Colours in Urdu for kids: laal, neela, peela and the rest (with audio)

The basic colours in Urdu are laal (red), neela (blue), peela (yellow), hara (green), kaala (black) and safed (white). Cards with a play button have Bulbul’s narration; the rest you can hear in the app. Then go and find something that colour.

The colours

• لالLaalRed
• نیلاNeelaBlueHear it in the app
• پیلاPeelaYellowHear it in the app
• ہراHaraGreenHear it in the app
• کالاKaalaBlackHear it in the app
• سفیدSafedWhiteHear it in the app
• گلابیGulaabiPinkHear it in the app
• نارنجیNarangiOrangeHear it in the app
• بینگنیBainganiPurpleHear it in the app
• بھوراBhuraBrownHear it in the app

Green has two words. Hara ہرا (hara) is what children hear most at home; sabz means green too and turns up in more formal Urdu.

Why neela sometimes becomes neeli

Urdu words are masculine or feminine, and colour words that end in -a change to match:

• نیلی قمیضNeeli qameezBlue shirtHear it in the app
• لال قمیضLaal qameezRed shirtHear it in the app
• لال ٹوپیLaal topiRed capHear it in the app

• Qameez (shirt) is a feminine word, so a blue shirt is Neeli qameez نیلی قمیض, not neela qameez.
• Laal doesn’t end in -a, so it never changes: Laal qameez لال قمیض, Laal topi لال ٹوپی.
• The same goes for peela/peeli, kaala/kaali and hara/hari. Gulaabi, narangi, baingani and safed stay the same.

Young children don’t need the rule. They pick it up from hearing whole phrases, which is why the app teaches neeli qameez as a phrase rather than a grammar point.

Colour games for home

1. I spy, in Urdu. “Main kuch laal dekh raha hoon” (I see something red). Your child points; you name it.
2. Laundry sort. Hand over socks one at a time. Your child says the colour before it goes in the pile.
3. Snack colours. Grapes, mango, carrot: ask the colour before each one is eaten.
4. Getting dressed. Name the colour of each piece of clothing as it goes on: neeli qameez, kaale jootay.

Keep it light. One game a day for a few minutes is enough.

Where these come from

The colour words come from Bulbul, the iPhone and iPad app we make to help children speak Urdu. In the app, children hear a colour, find it in a picture and say it out loud. A few have audio on our Urdu words page.