Laranja vs. cor-de-laranja vs. alaranjado
In Portuguese, expressing the color orange can be done in three main ways: laranja, cor-de-laranja, and alaranjado. While they are often interchangeable regarding the actual hue, the main differences lie in grammatical agreement (how they change with plural nouns) and part of speech (noun acting as adjective vs. true adjective).
Laranja
A1This is the most common word, referring directly to the fruit. When used as a color adjective, it refers to the standard, solid orange color. In standard grammar, it usually remains invariant (does not add an s) when describing plural nouns, because it effectively stands for da cor da laranja (of the color of the orange).
Ela comprou uma saia laranja para a festa.
(She bought an orange skirt for the party.)
Os carros laranja chamam muita atenção na rua.
(Orange cars attract a lot of attention on the street.)
O pôr do sol deixou as nuvens com um tom laranja.
(The sunset left the clouds with an orange tone.)
Precisamos pintar estas paredes de laranja.
(We need to paint these walls orange.)
Cor-de-laranja
A2Literally translating to color-of-orange, this is a compound term used to be specific about the hue. Grammatically, it is always invariant; it never changes gender or number, regardless of what it describes.
As abóboras são tipicamente cor-de-laranja.
(Pumpkins are typically orange.)
Ele adora o seu novo boné cor-de-laranja.
(He loves his new orange cap.)
Os peixes cor-de-laranja nadavam no lago.
(The orange fish were swimming in the lake.)
Eu escolhi os cadernos cor-de-laranja para a escola.
(I chose the orange notebooks for school.)
Alaranjado
B1This is a true adjective derived from the noun. It translates closer to orangey, orange-colored, or orange-tinted. Unlike the previous two, alaranjado must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun it modifies.
O céu ficou alaranjado antes de escurecer.
(The sky turned orange before getting dark.)
Ela tem sardas e cabelo alaranjado.
(She has freckles and orange hair.)
As folhas alaranjadas cobriam o chão do parque.
(The orange leaves covered the park ground.)
Bebemos um líquido alaranjado que sabia a cenoura.
(We drank an orange liquid that tasted like carrots.)
Summary
Use laranja for the standard color (usually invariant in plural). Use cor-de-laranja as a specific compound term (always invariant). Use alaranjado as a descriptive adjective implying orange-hued or orange-tinted (always changes to match the gender and number of the noun).