Türk Renkleri - Turkish Colours
The Farsi Word - siyah - black - is mainly used for siyah zeytin - black olives (for eating), otherwise the word - kara - black - is used for the colour black - this is really figurative use as in kara düşünceleri - black (dark thoughts) but it is used universally for the color black.
The word - kara - also has another meaning - land, shore, as in: karayolları - land roads (network), main roads, karakuvetleri - land forces, kara suları - territorial waters, karaburun [Lit: land nose]- peninsular
Qualities of Colours
The suffix -(i)mtrak is used with colours to produce adjectives of color quality:
karamtrak - blackish, darkish, dusky, sarımtrak - yellowish, sallow, mavimtrak - blueish, blued, steel coloured. This suffix always retains the form -mtrak and does not follow vowel harmony rules.
The suffix -(i)msi is used with colours to produce adjectives of color quality:
morumsu - purplish, mavimsi - bluish. This suffix follows vowel harmony rules.
| Words in italics are the intensified form of the colour. | |
|---|---|
| Siyah (Farsi.) - Simsiyah | Black - Pitch Black |
| Kara - Kapkara | Black - Pitch Black |
| Beyaz - Bembeyaz | White - Snow White |
| Kırmızı - Kıpkırmızı | Red - Bright Red |
| Mavi - Masmavi | Blue - Bright Blue |
| Turuncu | Orange |
| Yeşil - Yemyeşil | Green - Bright Green |
| Mor - Mosmor | Purple - Deep Purple |
| Pembe - Pespembe | Pink - Shocking Pink |
| Pembe - Tozpembe | Pink - Light (dusty) Pink |
| Kahverengi | Brown (Lit: coffee coloured) |
| Sarı - Sapsarı | Yellow - Bright Yellow |
| Gri | Grey |
| Renk/Rengi - Renkli - Renkler | Color/its colour - Coloured - Colours |
| Açık Renkli | Light Coloured |
| Açık yeşil | Light green |
| Alacalı bulucalı (Alaca buluca) | Many coloured, spotted |
| Koyu Renkli | Dark Coloured |
| Koyu yeşil | Dark green |
| Acı Renkli | Lurid Coloured |
| Koyu gri | Dark grey |
| Turkuvaz | Turquoise |
| Lacivert | Navy Blue |
| Gümüş Renkli | Silver Coloured |
| Eflatun | Lilac |
| Morumsu kırmızı renk | Magenta |
| Bej | Beige |
| Bordo - [fr. bordeaux] | Claret |
| Metalik rengi | Metallic colour |
| Haki rengi | Khaki, Olive drab |
| Gül rengi | Rose colour |
| Galibarda | Fuchsia |
| Çim rengi | Lime colour (from çim - turf, grass, lawn) |
| Zeytin rengi | Olive colour (zeytin - olive fruit) |
| Altuni | Gold coloured (altın - gold) |
| sarımtırak altuni metalik rengi | Yellowish golden metallic colour |
| Gümüş rengi | Silver color (gümüş - silver) |
| Menekşe rengi | Violet colour (menekşe - the violet flower) |
| Altın Renkli | Gold Coloured |
| Gök kuşağı | Rainbow |
| Ala | Variegated, light brown (alabalık - rainbow trout) |
| Ak (Old Turkish.) | White [see note below] |
| Al (Old Turkish.) | Red [see note below] |
A note about Old Turkish
The Old Turkish Words for - Red - Al and - White - Ak are mostly used in place names and family names. Alsancak - Red Banner (an area of İzmir) - Akhisar (a town in Turkey) - Whitefort, Bay Alkan - Mr. Redblood. Otherwise the words - beyaz, kırmızı - are used
Seeing "red"
The word kızıl means red-coloured and is used in certain situations as these examples show:
Kızıldeniz - the Red Sea
Kızılderili - American Red-indian
kızılötesi - infra-red
kızıl saçlı - red haired
Kızılay - the Red Crescent (same as The Red Cross health service)
Kızılırmak - the Red River (the longest river in Turkey)