How to Say “Red Car” in Portuguese: Carro Vermelho

Start with the phrase carro vermelho

In the short video above, Bruno gives a complete sentence: Eu tenho um carro vermelho. It means “I have a red car.” Listen for the order: carro (car) comes before vermelho (red).

That noun-plus-color pattern is useful when describing familiar things:

• um carro vermelho — a red car
• uma camisa vermelha — a red shirt
• um livro azul — a blue book
• uma casa verde — a green house

Match the color adjective to the noun

Many Portuguese adjectives change to agree with the noun’s grammatical gender and number. With common colors such as vermelho, the ending gives you a helpful clue:

For a masculine singular noun, use vermelho. With a feminine singular noun, use vermelha. In the plural, add the matching plural ending: vermelhos or vermelhas.

Some colors have a different pattern

Not every color changes for gender in the same way. Azul stays the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns, then becomes azuis in the plural:

• um carro azul — a blue car
• uma camisa azul — a blue shirt
• dois carros azuis — two blue cars
• duas camisas azuis — two blue shirts

Other common patterns include verde / verdes and preto / preta / pretos / pretas. Some color names come from nouns and have their own agreement patterns, so learn those as useful chunks. For a grammar discussion of color adjectives agreeing with the nouns they describe, see Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa.

Ask and answer about color

A useful question is De que cor é o carro? (“What color is the car?”). Answer with O carro é vermelho (“The car is red”) or simply É vermelho (“It’s red”).

• De que cor é a bicicleta? — What color is the bicycle?
• A bicicleta é amarela. — The bicycle is yellow.
• De que cor são as flores? — What color are the flowers?
• São brancas. — They’re white.

Try it yourself

Say each phrase aloud. Check whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural, then choose the matching form.

1. a red house — casa ___
2. two red cars — dois carros ___
3. a blue shirt — camisa ___

Make the pattern part of your Portuguese

Choose three objects near you and describe each one in Portuguese. Keep the pattern simple: noun, then color. When the adjective changes, let it remind you to notice the noun’s gender and number.

For more real-life listening and short daily practice, explore the Real Life Portuguese app. If you want feedback while speaking, meet our Brazilian teaching team.