How to Say Blue in Spanish: Azul
Blue in Spanish is azul, pronounced ah-SOOL in Latin America and ah-THOOL in most of Spain, with the stress on the last syllable. It is the same for masculine and feminine nouns (el coche azul, la casa azul) and becomes azules in the plural (los ojos azules).
Below: how to say it clearly, the agreement rules (including the one most learners miss, for “dark blue” and “navy blue”), the words for shades of blue, the everyday phrases that use azul, and a short practice set with answers.
How to pronounce azul
| Part | Sounds like | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| a | “ah” | An open “a”, as in father. Do not reduce it to “uh”. |
| zul | “SOOL” / “THOOL” | In Latin America, the Canary Islands and parts of southern Spain, z sounds like English s. In most of Spain it is like th in think. Both are correct. The u is a pure “oo”, and the l is light, with the tongue tip behind the teeth. |
The stress falls on -zul because a word ending in a consonant other than n or s is stressed on its last syllable by default, which is why azul needs no written accent. The plural, azules (ah-SOO-lehs), keeps the stress on the same syllable and still needs no accent.
Agreement: azul, azules
Azul ends in a consonant, so it has no separate feminine form. It only changes for number.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | el lápiz azul (the blue pencil) | los lápices azules |
| Feminine | la camisa azul (the blue shirt) | las camisas azules |
Compare rojo (red), which changes for both: el coche rojo, la casa roja, los coches rojos, las casas rojas. Other colours that work like azul are verde, gris, marrón and beis; see Spanish adjective agreement rules for the full pattern.
Like most colour adjectives, azul goes after the noun: un coche azul, not un azul coche. Before the noun it sounds poetic (el azul cielo in a poem), so leave that to poets.
“Dark blue”, “navy blue”: the rule most learners miss
When azul is followed by another word that names the shade, the whole phrase usually stays the same in every form. It does not take -es or -a:
- una camisa azul oscuro – a dark blue shirt
- unas camisas azul oscuro – dark blue shirts (not
azules oscuras) - los uniformes azul marino – the navy blue uniforms
- unos zapatos azul claro – light blue shoes
The idea is that you are saying “shirts of the colour dark blue” (camisas de color azul oscuro). You will sometimes hear agreeing forms such as camisas azules oscuras in speech, but the invariable form is the one taught as standard, and it is never wrong.
If you want an extra adjective that describes the object, not the colour, it agrees normally and goes after: unas camisas azul marino nuevas (some new navy blue shirts).
Shades of blue in Spanish
| Spanish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| azul claro | light blue | Understood everywhere. |
| celeste | sky blue, light blue | Very common in Argentina and Uruguay (la albiceleste, the Argentine national team in sky blue and white). In Spain azul celeste or azul cielo is more usual. Plural: celestes. |
| azul oscuro | dark blue | Invariable: pantalones azul oscuro. |
| azul marino | navy blue | Often shortened to marino: un jersey marino. |
| azul cielo | sky blue | |
| azul turquesa / turquesa | turquoise | Turquesa alone is common: el mar turquesa. |
| azul eléctrico | electric blue | |
| azul rey (Latin America) / azul real | royal blue | Azul rey is the usual form in Mexico. |
| añil, índigo | indigo | Añil is also the plant dye. |
| cian | cyan | Mostly in printing and design. |
| azul verdoso | greenish blue, teal | Azul petróleo is also used for a dark teal. |
| azul grisáceo | greyish blue | |
| azulado / azulada | bluish | This one agrees: una luz azulada, unos tonos azulados. |
Es azul or está azul?
Use ser for the colour something has: Mi coche es azul. (My car is blue.) Use estar when the colour is a state or a change you notice: Hoy el cielo está muy azul. (The sky is very blue today.) Tenía los labios azules de frío or Estaba azul de frío (He was blue with cold).
Azul as a noun
As the name of the colour, azul is a masculine noun: el azul.
- Mi color favorito es el azul. – My favourite colour is blue.
- El azul te queda bien. – Blue suits you.
- Siempre se viste de azul. – She always wears blue. (Use de + colour for “wear/dress in”.)
- Pintamos la cocina de azul. – We painted the kitchen blue.
- El cuadro tiene muchos azules. – The painting has a lot of blues.
Everyday phrases with azul
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ojos azules | blue eyes (Tiene los ojos azules. He has blue eyes.) |
| el cielo azul | the blue sky |
| la ballena azul | the blue whale |
| el queso azul | blue cheese |
| sangre azul | blue blood (noble birth) |
| príncipe azul | Prince Charming, the ideal partner (Sigue esperando a su príncipe azul.) |
| pescado azul | oily fish (sardines, tuna, mackerel), mainly in Spain |
| zona azul | blue zone: pay-and-display street parking in Spain; also the “blue zones” of long life |
| casco azul | UN peacekeeper (literally “blue helmet”) |
| vaqueros / jeans | blue jeans (Spanish rarely adds azul; vaqueros in Spain, jeans or mezclilla in much of Latin America) |
Asking and answering about colour
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿De qué color es tu coche? – Es azul. | What colour is your car? – It’s blue. |
| ¿Lo tienen en azul? | Do you have it in blue? (in a shop) |
| ¿Qué azul prefieres, el claro o el oscuro? | Which blue do you prefer, the light one or the dark one? |
| Quiero la azul. | I want the blue one. (la because you mean la camisa; for el jersey say el azul) |
| Es más azul que verde. | It’s more blue than green. |
| Es de un azul precioso. | It’s a lovely blue. |
In shops, “the blue one” follows the gender of the thing you mean: la azul (the blue shirt), el azul (the blue jumper), los azules (the blue shoes). This is the one place where you will hear la azul, and it is correct, because azul is still an adjective describing la camisa.
Feeling blue is not “azul”
In English, “blue” can mean sad. Azul does not. “I’m feeling blue” is Estoy triste, Estoy desanimado/a or, informally in Spain, Estoy de bajón. “Blues” the music is el blues, borrowed from English.
Where azul comes from
Azul came into Spanish from Arabic lāzaward, from Persian lāžward, the name of the blue stone lapis lazuli (and of the place it was mined). English azure and Portuguese azul share the same source.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| la camisa azul | Azul has no feminine form. | |
| las casas azules | Plural nouns need azules. | |
| unas camisas azul oscuro | Colour + shade word stays invariable. | |
| un coche azul | Colour adjectives go after the noun. | |
| El azul es mi color favorito. | As the name of the colour, azul is a masculine noun. | |
| Estoy triste. | Azul does not mean sad. | |
| azul | No written accent: the stress is already where the rules put it. |
A short dialogue
Clara: ¿Qué color quieres para la habitación? (What colour do you want for the bedroom?)
Tomás: Azul, pero no muy oscuro. (Blue, but not very dark.)
Clara: ¿Azul cielo? ¿O un turquesa? (Sky blue? Or a turquoise?)
Tomás: Azul cielo, y las cortinas azul marino. (Sky blue, and navy blue curtains.)
Clara: Vale. Y los cojines, ¿azules también? (OK. And the cushions, blue too?)
Tomás: No, mejor blancos. (No, white is better.)
Notice las cortinas azul marino (invariable shade) beside los cojines azules (plain colour, plural).
Practice
- Los ojos de mi hermana son ______. (blue)
- Quiero una falda ______. (blue)
- Compré dos camisetas ______. (navy blue)
- Mi color favorito es ______ azul.
- Hoy el cielo ______ muy azul. (ser or estar?)
- Translate: “light blue shoes”.
- Translate: “She is waiting for Prince Charming.”
- Translate: “I’m feeling blue today.”
Answers: 1 azules; 2 azul; 3 azul marino; 4 el; 5 está; 6 zapatos azul claro (or zapatos celestes in Argentina and Uruguay); 7 Está esperando a su príncipe azul; 8 Hoy estoy triste (or desanimado/a).
Quick answers
Is azul masculine or feminine?
As an adjective it has one form for both. As the name of the colour it is masculine: el azul.
What is the plural of azul?
Azules.
How do you say “light blue” in Spanish?
Azul claro everywhere; celeste especially in Argentina and Uruguay.
Why is it “camisas azul marino” and not “azules marinos”?
Because a colour followed by a word naming its shade is treated as one invariable name of a colour.
More colours: red, green, yellow, purple and black in Spanish.
