Learning a new language is always more fun when you can connect words to the world around you - and colours are everywhere. Whether you are describing your favourite sweater, the sky on a sunny morning, or the food on your plate, knowing how to say colours in Serbian will make your speech come alive straight away.

This lesson is a great starting point if you are just beginning, and a useful refresher if you have been studying for a while. Grab a cup of coffee, press play, and let the colours sink in!

What is this lesson?

In this lesson you will learn the Serbian names for the most common colours. The short video below was made especially for learners of Serbian - it pairs each colour with a clear visual so that your brain can build a direct connection between the word and what it represents, without needing to go through English at all. Watch it a couple of times, say each word out loud, and you will be surprised how quickly they stick.

Hear it (carried forward)

Press play and listen carefully. Try to repeat each colour name as you hear it - speaking out loud, even when you are alone, makes a real difference to how fast you remember new vocabulary.

The colours in Serbian

Here are the eleven most important colours, with the Serbian word in the Latin script alongside the English translation. Notice that Serbian colour words are adjectives, so they will change their ending depending on the noun they describe - but for now, just focus on getting the root word into your memory.

Serbian (Latin) English
bela white
crna black
crvena red
plava blue
zelena green
žuta yellow
narandžasta orange
ljubičasta purple
roze pink
braon brown
siva grey

A small note on roze and braon: these two colour words are loanwords (from French rose and English brown respectively), and they do not change their ending the way native Serbian adjectives do. So you will always see "roze haljina" and "roze auto" - the word stays the same regardless of the noun's gender. Handy, right?

More Serbian examples

The best way to lock in new vocabulary is to see it used in real, natural sentences. Read each sentence below, say it aloud, and try to picture it in your mind. The more vivid the image, the better your memory will hold onto the word.

Nebo je plavo.
The sky is blue.

Trava je zelena.
The grass is green.

Sneg je beo.
Snow is white.

Imam crvenu jaknu.
I have a red jacket.

Now let us add a few more sentences so you can see the colours working in a wider range of contexts:

Volim žutu boju.
I love the colour yellow.

Njena torba je crna.
Her bag is black.

Kupila sam zelenu haljinu.
I bought a green dress.

On vozi plavi auto.
He drives a blue car.

Narandžasto je moja omiljena boja.
Orange is my favourite colour.

Ima braon oči.
She/He has brown eyes.

Sivi oblaci su na nebu.
Grey clouds are in the sky.

Kupila sam roze cveće za mamu.
I bought pink flowers for my mum.

Ljubičasta je boja ljubice.
Purple is the colour of the violet flower.

Moja soba je bela.
My room is white.

Stavio sam crvenu kapu.
I put on a red hat.

Žuta boja je topla i vesela.
The colour yellow is warm and cheerful.

A tip about colour agreement

Here is one thing that surprises many learners: in Serbian, colours are adjectives, and adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. That means the same colour can look a little different depending on what noun it goes with. For example, the colour blue appears as plav with a masculine noun ("plav auto"), as plava with a feminine noun ("plava haljina"), and as plavo with a neuter noun ("plavo nebo").

Do not let that worry you at this stage - just get the core colour words into your vocabulary first, and the endings will start to feel natural as you read and listen more Serbian. Every learner goes through this, and it genuinely does click with time!

Frequently asked questions about Serbian colours

How do I say "What colour is it?" in Serbian?

You can ask "Koje je boje?" (literally "Of which colour is it?") or the slightly more informal "Koje boje je?". To answer, you would say, for example, "To je crveno." ("It is red.") or "To je plavo." ("It is blue.")

Why does the word for "blue" sometimes look different?

As explained in the tip above, Serbian colour adjectives change their ending to match the noun. Plav (masculine), plava (feminine), and plavo (neuter) are all the same colour - just wearing different grammatical "outfits". You will see all three forms as you read more Serbian, so do not panic!

How do I say "light blue" or "dark green" in Serbian?

Add svetlo- for light and tamno- for dark: svetloplava (light blue), tamnoplava (dark blue), svetlozelena (light green), tamnozelena (dark green). These compound forms follow the same agreement rules.

Is there a difference between "bela" and "beo"?

Yes - they are the same colour word (white), just in different gender forms. Beo is the masculine form ("beo sneg" - white snow), bela is feminine ("bela kuća" - white house), and belo is neuter ("belo mleko" - white milk).

What is the Serbian word for "colourful"?

The word you are looking for is šaren (masculine), šarena (feminine), or šareno (neuter). For example: "Tržnica je šarena." - "The market is colourful."

How do I say "My favourite colour is..." in Serbian?

A simple way is: "Moja omiljena boja je..." followed by the colour name. For example: "Moja omiljena boja je zelena." - "My favourite colour is green."

I hope this lesson has made Serbian colours feel a little less daunting and a lot more fun! Colours are one of those vocabulary sets that pop up in conversation constantly, so every word you learn here is going to serve you well very quickly. Keep practising, keep watching, and keep speaking - you are doing wonderfully.

With warm wishes from Belgrade,
Marina Petrovic

Ready to keep building your Serbian word bank? Head over to More everyday Serbian for plenty more lessons just like this one.