Korean Dictionary
How to say "Color" in Korean
“Color” in Korean is 색 (pronounced "Saek").
색
Saek
Usage & Context
Asking about or specifying color when shopping. 다른 색 있어요? (Do you have another color?). Common colors: 빨간색 (red), 파란색 (blue), 초록색 (green), 노란색 (yellow), 흰색 (white), 검은색 (black), 분홍색 (pink). Korean fashion tends to favor neutral and pastel tones seasonally.
Example Sentence
이 가방 검은색으로 있어요? 다른 색도 있나요?
Is there this bag in black? Are there other colors too?
How to use 색 naturally
Quick answer
The Korean word for “Color” is 색, romanized as Saek.
Usage tip
Shopping Korean usually sounds more natural when you use short polite questions instead of translating English directly.
Common mistake
Do not rely only on the English meaning. Read the Korean example sentence and notice the particles, word order, and politeness level around 색.
Pronunciation Guide
This is a single syllable word. 'Saek' sounds like 'sack' in English, but with a slightly tighter 'ae' vowel sound, almost like the 'e' in 'bed' but wider.
More Example Sentences
Asking a salesperson about popular colors.
이 옷은 어떤 색이 가장 잘 나가요?
Which color of this clothing sells best?
Talking about personal color preferences in fashion.
저는 파스텔 색을 좋아해서 연한 분홍색이나 하늘색 옷이 많아요.
I like pastel colors, so I have a lot of light pink or sky blue clothes.
Complimenting the colors in a piece of art.
이 그림은 색감이 정말 예쁘네요.
The color palette of this painting is really beautiful.
Cultural Context
In Korean, '색' (saek) is often attached to a color name to form a noun, like '빨간색' (ppalgansaek, red color) or '파란색' (paransaek, blue color). While '빨강' (ppalgang) itself means 'red', adding '색' makes it explicitly 'the color red'. Korean fashion, often seen in K-dramas and K-pop, frequently features a sophisticated use of neutral tones, muted pastels, and sometimes bold, contrasting colors depending on the season and trend.
Editorial note
We review entries like 색 for pronunciation, example sentence fit, and learner mistakes so the page answers more than a direct dictionary lookup.
Reviewed by Min-jung Park, Korean Language Teacher. Updated May 31, 2026. See our editorial standards.
Common Phrases
다른 색 있어요?
Do you have another color?
무슨 색이에요?
What color is it?
색이 예쁘다
The color is pretty.
Related Expressions
색깔
saekkkal
color (more common in spoken language)
색상
saeksang
color (often used for shades/tones)
무지개
mujigae
rainbow
컬러
keolleo
color (loanword from English)
More Shopping Words
Master Korean with AI-Powered Learning
Practice Color and 10,000+ words with native pronunciation and AI conversation.
