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# 🎨 Colors in Korean - How to use in sentences
- URL: https://www.youngssam-korean.com/colors-in-korean-how-to-use-in-sentences/
- Published: 2026-09-09T03:49:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-09T05:20:09.000Z
- Description: Go beyond color names! Learn how to say what color something is, describe color changes, and put colors before nouns—with Korean examples and a downloadable PDF.
- Author: unyoung
- Tags: Vocabulary & Expressions

빨간색, 노란색, 파란색… How many Korean color words do you know?

Start with the image below to learn the basic names. Then take the next step: use them in sentences!

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3e/77/3e77e67a-c356-4231-b7c2-8a02146832bb/content/images/2026/09/-------------------color.png)

## First, color names and color adjectives

In Korean, **some colors have both a noun and an adjective**, while others are usually expressed using just the color noun.

For example, **빨간색** is the *name* of a color—a noun meaning “red.” **빨갛다** is an adjective meaning “to be red.”

| Color noun   | Color adjective |
| ------------ | --------------- |
| 빨간색 — red    | 빨갛다             |
| 노란색 — yellow | 노랗다             |
| 파란색 — blue   | 파랗다             |
| 하얀색 — white  | 하얗다             |
| 검은색 — black  | 검다 / 까맣다        |

When you look up a Korean color adjective in a dictionary, its basic form ends in **\-다**. Its form changes depending on how you use it in a sentence.

**빨갛다 → 빨개요 / 빨갛게 / 빨간**

But you can’t turn every color name into an adjective simply by adding **\-다**. **초록다 and 연두다 aren’t Korean words.** For these colors, use the color noun.

- 나뭇잎이 **초록색이에요**. ✅  
The leaves are green.
- 나뭇잎이 **초록다**. ❌
- **연두색 가방**을 샀어요. ✅  
I bought a light green bag.

So when you learn a color name, it helps to learn whether it has a corresponding adjective, too.

Now, let’s make sentences in three different ways!

## 1\. “What color is it?” — Saying what color something is

The simplest pattern is **color noun + 이에요**.

- 사과는 **빨간색이에요**.  
The apple is red.
- 나뭇잎이 **초록색이에요**.  
The leaves are green.
- 이 가방은 **보라색이에요**.  
This bag is purple.

If the color has an adjective, such as 빨갛다, 노랗다, or 파랗다, you can also use its polite **\-아요/어요** form.

- 사과는 **빨개요**.  
The apple is red.
- 바나나는 **노래요**.  
The banana is yellow.
- 하늘이 **파래요**.  
The sky is blue.
- 눈이 **하얘요**.  
The snow is white.
- 고양이가 **까매요**.  
The cat is black.

**사과는 빨간색이에요.** 
**사과는 빨개요.**

Both are natural ways to say “The apple is red.” You can use the color’s name or describe it with an adjective.

## 2\. “How did it change?” — Describing a change or an action

Use the adjective stem—the part before **\-다**—and add **\-게** to describe the color something becomes, or the color an action makes it.

> **빨갛다 → 빨갛게** 
> **노랗다 → 노랗게** 
> **하얗다 → 하얗게**

- 가을이 되어서 나뭇잎이 **노랗게 변했어요**.  
The leaves turned yellow when autumn came.
- 부끄러워서 얼굴이 **빨갛게 됐어요**.  
My face turned red because I was embarrassed.
- 벽을 **하얗게 칠했어요**.  
I painted the wall white.

When using a color noun ending in **색**, add **\-으로** instead.

- 벽을 **분홍색으로 칠했어요**.  
I painted the wall pink.
- 나뭇잎이 **갈색으로 변했어요**.  
The leaves turned brown.

> **벽을 하얗게 칠했어요.** 
> **벽을 하얀색으로 칠했어요.**

Both mean “I painted the wall white.” Here, too, you have two ways to express the same idea!

## 3\. “What kind of sky do you like?” — Describing a noun directly

You can place a color adjective before a noun to describe its color. To do this, change its form to **빨간, 노란, 파란, 하얀,** or **까만**.

- **파란 하늘**을 좋아해요.  
I like blue skies.
- **빨간 사과**를 먹었어요.  
I ate a red apple.
- **노란 꽃**이 피었어요.  
A yellow flower bloomed.
- **하얀 셔츠**를 입었어요.  
I wore a white shirt.
- **까만 고양이**가 자고 있어요.  
A black cat is sleeping.

You can also put a color noun directly before another noun.

- **초록색 나뭇잎**이 보여요.  
I can see green leaves.
- **분홍색 꽃**을 샀어요.  
I bought pink flowers.
- **보라색 가방**을 좋아해요.  
I like purple bags.

Both **빨간 사과** and **빨간색 사과** mean “a red apple.” But since there’s no adjective 초록다, you can use **초록색 사과** for “a green apple.”

## At a glance

| Dictionary form | Ending a sentence | Describing an action or change | Before a noun |
| --------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------- |
| 빨갛다             | 빨개요               | 빨갛게                            | 빨간 사과         |
| 노랗다             | 노래요               | 노랗게                            | 노란 꽃          |
| 파랗다             | 파래요               | 파랗게                            | 파란 하늘         |
| 하얗다             | 하얘요               | 하얗게                            | 하얀 셔츠         |
| 까맣다             | 까매요               | 까맣게                            | 까만 고양이        |

You can use color nouns in all three ways, too:

**분홍색이에요 → 분홍색으로 칠했어요 → 분홍색 꽃**  
It’s pink. → I painted it pink. → A pink flower.

## Your turn!

Choose something around you and say what color it is. Then use that color to describe the object directly.

하늘이 **파래요**.  
The sky is blue.  
→ **파란 하늘**을 좋아해요.  
→ I like blue skies.

이 가방은 **보라색이에요**.  
This bag is purple.  
→ **보라색 가방**을 샀어요.  
→ I bought a purple bag.

It’s completely fine to check the PDF as you practice. Once you know a color word, you can use it in several different sentence patterns!

[색깔 color색깔 color.pdf795 KBdownload-circle](https://www.youngssam-korean.com/content/files/2026/09/-------------------color.pdf "Download")

💡

But there’s more: ****파랗다** can also become ****새파랗다** or ****푸르스름하다**. They’re all connected to blue—so how do they feel different?

In the next post, we’ll explore **how Korean adds different feelings to color words**. 🎨