# Colors in French — Names, Pronunciation and How They Agree

> Red is **rouge** (ROOZH), blue is **bleu** (BLUH), green is **vert** (VEHR), yellow is
> **jaune** (ZHOHN), black is **noir** (NWAHR). Two things English speakers don't expect:
> the color goes **after** the noun, and most colors change their ending to match it.

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Updated: 2026-08-27

## Every color at a glance

The first column is the form you use with a masculine word; the last is what happens when the
word is feminine. Several of these look different on paper and sound identical out loud.
(British English spells it *colours* — the French words are the same either way.)

| French | Pronunciation | English | Feminine form |
|---|---|---|---|
| rouge | ROOZH | red | rouge — no change |
| bleu | BLUH | blue | bleue — sounds the same |
| vert | VEHR | green | verte (vehrt) |
| jaune | ZHOHN | yellow | jaune — no change |
| orange | oh-RAHNZH | orange | orange — never changes |
| violet | vee-oh-LAY | purple | violette (vee-oh-LET) |
| rose | ROHZ | pink | rose — no change |
| noir | NWAHR | black | noire — sounds the same |
| blanc | BLAHN | white | blanche (BLAHNSH) |
| gris | GREE | grey / gray | grise (GREEZ) |
| marron | mah-ROHN | brown | marron — never changes |
| beige | BEHZH | beige | beige — no change |
| doré | doh-RAY | golden, gold | dorée — sounds the same |
| argenté | ar-zhahn-TAY | silver | argentée — sounds the same |

## Colors follow the noun

English stacks the color in front: *a red car*. French does the reverse, every time.

- *une voiture rouge* — a red car, literally "a car red"
- *un chat noir* — a black cat
- *une maison blanche* — a white house
- *des yeux verts* — green eyes

Most French adjectives sit after their noun; only a small common group (*grand*, *petit*,
*beau*, *vieux*) goes in front. No color ever does.

## Agreement, gently

A color is an adjective, so it copies the gender and number of its noun:

- *un pull vert* — a green jumper (masculine)
- *une veste verte* — a green jacket (feminine, add **-e**)
- *des pulls verts* — green jumpers (add **-s**)
- *des chaussures vertes* — green shoes (feminine plural, add **-es**)

Two shortcuts shrink this:

- A color already ending in **-e** has nothing to add for the feminine — *rouge*, *jaune*,
  *rose*, *beige*: *un vélo rouge*, *une porte rouge*. They still take **-s** in the plural
  (*des portes rouges*).
- Your ear does most of the work. *Bleu*/*bleue* and *noir*/*noire* sound identical. The ones
  you can hear wake up a silent consonant: *vert* → *verte*, *gris* → *grise*,
  *blanc* → *blanche*.

And two colors refuse to move at all. **Orange** and **marron** began as nouns — the fruit and
the chestnut — and a noun borrowed as an adjective keeps its own shape: *un pull orange*,
*des pulls orange*, *une écharpe marron*, *des chaussures marron*. Never an **-e**, never an
**-s**.

## Light, dark, and in between

Add *clair* (light) or *foncé* (dark) after the color: *bleu clair* (bluh KLEHR) is light blue,
*bleu foncé* (bluh fohn-SAY) is dark blue, and the pattern travels — *vert clair*,
*gris foncé*, *rose clair*.

Note: as soon as a color needs two words, the whole thing freezes — no **-e**, no **-s**,
whatever the noun is doing. *Des yeux bleu clair* (light blue eyes), not *bleus clairs*;
*une robe bleu foncé* for a dark blue dress.

## Brown: marron or brun?

- **marron** — the everyday brown for *things*: *un sac marron*, *des chaussures marron*,
  *une porte marron*. Invariable.
- **brun** (BRUHN) — mostly hair and colouring: *les cheveux bruns*, *un homme brun*,
  *une femme brune*; *une brune* on its own is a brunette. It agrees normally.

Rule of thumb: if you can put it in a shopping bag, it is *marron*. If it grows on someone's
head, it is *brun*.

## FAQ

**What are the basic colors in French?**
Rouge (red), bleu (blue), vert (green), jaune (yellow), orange, violet (purple), rose (pink),
noir (black), blanc (white), gris (grey) and marron (brown).

**Do colors go before or after the noun in French?**
After — *une voiture rouge*, *un chat noir*. The opposite of English word order.

**Which French colors never change form?**
Orange and marron, plus two-word colors like bleu clair and bleu foncé. Colors ending in -e
(rouge, jaune, rose, beige) are the same masculine or feminine but still add -s in the plural.

**What is the difference between marron and brun?**
Marron is brown for objects; brun is used mostly for hair and colouring (*les cheveux bruns*).

**How do you say light blue and dark blue?**
Bleu clair (bluh KLEHR) and bleu foncé (bluh fohn-SAY). Two-word colors never change form.

## Related guides

- Days of the week in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/days-of-the-week-in-french
- Months in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/months-in-french
- French possessive adjectives: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-possessive-adjectives
- All guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides