German · A1 · Everyday language
School Bag Colours in German
Practise naming cheerful colours while unpacking your child's school bag. In German, a colour adjective used after ist (is) stays unchanged.
What you'll learn
- Name the colours of eight school items.
- Use ist with a colour to describe an item.
- Choose dein or deine when saying your to one child.
German phrases for school bag colours
Deine Schultasche ist blau.
Your bag is blue.
Schultasche means school bag. Use deine because die Schultasche is feminine.
Dein Bleistift ist gelb.
Your pencil is yellow.
Use dein because der Bleistift is masculine.
Deine Mappe ist grün.
Your folder is green.
Use deine because die Mappe is feminine. Keep the two dots in grün.
Dein Lineal ist rot.
Your ruler is red.
Use dein because das Lineal is neuter.
Dein Radiergummi ist weiß.
Your rubber is white.
Radiergummi means rubber or eraser. The ß in weiß represents an s sound.
Dein Kugelschreiber ist schwarz.
Your pen is black.
Kugelschreiber means ballpoint pen. Kuli is a common everyday short form.
Deine Brotdose ist orange.
Your lunchbox is orange.
Brotdose is a common word for a child's lunchbox. Use deine with this feminine noun.
Dein Heft ist lila.
Your notebook is purple.
Heft means a school notebook or exercise book. Lila is a common word for purple.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
die Schultasche
school bag
Feminine noun. German nouns always begin with a capital letter.
der Bleistift
pencil
Masculine noun.
die Mappe
folder
Feminine noun; a folder for keeping loose papers.
das Lineal
ruler
Neuter noun.
der Radiergummi
rubber; eraser
Commonly masculine; das Radiergummi is also used.
der Kugelschreiber
ballpoint pen
Masculine noun. The short form der Kuli is masculine too.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
Feminine noun.
das Heft
notebook; exercise book
Neuter noun; usually a thin notebook used for schoolwork.
Colour adjectives after ist
To say what colour something is, use the pattern item + ist + colour. The adjective comes after the verb, not directly after the noun. In this pattern, the colour has no extra ending, whatever the noun's gender.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine noun | Dein + noun + ist + colour. | Dein Bleistift ist gelb. |
| Feminine noun | Deine + noun + ist + colour. | Deine Mappe ist grün. |
| Neuter noun | Dein + noun + ist + colour. | Dein Lineal ist rot. |
Saying your: dein or deine
Use dein and deine when speaking to one child. In these sentences, the form depends on the grammatical gender of the item, not the child's gender.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With der or das nouns | dein | der Bleistift → dein Bleistift; das Heft → dein Heft |
| With die nouns in the singular | deine | die Schultasche → deine Schultasche |
More examples
Deine Mappe ist blau.
Your folder is blue.
Swap the colour to match the folder you see.
Dein Heft ist grün.
Your notebook is green.
Grün stays unchanged after ist, even with a different noun.