"Purple" in Spanish

Quick Answer

Purple in Spanish can be moradoor púrpura. Read on to learn more about how to use purple in Spanish and for the translations for some phrases that use purple.

Purple in Spanish: Purple as an Adjective

Purple in Spanish can either be morado or púrpura.

Purple Adjectives

• The adjective morado changes to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies.

• The adjective púrpura is invariable, which means it does not change to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies.

Let’s see some examples:

examples
Las flores son moradas. The flowers are purple.
Las sábanas son púrpura. The sheets are purple.
Adriana lleva un vestido morado. Adriana’s wearing a purple dress.
Envolvieron los regalos con moños púrpura. The gifts were wrapped with purple bows.

Ser and Estar with Adjectives

Ser(to be) is used instead of estarto describe the color of an object when we’re talking about a permanent state. However, when we refer to something temporary, then we use estar.

examples
Mi blusa es morada. My blouse is purple.
¡Tu ojo está morado! ¿Qué te pasó? You have a black eye! What happened to you?

A Purple Eye?

Did you notice that the Spanish for black eye is ojo morado(literally, purple eye)? ¡Qué interesante!(How interesting!)

Purple in Spanish: Purple as a Noun

So, ¿Cuál es tu color favorito?(What is your favorite color?) If it's purple, you can say morado or púrpura.

For example:

examples
Me gustan muchos colores, pero prefiero el morado. I like lots of colors, but I prefer purple.
El púrpura me resulta un poco oscuro. I find purple a bit dark.

Even though púrpura ends in a, it is masculine in gender, we use the articles el and un with it.

Beyond Purple in Spanish

We use colors to express our preferences, describe our surroundings, and talk about human attributes. So, let’s check out some basic color terms that go beyond purple in Spanish:

Spanish	English
amarillo	yellow
azul	blue
blanco	white
gris	gray
marrón/ café	brown
naranja/ anaranjado	orange
negro	black
rojo	red
rosado/ rosa	pink
verde	green
violeta	violet

Expressing Preferences and Describing Surroundings

One of the easiest ways to practice colors in Spanish is talking about your preferences and describing your surroundings.

examples
¿Cuál es tu color favorito? - Mi color favorito es el morado. What is your favorite color? - My favorite color is purple.
Me gusta el color púrpura. I like purple.
La habitación es morada. The room is purple.

Purple in Spanish: Words and Phrases That Use Purple

What about the phrases in English that use purple? As they’re generally figurative, they’re not so simple to translate. Check out how we say purple in Spanish in the following phrases:

Spanish	English
buena racha	purple patch (UK)
estado bisagra	purple state
nacido en la realeza	born into the purple
prosa grandilocuente	purple prose

examples
El electorado está a la espera de los resultados en los estados bisagra. Voters are waiting for the results of the vote in purple states.
El libro es interesante, pero su prosa grandilocuente lo vuelve difícil de leer. The book is interesting, but its purple prose makes it a hard read.

Want to learn more about “ser” and “estar”? Check out these articles!

Quick Tips for Understanding “Ser” and “Estar”

Using “Ser” with Descriptions

“Ser” vs. “Estar”