30 Common Italian Idioms That Are Related to Colours

Are you ready for some new Italian idioms?

It’s been a while since I last posted about Italian idiomatic phrases but I have to admit I couldn’t find a proper topic. I have been thinking about an interesting unifying theme for idioms but I wasn’t able to find anything until, while writing down phrases for an Instagram project which will begin soon, I wrote the phrase essere al verde and I realized that colours could be a great topic for a post about Italian idioms.

So, here we are: this post about colours comes after two posts about idioms related to food, which I have written a while ago and which were followed by other two regarding animals and one focused on Italian idioms that have to do with numbers. As I have probably already told you before, I love writing this kind of posts because they are super fun but they are also a great way to take the time to reflect on my language and on expressions and phrases we native speakers use every day without really paying attention to them and their meaning.

As I did for the other posts, I listed all the idioms here, each one with a literal and an actual meaning, and I have also prepared a downloadable pdf file which contains some examples as well. This means that, if you download the file, you’ll find the list here below plus some phrases in Italian and English to show you the use of such idioms in context.

You can find the file in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here. 

But let’s dive in and discover these Italian idioms that have something to do with numbers. 

Mangiare in bianco

Literal meaning: to eat in white
Actual meaning: to eat light, to eat plain food

Di punto in bianco

Literal meaning: at point in white
Actual meaning: all of a sudden, out of nowhere

Mettere nero su bianco

Literal meaning: to put black over white
Actual meaning: to write down things, to put on paper

Passare la notte in bianco

Literal meaning: to spend the night in white
Actual meaning: to have a sleepless night

Essere una mosca bianca

Literal meaning: to be a white fly
Actual meaning: to be the only one who is different

Firmare un assegno in bianco

Literal meaning: to sign a cheque in white
Actual meaning: to sign a cheque with no sum in it, a blank cheque

Settimana bianca

Literal meaning: white week
Actual meaning: a week you spend in the mountains, in winter, to ski or do winter sports

Vedere tutto nero

Literal meaning: to see all black
Actual meaning: to be very negative, very pessimistic

Essere la pecora nera della famiglia

Literal meaning: to be the black sheep of the family
Actual meaning: to be the one who behaves badly in the family

Essere incavolato nero

Literal meaning: to be black angry
Actual meaning: to be really angry

Essere d’umore nero

Literal meaning: to be in a black mood
Actual meaning: to be in a really bad mood

Lavorare in nero

Literal meaning: to work in black
Actual meaning: to work and be paid under the table, to work off the books

Cronaca nera

Literal meaning: black news
Actual meaning: crime news

Una giornata grigia

Literal meaning: a gray day
Actual meaning: a difficult day, a hard day

Essere al verde

Literal meaning: to be green
Actual meaning: to be broke, to have no money

Avere il pollice verde

Literal meaning: to have the green thumb
Actual meaning: to be very good with plants

Vedere i sorci verdi

Literal meaning: to see green mice
Actual meaning: to go through something very difficult

Essere verde dall’invidia

Literal meaning: to be green with envy
Actual meaning: to be really envious

Essere in rosso

Literal meaning: to be in red
Actual meaning: to be broke, to have no money (usually referred to a bank account)

Vedere rosso

Literal meaning: to see red
Actual meaning: to be very angry

Diventare rosso come un peperone

Literal meaning: to become red as a bell pepper
Actual meaning: to be embarrassed, to be ashamed

Essere rosso dalla vergogna

Literal meaning: to be red with shame
Actual meaning: to be ashamed, to be embarrassed

A luci rosse

Literal meaning: red light
Actual meaning: referred to things that have to do with porn

Vedere rosa

Literal meaning: to see pink
Actual meaning: to be very optimistic

Cronaca rosa

Literal meaning: pink news
Actual meaning: gossip news

Avere una paura blu

Literal meaning: to have a blue fear
Actual meaning: to be really scared

Avere il sangue blu

Literal meaning: to have blue blood
Actual meaning: to be of noble descent

Il principe azzurro

Literal meaning: light blue prince
Actual meaning: prince charming

Romanzi (o film) gialli

Literal meaning: yellow novels or movies
Actual meaning: crime novels or movies

Farne di tutti i colori

Literal meaning: to do things of every colour
Actual meaning: to behave badly

Now it’s your turn! Are there sayings in your language that have to do with colors? Let me know in the comments below!

As I told you at the beginning of this post, I have prepared a pdf file with all the words and phrases we learned together in this post. You can find it in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here.

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