Colors in Tagalog: Vocab List #1 // Mga Kulay sa Tagalog: #1 Talasalitaan
NOTE:
1. In ordinary writing, accent marks (mga tudlik) are not used, however helpful they may be, so in the examples I did not use them. You usually see accent marks in textbooks and other formal writings.
2. ^^ means an uncommon word (at least in Metro Manila). Usually, we just say the English word for the color in a heavy Filipino accent (again, at least in MM).
3. The word kulay [ku-láy] (color) is often used before a color's name. See examples.
4. I'm not an expert in Tagalog, only a casual speaker. What I say may not be true for all Tagalog speakers out there.
5. The sentences are not translated word for word! Tagalog, and other Filipino languages, are highly contextual. Yayamanin does not necessarily mean status symbol all the time. Always consider the context!
1. PUTÎ
(loosely) related word: putlá - n., pale
example:
Kulay puti ang kanilang mga pañuelo. (Their shawls were white.)
Pumuputi na ang balat ko. (My skin is getting lighter.)
2. PULÀ
example:
Bakit ka namumula? (Why are you turning red?)
Ang kulay pula ay isa sa mga kulay na mahahanap sa ating watawat. (The color red is one of the colors that can be seen in our flag.)
3. KAHEL ^^
example:
Ang dalandan ay kulay luntian, hindi kahel. (A dalandan is green, not orange.)
Gusto ko ng kulay kahel na dress. (I want an orange dress.)
4. KAYUMANGGÎ
This color is exclusive to skin color. It doesn't have a direct translation, however you can think of it as all the brown shades between white and black. It’s not limited to just these two colors that I put here.
loosely related word: moreno/a - n., a person who's on the darker side of brown.
example:
Noong bata ako, kayumanggi ako, pero nung lumaki na ako naging morena ako. (When I was a kid, I was kayumanggi, but now my skin's gotten darker.)
Mas maitim ng unti ang kayumanggi. (Kayumanggi is a bit darker than that.)
5. DILÁW
example:
Dilaw ang mangga, papel ang manga. (Mangoes are yellow, mangas are paper.)
Sabing dilaw ang mata mo, 'di dilat. (I said your eyes are yellow, not wide open.)
6. BERDÊ/ LUNTIAN/LUNTI
These words mean the same thing. Berde is a Spanish loanword. Lunti is the word for green, luntian is also the same word but can also mean vegetation, a lot of plants, etc.
example:
Berdeng berde ang mga dahon ng mga rosas ko. (The leaves of my roses are very green.)
Sa bakuran ng aking tita, makikita mo ang napakaraming luntian at bulaklak. (In my aunt’s yard, you can see plenty foliage and roses.)
7. ASUL/BUGHÁW
These words also mean the same thing. Asul is a Spanish loanword.
example:
Kulay asul ang langit. (The sky is blue.)
Nagiging bughaw ang balat pag kulang ng dugo. (The skin turns blue when there’s not enough blood.)
8. BIYULETA^^
example:
Madalas na itinuturing yayamanin ang kulay biyuleta. (The color violet is often treated as a status symbol.)
Kahit langit nagiging biyuleta. (Even the sky turns violet.)
9. ITÍM
example:
Ang langit, kapag gabi na, ay maitim. (The sky at night is black.)
Kung itim ay hindi kulay, bakit natin sinasabi ang kulay itim? (If black is not a color, then why do we say the color black?)
10. BAHAGHARÍ
Fun fact: this word literally means “king’s loincloth”.
example:
Maraming bahaghari sa Sta Rosa. (There are many rainbows in Santa Rosa.)
Sa isang bahaghari, lahat ng kulay ay makikita. (In a rainbow, every color can be seen.)
If you have any further questions, you can drop an ask. Same goes if you want a vocab list of anything, I might consider it. Next I'll be doing either a list of Spanish numbers in Tagalog or vehicles. Paalam!
