Colours in Punjabi: Names in Gurmukhi with Pronunciation

The main colours in Punjabi are laal (red), peela (yellow), neela (blue), hara (green), kaala (black) and chitta (white). The Punjabi word for "colour" itself is rang (ਰੰਗ). This guide covers every everyday colour (or "color", if you spell it the American way) with its Gurmukhi spelling and pronunciation, plus the one grammar rule that trips up most beginners.

Colours (Rang) in Punjabi

Colours are some of the most useful words in any language — they come up when you describe clothes, food, nature and people. In Punjabi the word for colour is rang, and to ask "what colour is it?" you say "Eh kihda rang hai?" Here is the full list.

Colour	Gurmukhi	Word	Pronunciation
Red	ਲਾਲ	laal	laal
Yellow	ਪੀਲਾ	peela	PEE-laa
Blue	ਨੀਲਾ	neela	NEE-laa
Green	ਹਰਾ	hara	ha-RAA
Black	ਕਾਲਾ	kaala	KAA-laa
White	ਚਿੱਟਾ	chitta	CHIT-taa
Orange	ਸੰਤਰੀ	santri	SUN-tree
Pink	ਗੁਲਾਬੀ	gulaabi	gu-LAA-bee
Purple	ਜਾਮਨੀ	jaamni	JAAM-nee
Brown	ਭੂਰਾ	bhoora	BHOO-raa
Grey	ਸਲੇਟੀ	sletee	sle-TEE
Golden	ਸੁਨਹਿਰੀ	sunehri	su-neh-REE
Silver	ਚਾਂਦੀ	chaandi	CHAAN-dee

A few colours have common alternatives: white is also safed (ਸਫ਼ੈਦ), orange is also naarangi (ਨਾਰੰਗੀ), and purple is sometimes baingani (ਬੈਂਗਣੀ, literally "aubergine-coloured").

Why Learn Colour Words in Punjabi?

Colours are high-frequency, practical vocabulary — you use them to describe clothes at a shop, food on the table, or the turban someone is wearing. For heritage learners, they are also some of the warmest words to recover, because they show up in everyday family chatter. If you are just starting out, pair this list with our beginner's guide to the Gurmukhi alphabet so you can actually read each word rather than only memorise the sound.

Light, Dark and Bright

To describe a shade, add one of these words before the colour:

• gooṛha (ਗੂੜ੍ਹਾ) — dark / deep, e.g. gooṛha neela = dark blue
• halka (ਹਲਕਾ) — light, e.g. halka peela = light yellow
• chamakdaar (ਚਮਕਦਾਰ) — bright / shiny

The Grammar Rule: Colours Change with Gender

Here is the part textbooks gloss over. Most Punjabi colour words that end in -a are masculine and switch to -i for feminine nouns (and to -e for masculine plurals), exactly like other adjectives.

Colour	Masculine	Feminine	Example
Black	kaala (ਕਾਲਾ)	kaali (ਕਾਲੀ)	kaala kutta (black dog) / kaali billi (black cat)
White	chitta (ਚਿੱਟਾ)	chitti (ਚਿੱਟੀ)	chitta doodh (white milk) / chitti kameez (white shirt)
Yellow	peela (ਪੀਲਾ)	peeli (ਪੀਲੀ)	peela phull (yellow flower) / peeli pagg (yellow turban)
Green	hara (ਹਰਾ)	hari (ਹਰੀ)	hara rang (green colour) / hari mirch (green chilli)

Colours that do not end in -a, like laal (red) and gulaabi (pink), stay the same for every noun: laal kameez, laal phull, laal saari.

Common Sentences with Colours

• Tuhaada manpasand rang kihda hai? — What is your favourite colour?
• Mainu neela rang pasand hai. — I like the colour blue.
• Eh kameez kaali hai. — This shirt is black.
• Asmaan neela hai. — The sky is blue.

A Cultural Note on Colour

Colours carry real meaning in Punjabi life. Red and gold (laal and sunehri) dominate weddings, from the bride's outfit to the gifts. Yellow and basanti (mustard-flower yellow) belong to spring and the festival of Basant. And saffron, kesri (ਕੇਸਰੀ), is deeply tied to Sikh tradition and the Nishan Sahib. So learning colours is partly learning culture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Punjabi word for colour?

The Punjabi word for colour is rang (ਰੰਗ). To ask "what colour is it?" you say "Eh kihda rang hai?"

How do you say red, blue and green in Punjabi?

Red is laal (ਲਾਲ), blue is neela (ਨੀਲਾ) and green is hara (ਹਰਾ).

Do colour words change form in Punjabi?

Yes. Colours ending in -a (like kaala, peela) become -i with feminine nouns and -e with masculine plurals. Colours like laal and gulaabi never change.

Practice Colours with Alfaazo

Reading a table is a great start, but vocabulary really sticks when you hear it and use it. Alfaazo teaches Punjabi the natural way — native audio, the Gurmukhi script, and bite-sized lessons you can finish in five minutes a day. Start with the colours and describing-things lessons. Free on iOS and Android.