Basic Shapes and Colors in Arabic
Colors and shapes are all around us. We use them to describe what we see and feel in daily life’s conversations. Like any other adjectives, colors allow us to make our statements more precise. It does make a difference if one says “There are clouds in the sky” (no big deal) or “There are huge dark grey clouds in the sky” (you’d better run).
Therefore, names of colors and shapes are an important lesson when learning Arabic. In this article you’ll learn the basic colors in Arabic as well as some important shapes.
List of Colors in Arabic
You may know that there are different dialects in Arabic. When it comes to names of colors, they are pretty much the same in most dialects. The following list of colors is used in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as well as in Levantine dialects such as Lebanese Arabic or the Jordanian dialect.
Arabic Colors (Masculine)
Before we take a look at the basic colors in Arabic, it’s important to remember that there are different forms of the colors depending on the gender of the noun. The following list of colors in Arabic includes the masculine form of the basic colors.
Unlike in English, the gender of the color is adapted in accordance to the gender of the noun that it refers to. This principle is the same as in languages such as French, Spanish or German.
The transcription in Latin script will help you with the pronunciation if you can’t read Arabic. However, learning the Arabic alphabet will greatly help you with the correct pronunciation. Check out my practical Arabic alphabet chart.
These are the most important colors in Arabic in the masculine form.
| English Equivalent | Arabic (Latin Script) | Arabic (Arabic Script) |
|---|---|---|
| White | abyad | أبيض |
| Black | aswad | أسود |
| Purple | banafsaji | بنفسجي |
| Red | ahmar | أحمر |
| Green | akhdar | أخضر |
| Blue | azraq | أزرق |
| Yellow | asfar | أصفر |
| Gray | sakani | سكني |
| Orange | burtuqali | برتقالي |
| Pink | zahri | زهري |
| Brown | bunni | بني |
Arabic Colors (Feminine)
Colors are grammatically adjectives. As such, most of the Arabic colors have a slightly different feminine form. As I mentioned before, the gender of the color is adapted according to the gender of the noun. That’s why it’s important to always learn the gender when learning a new word.
Let’s have a look at the feminine colors in Arabic.
| English Equivalent | Arabic (Latin Script) | Arabic (Arabic Script) |
|---|---|---|
| White | beida | بيضا |
| Black | sowda | سودا |
| Purple | banafsajieh | بنفسجية |
| Red | hamra | حمرا |
| Green | khadra | خضرا |
| Blue | zarqa | زرقا |
| Yellow | safra | صفرا |
| Gray | sakanieh | سكنية |
| Orange | burtuqalieh | برتقالية |
| Pink | zahrieg | زهرية |
| Brown | bunnieh | بنية |
List of Shapes in Arabic
Similar to the colors, shapes are an important element in a language. They help us to describe things more precisely. Below is a list of the most important shapes in Arabic.
Arabic Shapes (Masculine)
Same as the colors in Arabic, shapes are adjectives. Therefore, they have a masculine and a feminine form which depends on the gender of the noun.
| English Equivalent | Arabic (Latin Script) | Arabic (Arabic Script) |
|---|---|---|
| Round / circle | daeri | دائري |
| Triangle | mothalath | مثلث |
| Square | moraba’ | مربع |
| Rectangle | mostatteel | مستطيل |
| Oval | baydawi | بيضوي |
Arabic Shapes (Feminine)
For feminine nouns, you’ll use the feminine version of the shapes as outlined in the following list.
| English Equivalent | Arabic (Latin Script) | Arabic (Arabic Script) |
|---|---|---|
| Round / circle | daereyeh | دائرية |
| Triangle | mothalatheh | مثلثة |
| Square | moraba’a | مربعة |
| Rectangle | mostatteeleh | مستطيلة |
| Oval | baydaweyeh | بيضوية |
Learn Arabic with Me!
Looking for more expressions in Arabic, or are you interested in Arab culture? You’ve come to the right place! This blog is about all things Middle Eastern. You’ll find plenty of useful articles here to immerse yourself in the Arabic language, culture and cuisine.
Be sure to check out my guide on what Arabic dialect to learn, my handy Arabic alphabet chart or just browse my Arabic language learning resources.
