But English has words for shades of blue as well: azure, navy, teal.
I guess the difference is what is considered a shade and what is considered a separate color?
In my native Polish we have siny (same root as the Russian word, but it's a rarely used word), niebieski (general word for blue), granatowy (navy blue - sometimes considered a separate color).
If you asked me to describe a light blue car I would more likely say "niebieski" than "siny". But if it was a dark blue car I would likely call it "granatowy", not "niebieski".
I guess the difference is what is considered a shade and what is considered a separate color?
In my native Polish we have siny (same root as the Russian word, but it's a rarely used word), niebieski (general word for blue), granatowy (navy blue - sometimes considered a separate color).
If you asked me to describe a light blue car I would more likely say "niebieski" than "siny". But if it was a dark blue car I would likely call it "granatowy", not "niebieski".