Colors in French: Complete Guide with List, Examples & Grammar

Colors in French

Colors in French (les couleurs), as in all languages, are used to describe the colors of people, animals, and objects, for example, “The horse is brown,” “Antoinette is white.” They have names and grammar rules to be able to use them properly.

Colors are a visual perception generated in the human brain and other animals by interpreting nerve signals sent by the retina of the eye; they are a perception of a tone of light.

List of colors in French

Here is a complete guide to all the colors in French, primary, secondary, and tertiary.

French	English
Blanc/Blanche	White
Noir/Noire	Black
Rouge	Red
Jaune	Yellow
Bleu	Blue
Vert/Verte	Green
Orange	Orange
Brun	Brown
Violet/Violette	Purple
Lilas	Lilac
Rose	Pink
Fuchsia	Fuchsia
Gris/ Grise	Gray
Moutarde	Mustard
Terre cuite	Terracotta
Turquoise	Turquoise
Doré/Dorée	Golden
Argent	Silver
Saumon	Skin color / Salmon color (Normally referring to a light tone)
Beige	Beige
Ambre	Amber
Citron vert	Lime
Vert menthe	Mint green
Vert pomme	Apple green

Other related terms

Combinaison	Combination
Peinture	Painting
Peindre	Paint
Crayons de couleur	Colored pencils
Claire	Light
Foncé	Dark
Couleurs primaires	Primary Colors
Couleurs secondaires	Secondary Colors
Couleurs tertiaires	Tertiary Colors
Bleuâtre	Bluish
Grisâtre	Grayish

Grammar rules

Colors agree with gender and number with the noun they describe and follow an specific order in sentences.

Gender

The word “color” (couleur) is indeed feminine in French. When you talk about colors themselves, they are accompanied by the feminine articles “la” (the) and “une” (a, an) in French.

La couleur rouge. – The red color.
Une couleur jaune. – A yellow color.

Agreement in gender

In French, the general rule for agreement in gender is to add an -e to the end of the color when it is used to describe a feminine noun.

Le camion noir. – The black truck.
La voiture noire. – The black car. (Car is a feminine noun in French).

b. The olors that end in -e and the color brown (marron) do not change regardless of whether they are used to describe a masculine or feminine noun.

Une fleur orange. – An orange flower.
Un gateau orange. – An orange cake.
Le soleil jaune. – The sun is yellow.
La porte est jaune. – The door is yellow.
La table marron. – The bown table.

Agreement in number

The main rule for agreement in number with colors is to add an -s to the end of the color to make it plural. However, this rule only applies to certain cases and there are some exceptions.

For more information on this topic, it is recommended to read the lesson on plurals in French.

Un camion rouge. – A red truck.
Des camions rouges. – Some red trucks.

Word order

The word order for colors in a sentence is generally after the nouns they describe and after the verb “être“ (to be).

Verb “être” + color

Nouns + color

Mon chapeau est rose.- My hat is pink.
Sa robe est grise. – Her dress is gray.
Tes joues sont rouges.- Yourcheeks are red.
Le ciel est blue grisâtre. – The sky is graysh blue.
Noirest beige est une bonne combinaison. – Black and beige is a good combination.
La robe bleue. – The blue dress.
Le papier blanc. – The white paper.
Les chaussures noires.” (The black shoes.)

More examples or sentences with the colors in French

Les boites noires. – The black boxes.
Un peinture claire. – A light paint.
Ma chemise est grise. –My gray shirt.
La table est pourpre. – The table is purple.
Sa cuisine est bleu grisâtre. – His kitchen is grayish blue.
Vous préférez le bleu foncé ou clair? – Do you prefer light or dark blue?
Le bleu, le rouge et le blanc sont une bonne combinaison. – Blue, red and white are a good combination.

Exercises

Transtle the following simple sentencesfrom English to French.

The sky is blue.

The book is green.
The flower is yellow.
The car is pink.

A purple fruit.
The shirt is black.
The sun is brown.

The wall is white.
The door is green.
The silver pen

Answers.

Le ciel est bleu.
Le livre est vert.

La fleur est jaune.
La voiture est rose.
Un fruit violet.

La chemise est noire.
Le soleil est brun.
Le mur est blanc.

La porte est verte.
Le stylo argenté.