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This is a Mansion Inglés Podcast from Mansioningles.com

Listen to some colours in Spanish and try to say the English translation before I do.

Rojo – red
Azul – blue
Marrón - brown
Amarillo – yellow
Blanco – white
Verde – green
Rosa – pink
Negro – black
Gris – grey
Naranja – orange

Colour in British English is spelt C-O-L-O-U-R. Repeat: colour – colour. In American English it’s spelt differently. The American spelling is C-O-L-O-R

What’s your favourite colour? Mine’s brown I think. I’ve got a lot of brown clothes; brown shirts, trousers and there are more brown shoes in my cupboard than any other colour. There’s a lot of wood furniture in my flat and wood’s usually brown. I like James Brown, the king of soul music, and I’m more attracted to girls who have brown eyes, brown hair and dark brown skin. Dark brown – marrón oscuro, how do we say azul oscuro? – dark blue. What’s the opposite of dark? - Light – dark blue – light blue. What is profundo in English? – deep. También se puede decir ‘azul profundo’ deep blue. The sea’s a lovely deep blue.

So, how do colours affect our moods – el estado de animo?

Colour can have a big effect on how we feel both mentally and physically. I’m going to speak about some emotional associations and connections that we tend to have with different colours.

Okay, blue first. Blue represents la paz - peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, confianza which is trust in English, and confidence. Also la verdad - truth, conservatism, security, la limpieza - cleanliness, order, lealtad, fidelidad – which is loyalty, el cielo - sky, water, cold, technology, and depression.

Blue can "slow the pulse rate – la frecuencia del pulso, lower the temperature of your body, and reduce appetite so that you feel less hungry. Blue is also considered to be a business colour because it suggests fiabilidad – reliability.

In China, blue is associated with immortality.
In Colombia, blue is associated with jabón - soap.
For Hindus blue is the colour of Krishna, a Hindu God.
And for the Jews, blue symbolizes la santidad - holiness.
In the Middle East blue is a protective colour.

Also, blue is often considered to be the safest global colour.

What does white represent to you? White is what we see when all colours come together in perfect balance.

It represents reverence, and purity. Purity is la pureza, also simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, la juventud - youth, el nacimiento - birth, invierno - winter, la nieve – snow. It also reprsents good, sterility, and marriage.

We use white in expressions like “to be as white as a sheet” – estar pálido como la muerte or “to tell a white lie” – decir una mentira o piadosa

We associate white with good. It’s considered a very positive colour, but in eastern cultures white symbolizes coldness and sterility.

Is green your favourite colour? Many people do choose green as their favourite. It’s my favourite colour for a sports car. Green represents nature, el medio ambiente - the environment, la salud - health, Buena suerte - good luck!, la renovación - renewal, la juventud (do you remember the English word for la juventud – youth. Youth is the noun, young is the adjective), also la primavera - spring, generosity, fertility, cellos - jealousy, inexperience, la envidia – envy and la desgracia -misfortune.

Green is often worn in operating rooms by surgeons. Its cool quality is soothing and calming To sooth means aliviar, and to calm calmar o tranquilizar.

In China, green hats mean a man's wife is cheating on him to cheat is engañar; it is not a good colour for embalaje - packaging.
In France studies have indicated green is not a good colour choice for packaging either.
In India green is the colour of Islam.
In Ireland green has religious significance also, but for the Catholic religion.
In some tropical countries green is associated with danger - peligro.

Purple represents la realeza - royalty, spirituality, la nobleza - nobility, ceremony, mystery, transformation, la sabiduría – wisdom, the adjective sabio in English is wise and the noun is wisdom. Purple also represents enlightenment - la Ilustración, el Siglo de las Luces, también crueldad – cruelty and la arrogancia - arrogance. Purple is considered an exotic colour.

Purple dye, or tinte, used to be made from snails – los caracoles. But it needed thousands of snails to make 1 gram of dye, so it was a colour that only rich people and nobles – los nobles had enough money to buy. Today purple is a trendy colour. Trendy means muy al día, según la última moda.

Orange is a combination of yellow and red. Orange is considered a warm colour. Orange expresses energy. It has luminous qualities and orange has been used to get people’s attention, such as on caution signs – las señales de prudencia y advertencia.

Orange reminds us of when leaves on the trees change colour in autumn. Also las calabazas - pumpkins and Halloween. It symbolizes el equilibrio - balance, calor -warmth, enthusiasm and vibrancy, which means energia, dinamismo o vitalidad. Orange demands our attention.

In Ireland orange has a religious significance for the Protestant religion.

Red is the colour that we pay the most attention to. It is the warmest and most energetic colour in the spectrum.

We associate red with love, valentines, danger, desire, speed, strength, violence, anger, emergency exit signs, stop signs and blood - sangre.

Red can suggest violence, it can raise blood pressure – subir la tension arterial and make the heart beat faster.

Red is not usually the best colour for psychiatric wards, prisons or hospitals.

In China red symbolizes celebration and luck, and it is used in many cultural ceremonies from funerals to weddings.
In India red is the colour of purity – la pureza, and it is often used in wedding clothes.

Yellow represents joy – la alegria, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope - esperanza , sunshine - sol, summer, gold – el oro, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, which means la cobardía. A coward is a cobarde, betrayal – la traición, jealousy, illness – la enfermedad, hazard which means peligro o riesgo, spirituality and inspiration.

The yellow rose – la rosa amarilla, is a symbol of friendship. Yellow roses are less passionate or threatening than red roses. To threaten in English is amenazar

In Asia yellow is sacred - sagrado, and imperial.

Black is the absence or falta of light and therefore, of colour.

It represents power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance and wealth. Wealth means la riqueza. Black also suggests mystery, el miedo - fear, el mal - evil, infelicidad - unhappiness, la tristeza - sadness, ira, enfado - anger, and la muerte - death.

Black often has a negative connotation in idioms and expressions. We say marcado negro - "Black Market" and chantaje in English is "blackmail” -. It’s not good to be on a “blacklist” – una lista negra. There’s also “blackhead” – espinilla and agujero negro – a “black hole”. “black ice” is una capa fina de hielo en las carreteras. – very dangerous! And if you have a black mark, you have a punto en contra. “To give someone a black look” means ponerle mala cara a alguien. If things “look black” pues no tiene buena pinta. And of course, it’s not a good idea to be the “black sheep” or oveja negra of the family.

Well, I hope this podcast hasn’t given you the blues. Your friends will be green with envy when they notice how your English has improved. Bye for now!