Colors In French: Ultimate Guide + Grammar Tips

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When learning the basics of a language, one of the first things to learn, apart from the expressions, are the colors. The colors are often a useful introduction to a certain language’s grammar rules, and French is no exception.

However, with the different pronunciation, spelling, and rules for using these words, learning the colors in French seems a bit daunting. 

Colors In French: Ultimate Guide + Grammar Tips

Learning les couleurs (the colors) in French isn’t that difficult, however. Knowing French words for colors is a fun way to expand your French vocabulary. This also makes a few simple grammar concepts easier to understand.

But first, a few things to remember before learning French colors. There are some color grammar rules and how to correctly apply them in your speech or writing.

1. The terms for colors appear after nouns in French. So, if you were to say “white socks” in French, you should say “socks white.”
2. In French, there are only two terms to learn if you want to describe the hue of a specific color: clair and foncé. That’s light and dark in French, respectively. These are color modifiers that you can use with a color name to identify a hue.

For example, bleu clair or jaune clair for light blue, light yellow, and vert foncé or rose foncé for dark green and dark pink

3. All words for colors are adjectives.  The general rule is that these (color) adjectives should agree in terms of gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the nouns and pronouns they modify. That’s a more advanced French grammar lesson, though. For now, let’s get to know the French word for the basic colors and more. 

Primary Colors in French

Primary colors are the most basic hues that can be combined to create a variety of other hues. Red, yellow, and blue is considered to be the colors in this category. 

• Blue – Bleu [bluh]

Masculine: bleu (singular) bleus (plural)

Feminine: bleus (singular) (plural)

• Red – Rouge  [roozh]

Masculine: rouge (singular) rouges  (plural)

Féminine: rouge (singular) rouges (plural)

• Yellow – Jaune  [zhon]

Masculine: jaune (singular) jsunes (plural)

Feminine: jaune (singular) jsunes (plural)

Secondary Colors in French

Colors created by combining two primary colors are known as secondary colors. Orange, purple, and green are the colors in this category. They’re made by combining two primary colors in equal quantities.

Orange is made up of red and yellow, green is made up of blue and yellow, and purple is made up of red and blue.

• Green – Vert  [vehr]

Masculine: vert (singular) verts  (plural)

Feminine: verte (singular) vertes (plural)

• Orange – Orange [oh-rahNzh]

Masculine: orange (singular) orange (plural)

Feminine: orange (singular) orange (plural)

• Purple – Violet [vjɔ.lɛ]

Masculine: violet (singular) violets (plural)

Feminine: violette (singular) violettes (plural)

Neutral Colors in French

Colors that tend to be colorless and don’t appear on the color wheel are referred to as neutral colors. Neutral colors complement rather than contrast with primary and secondary colors.

• Black – Noir  [nwahr]g

Masculine:  noir (singular) noirs  (plural) 

Féminine: noire (singular) noires  (plural)

• Brown – Marron

Masculine: marron (singular) marron (plural)

Feminine: marron (singular) marron (plural)

• Gray – Gris [gree]

Masculine: gris (singular) gris  (plural)

Feminine: grise (singular) grises  (plural)

• White – Blanc [blahN]

Masculine: blanc (singular) blancs (plural)

Féminine: Blanche (singular) blanches (plural)

Other Colors in French

Pink – Rose [roz]

Masculine: rose (singular) roses (plural)

Feminine: rose (singular) roses  (plural)

Gold – Or

Masculine: doré

Feminine: dorée

Silver – Argent

Masculine: argenté 

Feminine: argentée

Brick-red – brique

Cherry red – cerise

Chocolate-brown – chocolat

Coral – corail

Cream – crême

Copper – cuivre

Ebony – ébène

Emerald green – emeraude

Ivory – ivoire

Lavender – lavande

Mauve – mauve

Navy – marine

Reddish Purple – Pourpre

Scarlet – écarlate

Strawberry – fraise

Slategrey – ardoise

Colors also play a significant role in France’s history and culture – from its flag, a national symbol to how people express certain thoughts through their beautiful language.

For language students or those simply interested in anything French, here are a few colorful details:

The French Flag Colors

Three equal-width vertical stripes make up the French flag. The colors blue, white, and red are used from the flagstaff to the end. The flag of France is a powerful emblem of the country’s core values. The country’s aristocratic and revolutionary history is profoundly embedded in the symbolism of the flag’s colors.

White – alludes to the traditional color of The House of Bourbon, which is white. The House of Bourbon led France from the late 16th century until the French Revolution. White also represents the King on the flag.

Red and Blue – The city of Paris is represented by the red and blue in the flag. Red and blue were the colors of revolutionary fighters in Paris. During the storming of the Bastille in 1789, revolutionaries wore blue and red ribbons on their hats.

Colors in French: Idioms

Like other cultures, the French have a distinct way of expressing certain feelings and situations. If they loved using food and furry creatures as endearments, they use color to emphasize a certain occurrence.

Here are some French idioms that feature colors to add to your vocabulary. 

• blanc bonnet et bonnet blanc (white hat and hat white) –  it’s the same thing; same difference
• être blanc come un linge  – translates to “to be as white as a ghost”, or as a sheet (of paper)
• passer une nuit blanche – to spend the rest of the night awake.
• donner carte blanche à quelqu’un – to give someone complete freedom to act as he wishes or thinks best.
• être un cordon bleu – means “you must be a great cook”.
• être fleur bleu (literally: be blues flower)– to be nostalgic or sentimental.
• avoir une peur bleue –to be so terrified that one cannot move.
• être la bete noire (be the black beast) – to be unlikeable.
• avoir des idées noires (to have dark thoughts) – to be unhappy.
  
• voir la vie en rose (to see life in pink) – to be optimistic.
• donner le feu vert (to give the green light) –  to give the go signal to someone to proceed with something.
• se mettre au vert (we’re going on a retreat) – to go on a short trip to the countryside to rest.

Want to learn more French phrases? Check out our language guides below:

• Gender In French
• Body Parts in French
• Dates In French
• Numbers In French
• Family In French Vocabulary
• Beautiful In French
• C’est La Vie – Meaning And How To Use It