2026-10-30 · Bhol Team

Marathi Transliteration Guide: Basic Colors

For basic colors in Marathi transliteration, use the entries for red, blue, and yellow. The blue entry is specifically documented as dark blue or indigo in the cited dictionary. When describing a kite, choose a complete sentence rather than combining a standalone color word with English.

Start with these expressions

Know whether you need a color word or a full sentence

Use the first three entries when you are identifying a color by itself: red, blue, or yellow. The supporting dictionary passages document red [1], blue with a specifically dark-blue or indigo sense [2], and yellow [3]. That means the blue entry should not automatically be treated as proof for every possible blue shade or context.

The remaining entries do a different job: they describe a kite as being red, blue, or yellow. Choose one of those complete sentence entries when you are pointing out the kite itself. This prevents a common learner mistake: memorising a color word and then assuming it is already a complete description. For a quick check, ask yourself whether your meaning is simply “Which color?” or “This kite is which color?” The first calls for a standalone entry; the second calls for a sentence entry.

[1] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.

[2] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.

[3] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.

Try it

You are pointing to a kite and want to say that it is red. Which entry should you choose?

Choose your answer before reading on.

Check your answer:

Use expression 4 in the table above.

Choose the complete sentence entry because your meaning includes both the object and its color. The standalone red entry names the color alone; it does not by itself identify the kite.

Cover the English meanings and test yourself: first identify each standalone color, then select the matching full kite sentence.

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