Colors in Korean: The Full List (with Romanization)

Every basic color in Korean with romanization — plus the one pattern that unlocks them all: the -색 (saek) 'color' suffix, and how Korean color adjectives like 빨갛다 behave.

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Colors are one of the most satisfying early vocab sets in Korean — concrete, useful, and built on a single tidy pattern. The trick is the suffix 색 (saek), which means 'color': attach it and almost any shade becomes a clean, everyday word. Here's the full list with romanization, the noun-vs-adjective distinction, and how to actually use colors in sentences. If you're still learning to read the Hangul, our Korean alphabet guide will make these click faster.

The core colors

Each color below is shown as the everyday -색 (saek) noun form — the version you'll use most. Where a bare noun form is common, it's noted.

  • 빨간색ppalgansaek

    red

    Bare noun: 빨강 (ppalgang). Adjective: 빨갛다.

  • 주황색juhwangsaek

    orange

    From 주황 (juhwang). Sometimes 오렌지색 (orenji-saek) for the fruit-orange shade.

  • 노란색noransaek

    yellow

    Bare noun: 노랑 (norang). Adjective: 노랗다.

  • 초록색choroksaek

    green

    Also 녹색 (noksaek), common in formal or written contexts.

  • 파란색paransaek

    blue

    Bare noun: 파랑 (parang). Adjective: 파랗다.

  • 보라색borasaek

    purple

    From 보라 (bora).

  • 분홍색bunhongsaek

    pink

    Very commonly said as 핑크색 (pingkeu-saek), the English loanword.

  • 갈색galsaek

    brown

    Has no separate bare-noun form — 갈색 is the standard word.

  • 검은색geomeunsaek

    black

    Bare noun: 검정 (geomjeong). Adjective: 까맣다 / 검다.

  • 흰색huinsaek

    white

    Bare noun: 하양 (hayang). Adjective: 하얗다.

  • 회색hoesaek

    gray

    From Sino-Korean 회 (灰, 'ash') + 색.

  • 남색namsaek

    navy / indigo

    The deep blue between 파란색 and black.

The -색 pattern (and the word for 'color')

색 (saek) means 'color', and it's the glue for the whole set. The standalone word for color is 색 or, more conversationally, 색깔 (saekkkal). Ask 무슨 색이에요? (museun saegieyo?, 'what color is it?') and answer with any color + 이에요/예요.

  • 무슨 색이에요?museun saegieyo?

    What color is it?

    The go-to question. Casual: 무슨 색이야?

  • 파란색이에요paransaegieyo

    It's blue.

    Color + 이에요/예요. Use 예요 after a vowel.

  • 무슨 색을 좋아해요?museun saegeul joahaeyo?

    What color do you like?

    Answer: 빨간색을 좋아해요 ('I like red').

Colors as adjectives

The most common colors are also descriptive adjectives (technically descriptive verbs): 빨갛다, 파랗다, 노랗다, 까맣다, 하얗다. These are ㅎ-irregular, so they contract before a noun — 빨갛다 → 빨간 (빨간 사과, 'a red apple'). It's a small pattern that surprises beginners, so it helps to learn the colors alongside how Korean verbs and adjectives conjugate.

  • 빨간 사과ppalgan sagwa

    a red apple

    빨갛다 → 빨간 before a noun (ㅎ-irregular contraction).

  • 하얀 눈hayan nun

    white snow

    하얗다 → 하얀. Same irregular pattern.

  • 까만 고양이kkaman goyangi

    a black cat

    까맣다 → 까만. The casual everyday word for 'black'.

Colors are pure memorization — exactly the material that sticks fastest with spaced repetition. Our vocabulary deck drills color words (and other high-frequency sets) until you recall them instantly instead of translating in your head. To weave them into real sentences, try describing what's around you in our AI character chat.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say colors in Korean?

Most colors come in two forms: a bare noun (빨강 ppalgang 'red') and a '-색' form (빨간색 ppalgansaek 'the color red'), where 색 (saek) literally means 'color'. The -색 form is the safe, everyday way to name a color — 무슨 색이에요? ('what color is it?') → 빨간색이에요 ('it's red'). The word for 'color' itself is 색 or 색깔 (saekkkal).

What's the difference between 빨강 and 빨간색?

빨강 (ppalgang) is the pure color noun 'red'; 빨간색 (ppalgansaek) literally adds 색 ('color') to mean 'the color red'. In daily speech the -색 form is more common and feels more natural, especially when describing objects: 빨간색 가방 ('a red bag'). Both are correct.

Are Korean colors adjectives or nouns?

Both. The core colors also exist as descriptive verbs/adjectives — 빨갛다 (ppalgata, 'to be red'), 파랗다 (parata, 'to be blue'), 노랗다, 까맣다, 하얗다. These are ㅎ-irregular adjectives, which is why 'red bag' becomes 빨간 가방 (the 갛 contracts to 간). Beginners can lean on the -색 noun forms first and pick up the adjectives later.

How do you ask 'what color is this' in Korean?

이거 무슨 색이에요? (igeo museun saegieyo?) — 'what color is this?'. Answer with the color + 이에요/예요: 파란색이에요 ('it's blue'). For 'I like the color blue', 파란색을 좋아해요 (paransaegeul joahaeyo).

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