Devanagari free in the script trainer, no account needed to start.
Learn to read them — free trainer →Questions people ask
Why does नीला sometimes become नीली?
Because Hindi adjectives ending in -ा (-ā) agree with the gender and number of the noun. नीला (nīlā) describes a masculine noun, नीली (nīlī) a feminine one, and नीले (nīle) a masculine plural. So “blue car” — गाड़ी (gāṛī) being feminine — is नीली गाड़ी, not नीला गाड़ी.
Which Hindi colours never change?
The ones that don’t end in -ा: लाल (red), सफ़ेद (white), नारंगी (orange), गुलाबी (pink), बैंगनी (purple) and स्लेटी (grey). These stay in one form no matter what they describe — लाल कुत्ता, लाल बिल्ली, लाल कपड़े all use the same लाल.
What is the Hindi word for “colour”?
रंग (raṅg). “What colour is it?” is यह किस रंग का है? (yah kis raṅg kā hai?). The same word gives the name of Holi, the festival of colours — रंगों का त्योहार (raṅgoṁ kā tyauhār).
How do you say light blue or dark green?
Use हल्का (halkā, light/pale) or गहरा (gaharā, deep/dark) before the colour: हल्का नीला (halkā nīlā) light blue, गहरा हरा (gaharā harā) dark green. Both modifiers are -ā adjectives, so they agree with the noun just as the colour does — हल्की नीली (f.), गहरे हरे (m. pl.).