In this lesson, you will discover how to talk about and pronounce colors in French. Knowing colors will be useful if you have to describe someone or some place and also if you want to shop for clothes. After that, you will learn some typical French expressions with colors.
What are the basic colors in French ?
| masculine adjective | feminine adjective | |
| red | rouge | rouge |
| yellow | jaune | jaune |
| pink | rose | rose |
| orange | orange | orange |
| blue | bleu | bleue |
| green | vert | verte |
| grey | gris | grise |
| purple | violet | violette |
| brown | brun | brune |
| black | noir | noire |
| white | blanc | blanche |
Colors in French with pronunciation
rouge
jaune
rose
orange
bleu
vert
gris
violet
brun
noir
blanc
bleue
verte
grise
violette
brune
noire
blanche
Some extra colours and shades to go further
All colors except black and white can be qualified as foncé (dark) or clair (light).
Examples:
bleu foncé = dark blue
bleu clair = light blue
vert foncé = dark green
vert clair = light green
Here is the pronunciation of foncé and clair:
foncé
clair
Now you can also need to use some other colors such as:
bleu marine = navy blue
rose fushia = fushia pink
bordeaux = burgundy
mauve = pale purple
turquoise = turquoise
beige = beige
marron = chestnut brown
bleu marine
rose fushia
bordeaux
mauve
turquoise
beige
marron
How to use color adjectives in French
♥ Like other adjectives, color adjectives usually agree with nouns in gender and number. Thus, you’ll have to learn the masculine and feminine form of the adjectives.
Examples:
un chat blanc (a white cat) – une voiture blanche (a white car)
un chat noir (a black cat) – une voiture noire (a black car)
♥ Color adjectives that end with a silent -e remain the same in the feminine form. Other color adjectives have a feminine form. Thus, it’s important to learn both forms and how to pronounce them.
Examples:
un sac rouge (a red bag) – une robe rouge (a red dress)
un sac brun (a brown bag) – une robe brune (a brown dress)
♥ Color adjectives that are modified by another adjective or noun become invariable.
Examples:
un sac bleu marine (a navy blue bag) – des sacs bleu marine (navy blue bags)
une voiture vert foncé (a dark green car) – des voitures vert foncé (dark green cars)
des yeux bleu-vert (blue-green eyes)
♥ Color adjectives derived from nouns such as animals, flowers, and fruits (like orange, marron or turquoise) are invariable except rose (pink) and mauve (pale purple).
Example:
des chaussures orange (orange shoes)
But:
des chaussures roses (pink shoes)
♥ Colors in French are not always used as adjectives. They can also be used as nouns. In this case, they are considered as masculine words. To talk about the color itself, you will say : le rouge, le rose, le jaune, le bleu…
Example:
Ma couleur préférée est le bleu. (My favorite color is blue.)
However, if you’re talking about the color of an item, the color noun will take the gender of the article.
Example:
You are in a clothes shop and you’re hesitating between 2 dresses.
J’aime bien la robe bleue, mais je préfère la rouge. (I like the blue dress, but I prefer the red one.)
Typical French expressions with colors
Expressions with noir:
noir comme l’ébène = jet-black
Il fait nuit noire = It’s pitch-black
une rue noire de monde = a street swarming with people
avoir peur du noir = to be afraid of the dark
acheter au noir = to buy on the black market
travailler au noir = to work on the moonlight
le travail au noir = moonlighting
avoir un œil au beurre noir = to have a black eye
un roman noir = a crime novel/a detective novel
Expressions with blanc:
être blanc de peur = to be white with fear
être blanc comme neige = (literally to be as white as snow) to be innocent
être blanc comme un cachet d’aspirine = (literally to be as white as an aspirin) to be as white as a sheet
être blanc comme un linge = to be as white as a sheet
laisser un blanc = to leave a blank
du vin blanc = white wine
un blanc d’œuf = an egg white
Blanche-Neige = Snow White
un examen blanc = a practice test
une nuit blanche = a sleepless night
avoir carte blanche = to have permission to do whatever you want or need
Be careful with this last one: la blanche can sometimes (in slang) refer to hard drugs that are white.
Expressions with jaune:
avoir le teint jaune = to look yellow
jaune citron = lemon yellow
jaune d’or = golden yellow
un jaune d’œuf = an egg yolk
un gilet jaune = a reflective vest, a yellow vest (some French people wear reflective vests for political reasons when they demonstrate)
être le maillot jaune = to wear the yellow jersey, to be the leader of the Tour (de France)
Expressions with rouge:
être rouge de colère = to be red with anger
être rouge comme une tomate = (literally to be as red as a tomato) to be as red as a lobster
passer au rouge = to jump the lights
être sur liste rouge = to have an unlisted phone number
voter rouge = to vote Communist
le tapis rouge = the red carpet
un poisson rouge = a goldfish
du vin rouge = red wine
un rouge à lèvres = a lipstick
Expressions with bleu:
être bleu de colère = to be purple with rage
avoir un bleu = to have a bruise
un steak bleu = an underdone steak (bleu can be used for meat cooked very rare)
être un bleu (informal) = to be a rookie or a new recruit, a beginner
avoir une peur bleue de = to be deathly afraid of
les Bleus = the French national soccer team, handball team, etc.
Allez les Bleus ! = Come on French team ! Go French team !
Expressions with vert:
être vert de peur = to be green with fear
donner le feu vert à quelque chose/à quelqu’un = to give something/somebody the go-ahead
passer au vert = to go through on the green light
un numéro vert = a toll-free number
un billet vert = an American dollar
être au régime vert = to be on a green-vegetable diet
se mettre au vert = to take a rest in the country
les Verts = the Green Party
Expressions with orange:
une orange = an orange
apporter des oranges à quelqu’un = (literally to bring oranges to someone) to come and visit someone in prison
le feu est à l’orange = the lights are at amber
Expressions with rose:
une rose = a rose
une rose des vents = a compass card
voir la vie en rose = to see everything through rose-tinted glasses
rose bonbon = candy-pink
un flamant rose = a (pink) flamingo
Some more French basics:
