Colour words in Dutch
Words for colours in Dutch, their heraldic names and colour-related expressions.
zwart - black - sabel (heraldic name)
- Het ziet zwart van de mensen ('The place is black with people'), used
when a public area is very crowded.
- zwartkijker ('black-looker') = somebody who always sees the dark side
of things (from the verb zwartkijken)
- pikzwart = pitch black.
wit - white - zilver (heraldic name - silver)
- wit wegtrekken = to become pale (of fear)
- spierwit ('as white as a muscle') = very white.
rood - red - keel (heraldic name)
- vuurrood ('firy red') = very red (used e.g. when somebody is blushing heavily).
geel - yellow - goud (heraldic name - gold)
- groen en geel van nijd / jaloezie ('green and yellow with anger / envy')
- groentje ('greenie') = rookie, freshman.
blauw - blue - azuur, lazuur (heraldic name)
- bont en blauw ('many-coloured and blue') = black and blue, e.g. 'Ik ben
bont en blauw geslagen' = I have been beaten up really bad.
- blauwe maandag ('blue Monday'), used in e.g.: 'Ik heb daar wel eens een
blauwe maandag gewerkt' = I have had a job there for a very short time.
- Het staat blauw (van de rook) ('The place is blue (with smoke)'), used
when e.g. a room is filled up with (cigarette) smoke.
groen - green - sinopel (heraldic name)
- groen en geel van nijd / jaloezie ('green and yellow with anger / envy')
bruin - brown
rose / roze - pink
- een roze bril ophebben ('to wear pink glasses') = to be in love; to see
things from a romantic perspective (through rose-tinted spectacles)
oranje - orange
- appeltjes van oranje ('little apples of orange') = oranges, normally
called sinaasappels (< 'China's apples') or appelsienen in the south of the
Dutch-speaking area. Amongst others, the term is used in an old Sinterklaas song,
and there may be an connection with the Dutch royal family, the 'Oranjes'.
grijs - grey
paars / purper (archaic) / violet - purple - purper (heraldic name)
- pimpelpaars ('as purple as a pimple') = very purple.
lila - lilac
turquoise
khaki
gebroken wit (broken white) - beige
okergeel, oker - ochre
aubergine - aubergine / eggplant
bordeauxrood - burgundy, bordeaux red, maroon
Other colour-related expressions
- knal- ('bang') prefix to indicate that a colour is very bright,
e.g. knalrood, knalblauw.
Notes on Dutch colours by Dirk Bakker
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Colours in Germanic languages
Afrikaans,
Danish,
Dutch,
German,
Icelandic,
Swedish
Colour words in other languages
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