FlexiLingoIn one line
Colours are adjectives and they agree — except the ones that were originally nouns:
orange,marron, and every compound colour.
Nouns and adjectives — colour
| Masculine | Feminine | Masc. plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
blanc /blɑ̃/ | blanche /blɑ̃ʃ/ | blancs /blɑ̃/ | white |
noir /nwaʁ/ | noire /nwaʁ/ | noirs /nwaʁ/ | black |
rouge /ʁuʒ/ | rouge /ʁuʒ/ | rouges /ʁuʒ/ | red |
bleu /blø/ | bleue /blø/ | bleus /blø/ | blue |
vert /vɛʁ/ | verte /vɛʁt/ | verts /vɛʁ/ | green |
jaune /ʒon/ | jaune /ʒon/ | jaunes /ʒon/ | yellow |
gris /ɡʁi/ | grise /ɡʁiz/ | gris /ɡʁi/ | grey |
rose /ʁoz/ | rose /ʁoz/ | roses /ʁoz/ | pink |
violet /vjo.lɛ/ | violette /vjo.lɛt/ | violets /vjo.lɛ/ | purple |
beige /bɛʒ/ | beige /bɛʒ/ | beiges /bɛʒ/ | beige |
orange /o.ʁɑ̃ʒ/ | orange /o.ʁɑ̃ʒ/ | orange /o.ʁɑ̃ʒ/ | orange — invariable |
marron /ma.ʁɔ̃/ | marron /ma.ʁɔ̃/ | marron /ma.ʁɔ̃/ | brown — invariable |
brun /bʁœ̃/ | brune /bʁyn/ | bruns /bʁœ̃/ | brown |
doré /do.ʁe/ | dorée /do.ʁe/ | dorés /do.ʁe/ | gold |
argenté /aʁ.ʒɑ̃.te/ | argentée /aʁ.ʒɑ̃.te/ | argentés /aʁ.ʒɑ̃.te/ | silver |
orangeandmarronwere originally the names of fruit — the orange and the chestnut. Nouns used as adjectives do not agree.
Compound colours — never agree
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
des yeux bleu clair | light blue | /de.z‿jø blø klɛʁ/ |
une robe vert foncé | dark green | /yn ʁɔb vɛʁ fɔ̃.se/ |
des chaussures bleu marine | navy blue | /de ʃo.syʁ blø ma.ʁin/ |
une voiture rouge vif | bright red | /yn vwa.tyʁ ʁuʒ vif/ |
Once a colour is two words, the whole phrase stays fixed.
une robe vertebutune robe vert foncé.English never agrees anything, so the whole agreement question is new — but the exceptions are the part to memorise, since the general rule is just "treat it like any adjective".
Nouns — shape
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la forme | /fɔʁm/ | shape |
le carré | /ka.ʁe/ | square |
le rectangle | /ʁɛk.tɑ̃ɡl/ | rectangle |
le cercle | /sɛʁkl/ | circle |
le rond | /ʁɔ̃/ | round shape |
le triangle | /tʁi.jɑ̃ɡl/ | triangle |
la ligne | /liɲ/ | line |
le point | /pwɛ̃/ | dot, point |
la taille | /taj/ | size |
la hauteur | /o.tœʁ/ | height |
la largeur | /laʁ.ʒœʁ/ | width |
la longueur | /lɔ̃.ɡœʁ/ | length |
la profondeur | /pʁɔ.fɔ̃.dœʁ/ | depth |
Adjectives — shape and size
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
rond /ʁɔ̃/ | ronde /ʁɔ̃d/ | round |
carré /ka.ʁe/ | carrée /ka.ʁe/ | square |
rectangulaire /ʁɛk.tɑ̃.ɡy.lɛʁ/ | rectangulaire /ʁɛk.tɑ̃.ɡy.lɛʁ/ | rectangular |
triangulaire /tʁi.ɑ̃.ɡy.lɛʁ/ | triangulaire /tʁi.ɑ̃.ɡy.lɛʁ/ | triangular |
plat /pla/ | plate /plat/ | flat |
pointu /pwɛ̃.ty/ | pointue /pwɛ̃.ty/ | pointed |
épais /e.pɛ/ | épaisse /e.pɛs/ | thick |
fin /fɛ̃/ | fine /fin/ | thin |
droit /dʁwa/ | droite /dʁwat/ | straight |
courbe /kuʁb/ | courbe /kuʁb/ | curved |
grand /ɡʁɑ̃/ | grande /ɡʁɑ̃d/ | big |
petit /pə.ti/ | petite /pə.tit/ | small |
large /laʁʒ/ | large /laʁʒ/ | wide |
étroit /e.tʁwa/ | étroite /e.tʁwat/ | narrow |
haut /o/ | haute /ot/ | tall, high |
bas /ba/ | basse /bas/ | low |
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
être de couleur | /ɛtʁ də ku.lœʁ/ | to be … in colour |
mesurer | /mə.zy.ʁe/ | to measure |
peindre | /pɛ̃dʁ/ | to paint |
colorer | /kɔ.lɔ.ʁe/ | to colour |
dessiner | /de.si.ne/ | to draw |
ressembler à | /ʁə.sɑ̃.ble a/ | to look like |
avoir la forme de | /a.vwaʁ la fɔʁm də/ | to be shaped like |
Set phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
De quelle couleur… ? | /də kɛl ku.lœʁ/ | what colour…? |
C'est de quelle couleur ? | /sɛ də kɛl ku.lœʁ/ | what colour is it? |
en noir et blanc | /ɑ̃ nwaʁ e blɑ̃/ | in black and white |
Ça mesure deux mètres. | /sa mə.zyʁ dø mɛtʁ/ | it's two metres |
avoir les yeux bleus | /a.vwaʁ le.z‿jø blø/ | to have blue eyes |
avoir les cheveux bruns | /a.vwaʁ le ʃə.vø bʁœ̃/ | to have brown hair |
voir la vie en rose | /vwaʁ la vi ɑ̃ ʁoz/ | to see life through rose-tinted glasses |
être vert de jalousie | /ɛtʁ vɛʁ də ʒa.lu.zi/ | to be green with envy |
avoir une peur bleue | /a.vwaʁ yn pœʁ blø/ | to be terrified |
donner le feu vert | /dɔ.ne lə fø vɛʁ/ | to give the green light |
Two of those idioms match English exactly — "green with envy", "give the green light" — and one does not: French fear is blue, not any English colour.
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
orange and marron are invariable | des chaussures marron, not marrons. |
| A two-word colour is invariable | des yeux bleu clair, not bleus clairs. |
| The colour goes after the noun | une voiture rouge, not une rouge voitureplace-adjectif. |
brun for hair, marron for eyes and objects | des cheveux bruns but des yeux marron. |
The colour question starts with de | De quelle couleur est ta voiture ? — not Quelle couleur est… |
la taille means both size and height | Quelle est sa taille ? can be either. |
Why orange does not agree
a rule that goes beyond colours
The general rule: a noun used as an adjective does not agree.
orange is a fruit first. When you say une robe orange, you are really saying "a dress the colour of an orange" — and orange is still a noun, so it does not change.
The same applies to every colour derived from a noun:
| Colour | From | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
orange | orange | /o.ʁɑ̃ʒ/ |
marron | chestnut | /ma.ʁɔ̃/ |
cerise | cherry | /sə.ʁiz/ |
citron | lemon | /si.tʁɔ̃/ |
crème | cream | /kʁɛm/ |
chocolat | chocolate | /ʃo.ko.la/ |
turquoise | turquoise | /tyʁ.kwaz/ |
olive | olive | /o.liv/ |
saumon | salmon | /so.mɔ̃/ |
And a few that do agree despite coming from nouns — because they are old enough that nobody thinks of them as nouns any more:
rose /ʁoz/ | des robes roses /de ʁɔb ʁoz/ — from the flower |
mauve /mov/ | des fleurs mauves /de flœʁ mov/ |
pourpre /puʁpʁ/ | des rideaux pourpres /de ʁi.do puʁpʁ/ |
écarlate /e.kaʁ.lat/ | des robes écarlates /de ʁɔb e.kaʁ.lat/ |
English builds its colour names from exactly the same nouns — orange, chestnut, cherry, cream, salmon, turquoise, olive. So the vocabulary is nearly free. What is new is only that French then has to decide whether such a word agrees, and English never has to.
The practical rule: if a colour is also the name of a thing, do not make it agree — apart from rose and mauve, which have become exceptions.
And the same logic covers compound colours: bleu clair is really "a light blue" — a phrase, not a single adjective. Phrases do not agree.