"Her locks were yellow as gold..." - Hair colors

You may have noticed that in English we sometimes have special words for hair color. We say someone is blonde, or brunette, not that they have yellow or brownish hair. Or we might say someone has blond hair, or is a redhead.

In the Romance languages the words for hair colors and ordinary colors may also differ. Likewise, the best phrase for specifying hair color may vary. In this lesson, we're going to learn the major hair colors in conjunction with phrases to use with them. There may be other ways to specify different hair colors. I have stuck to the construction "to have ____ hair," as it will simultaneously remind you how to say "to have" and minimize problems with agreement. At the end, there is a short usage guide.

Blond I am blond. Sp. Tengo el pelo rubio. Fr. J'ai les cheveux blonds. It. Ho i capelli biondi.	Black-haired I have black hair. Sp. Tengo el pelo negro. Fr. J'ai les cheveux noirs. It. Ho i capelli neri.
Brunette (Chestnut) You are brunette. Sp. (Usted) tiene el pelo castaño. Fr. Vous avez les cheveux châtains. It. (Lei) ha i capelli castani.	Red-haired He is a red-head. Sp. (Él) tiene el pelo rojo. Fr. Il a les cheveux roux. It. (Lui) ha i cappelli rossi.
Gray-headed She has gray hair. Sp. (Ella) tiene el pelo gris. Fr. Elle a les cheveux gris. It. (Lei) ha i capelli grigi.	White-haired They have white hair. Sp. Tienen el pelo blanco. Fr. Ils/Elles ont les cheveux blancs. It. Hanno i capelli bianchi.

Note that the main body of each sentence is in regular type. The hair colors are in italics. These pieces can be mixed to form new sentences. For example, imagine you wished to say "I have gray hair" in Spanish. Take the "Tengo" from the first two sentences, then add the "el pelo gris" from the sentence for "She has gray hair." You get:

Tengo el pelo gris.

The same procedure for French and Italian would give "J'ai les cheveux gris" and "Ho i capelli grigi." Pretty easy, huh?