The Colors in Portuguese
Lessons from a Colorblind

The Colors in Portuguese (or English) is the first subject I look up in any language book. It also represents one of the most difficult lessons for me to teach. My reason is quite simple: I’m colorblind.

Language teachers will quickly recognize what I mean: there is always a specific lesson at the student’s book which you don’t like teaching at all. Some don't feel confortable with the Zodiacs, others with the 'Directions', and so on.

My struggle with colors comes from an early age, when I found it difficult to play soccer at night, as I couldn't differentiate the player's uniform!

I still recall my first attempt to get my driver's license. At that time, the tester used to a pull a lever in a traffic light, while the candidate had to tell the color shown.

Obviously, my first attempt was a complete failure. I even said ‘blue’ and ‘white’, forgetting there were just 3 colors at the traffic lights;)

Well, I won’t get into details here. Suffice it to say that in my third attempt - 10 years later - I finally got the right to drive!

Time to check the colors. If you find any mistake on this page, I'd really appreciate your help.

By the way, in case you still don't have your driver's license, I hope you get it much faster than I did :-)