Italian life can be very vivid and colorful, especially now that summer is around the corner. The sun, the sea, the mountains…everything seems to be bright and full of life! Yes, but did you know that even the language has “colors”? Italian uses colors for so many everyday idiomatic expressions! Let’s take a look at a few of them together.

To begin with, the color of the Mediterranean: blue or, in Italian, “blu.” “Avere una fifa blu” – to have a blue fear – means to be really scared, “avere il sangue blu” – to have blue blood – means to be noble, because in the past the nobles were characterized by very pale skin, while the peasants were very tan from working the land, and you could see their veins – blue – through their skin.

Next is white or “bianco” like the sandy beaches of Sicily. “Passare la notte in bianco” – to spend the night in white – means that you spent your night up, “essere bianco dalla paura” – to be white with fear – means that you are really scared, as you could get really pale after a shock, “andare a fare la settimana bianca” – to go have white vacations – means that you went to the mountains for a week as your vacation, so you spent it on the white snow. Last, but not least – especially because it could be a great gift! – “lasciare un assegno in bianco! – to leave the check white – which means to leave the check blank, similarly to English.

And green or “verde” of the Alps during the summer! “Avere il pollice verde” – to have a green thumb – literally the same thing as in English, which seems to come from the way gardeners prune the plants while holding them between their thumb and pointing finger; the cut makes some chlorophyll leak out and make their thumbs green. “Essere verde dall’invidia” – to be green with envy – meaning that you are very jealous of something of someone, because in Italian “verde” is usually associated with envy (or hope, but that’s another story). “Essere al verde” – to be at the green – means that you are out of money. This saying comes from Florence and its custom of lighting up a candle with a green bottom as a timer. When the candle reached the green – “verde” – bottom, the auction would close and you couldn’t make any more offers. And “dare il disco verde” – to give the green disk – meaning to approve a project or something alike, because you know, green means go.

And yellow – “giallo” – like the sun. It’s brief but important. Yellow basically is mostly used as “romanzo o film giallo” – yellow novel or movie – which are the detective novels and books. They are called “gialli” because around 1929 Mondadori, one of the biggest Italian publishing houses, in order to launch a new series created a very bright yellow cover to make their books stand out from all the others. I guess the trick worked.

What about black? Italians got it covered. “Essere nero” – to be black – if you are in an awful mood, due to the “dark halo” that surrounds you; “vedere nero” – to see black – when you can only see the negative aspects of everything; “cronaca nera” – black news – crime news, because they involve something negative or a murder, both associated with a dark, brooding color.

And how could we forget red – “rosso” – the color I get when I try to get a tan. “Essere rosso dalla vergogna” – to be red with shame – to be really ashamed, because if you are like me, and find yourself in that situation at least once, you know that “blushing” is not a strong enough word to describe how “rosso” you are. “Vedere rosso” – to see red – means to be especially mad, like a bull who sees the red cape. “Dare il disco rosso” – to give the red disk – is the opposite of “dare il disco verde,” to stop a project or idea or not to give permission. And lastly “a luci rosse” – red lights – in Italian it is used when something is tied to some kind of sexual intercourse. Oh boy…

On a more romantic side, let’s get to pink or “rosa” the color of love! “Vedere rosa” – to see pink – when you see everything in a positive light, as when you’re in love, and “cronaca rosa” – pink news – better known as gossip.

So what do you think? Did you get all your colors straight? Blu, rosso, rosa, nero, bianco, giallo… it doesn’t matter if you mess up, just make your summer a colorful one!