The idiomaticity of the colors in words and expressions of Portuguese language in Brazil leads us to investigate the process of understanding the nonliteral meaning of a corpus, as for in each example there is a denominative term for a color. In this study we attempt to describe and analyze this corpus according to its lexical, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and cultural conduct, in realistic situations of communication, focusing on the teaching of Portuguese as a Second Language (PL2) and/or Portuguese for Foreigners (PLE). The analysis demonstrates that color is, before anything else, a cultural phenomenon, and its perception is linked to man s sensitivity when fronting the reality surrounding him. Whithin the context of the communication the Brazilian frequently reveals his emotions, as when calling someone neguinho, a term of endearment for the word black; or when showing someone respect and deference, extending o tapete vermelho (the red carpet); or resorting to hyperbole in the classification of a soccer team fan botafoguense roxo (purple). Thus, language invades chromatic terms in new lexical combinations to say more than simply the blackness of night, the redness of blood, or the purple of the violets. The student of PL2/PLE perceives that it is not possible to understand the significance of these new combinations utilizing only the literal sense of the words forming their composition. The knowledge of linguistic phenomena such as their idiomaticity and compositiveness here analyzed, will afford the teacher of PL2/PLE the chance to increase the variety of exercises and strategies in the classroom, with the objective of helping students understand the meaning of the given examples and adapt their use to real communication contexts.