Colors

1. красный

   krasnyy

   Red

   Grammar Note

   Russian color adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. красный (m), красная (f), красное (n), красные (pl)

2. оранжевый

   oranzhevyy

   Orange

   Grammar Note

   "оранжевый" is the masculine nominative form. It is distinct from the fruit word "апельсин"

3. жёлтый

   zhyoltyy

   Yellow

   Grammar Note

   The letter "ё" is often written as "е" in non-pedagogical texts, but pronounced "yo". This is the masculine nominative dictionary form

4. зелёный

   zelyonyy

   Green

   Grammar Note

   "зелёный" is the masculine form. The related noun "зелень" (zelen') means greenery or fresh herbs

5. тёмно-синий

   tyomno-siniy

   Dark blue / Navy

   Grammar Note

   Russian has two distinct words for blue: синий (siniy) for dark/navy blue, and голубой (goluboy) for sky/light blue. тёмно means "dark"

6. голубой

   goluboy

   Sky blue / Light blue

   Grammar Note

   "голубой" specifically means light/sky blue, distinct from синий (dark blue). Russian treats these as two basic color categories

7. фиолетовый

   fioletovyy

   Purple

   Grammar Note

   "фиолетовый" derives from "фиалка" (violet flower). It covers the full range of purple/violet

8. розовый

   rozovyy

   Pink

   Grammar Note

   "розовый" comes from "роза" (rose). It also carries the figurative meaning of "rosy" or "optimistic"

9. коричневый

   korichnevyy

   Brown

   Grammar Note

   "коричневый" is thought to derive from "корица" (cinnamon), referring to its brown color

10. белый

    belyy

    White

    Grammar Note

    "белый" is the masculine form for white. Forms: белая (f), белое (n), белые (pl)

11. чёрный

    chyornyy

    Black

    Grammar Note

    "чёрный" is the masculine form for black. Found in compounds like "чёрный хлеб" (black bread/dark rye bread)

12. серый

    seryy

    Gray

    Grammar Note

    "серый" is the masculine form for gray. It is also used figuratively to mean "dull" or "unremarkable"

13. синий

    siniy

    Blue

    Grammar Note

    Masculine nominative form. Russian treats "siniy" and "goluboy" as two separate basic colours, "siniy" being the darker one; the compound "tyomno-siniy" is navy

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