Spanish colors: match rojo, azul, verde and more

Spanish colors: match rojo, azul, verde and more: what children learn

Colors are a favorite early Spanish topic: they are easy to point at, they turn up in songs and they link to clothes, animals and food. In this matching game, children pair each Spanish color word with its English meaning: rojo (red), azul (blue), verde (green), amarillo (yellow), negro (black), blanco (white), rosa (pink), gris (gray), morado (purple), naranja (orange) and marrón (brown).

Suggested grade 2 practice, selected by skill and reading demand. US states and schools teach these topics in different grades; this is not a state-standards alignment claim. French and Spanish games are grouped by challenge level; learners can begin in any grade.

ACTFL World-Readiness Standards teaching connection: Vocabulary foundations for communication. Recognizing words and building short phrases can prepare a learner for reading and communication. Follow the game with a real exchange or a short text. Word recognition alone does not establish an ACTFL proficiency level or cover all communication modes. Read the framework.

How to play

Pick a card on the left, then the card on the right that matches it. Each game has 6 pairs. Wrong matches are counted as mistakes, and you get three stars for a game with no mistakes.

Step by step

1. Start with things you can see. Point at objects and name the color in Spanish: rojo for a red apple, verde for grass.
2. Learn the tricky sounds. ll sounds like y (amarillo), and j is a throaty h sound (rojo).
3. Notice the patterns. Many colors end in o for masculine nouns and a for feminine ones: rojo and roja, blanco and blanca.
4. Spot the colors that do not change. Azul, verde and gris stay the same for masculine and feminine nouns; rosa and naranja never change.
5. Say your favorite color. Mi color preferido es el azul means my favorite color is blue.

Worked examples

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Mixing up blanco and negro. Blanco is white (like a blank page); negro is black.
• Saying amarillo with an English l sound. In Spanish ll sounds like the y in yes: a-ma-ri-yo.
• Forgetting the accent in marrón. The accent shows that the last part of the word is stressed: ma-RRÓN.
• Putting the color before the noun. In Spanish the color usually comes after the noun: un gato negro (a black cat).

Activities to try at home

• Play “I spy” with Spanish colors around the house.
• Sort a pile of socks or building bricks by color, naming each one in Spanish.
• Sing a rainbow song in Spanish: rojo, naranja, amarillo, verde, azul…
• Print the game sheet and color each word in the right color.

Ideas for the classroom

• Hold up colored cards and ask students to call out the Spanish word.
• Play “Simon says” with colors: touch something azul!
• Make a class bar chart of favorite colors using the Spanish names.
• Pair colors with clothes words and practice the o and a endings.

Free printable game and worksheet

The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a color-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.

Open the free printable game and worksheet

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

• Spanish greetings: hola, buenos días and adiós (Grade 2 Spanish) – What does hola mean? When do you say buenas tardes? A free elementary Spanish game about greetings and simple conversations, with a printable game sheet.
• Spanish animals: match un perro, un gato and more (Grade 3 Spanish) – Match un perro, un ratón and un caballo to their English meanings. A free elementary Spanish matching game about animals and pets.

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