Blue in French: all the colors and which ones never change

Blue in French is bleu, and bleue when the noun is feminine. This page gives that word and the other colors in French, then the part most lists skip: which colour words agree with the noun and which never change. For how adjectives agree in general and where they sit, read Good in French. For more everyday words, see Basic French words, and to keep the colours in memory, use French flashcards.

Sources for the rules: the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), Banque de dépannage linguistique, pages with no date shown.

What are the colors in French?

The colors in French, or French colors if you search that way, are the words below. Each is a masculine noun when it names the colour itself, as in le bleu. Used with a noun it is an adjective, and it usually follows the noun: une chemise verte [1].

Most colour adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun [1]. The forms below come from the OQLF list of colours that vary [3]. Rows with a dash never change.

Note the two browns. Brun agrees like any adjective, while marron does not [1][3]. The word for the thing itself is la couleur.

How do you say blue in French?

Blue is bleu for a masculine noun and bleue for a feminine one, with an s added in the plural: des serviettes bleues [1][3]. The Académie française also lists être bleu de colère, de peur for a face flushed with anger or fear, and the set phrase une peur bleue [4].

To name a shade, add a word after it. The OQLF gives bleu marine for navy, as in un camion bleu marine [2]. Light blue follows the pattern of the OQLF’s une robe vert clair [2], so bleu clair is built the same way. In all these, nothing takes an s or an e: des draps bleu marine.

How do you say yellow in French?

Yellow is jaune, the same for masculine and feminine, with an s in the plural [3]. A shade is built like the blue ones: the OQLF gives des dossiers jaune citron, which stays fixed [2].

The Académie française lists the set phrase rire jaune: to hide your embarrassment or annoyance behind a forced laugh [5].

How do you say red in French?

Red is rouge, the same in the masculine and the feminine, with an s in the plural [3]. The OQLF’s list gives rouge tomate for a tomato red: ses joues sont devenues rouge tomate [2]. As with every nuanced shade, both words stay fixed.

How do you say purple in French?

Purple is usually violet, and violette in the feminine. The Académie française entry reads “violet, -ette” and gives la couleur violette [7]. Two other words are on the OQLF list of colours that vary: mauve and pourpre, which have the same form in the masculine and the feminine [3].

Which French colors never change?

A colour that is really a noun does not change. The OQLF explains why: une balle orange means a ball of the colour of an orange, so the word stays singular and masculine [1]. Its examples are souliers marron, une boucle cerise and fleurs turquoise [1].

The OQLF list of fixed colours includes orange, marron, citron, cerise, turquoise, marine, kaki and lavande, among many others [3]. A loan colour such as kaki is fixed as well [1].

There is one exception to learn. The OQLF names seven words from nouns that still agree: écarlate, fauve, incarnat, mauve, pourpre, rose and vermeil [1]. That is why rose takes an s: ses lèvres roses [1].

How do two-word colours work in French?

When a colour has two or more words, every part stays fixed [2]. Two colours joined together usually take a hyphen: une cravate bleu-vert, des yeux gris-vert [2]. A colour plus a noun usually takes no hyphen: un camion bleu marine, une nappe gris perle, des peintures vert pomme [2]. A colour plus a word that nuances it also takes no hyphen: une robe vert clair [2].

The word couleur can build a colour too: des maillots couleur chair, with both words fixed [2].

What is the French for colour?

The French for colour is couleur. Ask “De quelle couleur est-ce ?” to find out a colour. The Académie française also shows couleur placed before a colour to describe a thing: une robe couleur bleu ciel [8].

Which French expressions use colours?

Three are worth knowing. They are set phrases, so learn each whole:

• Être bleu de colère, de peur. Flushed with anger or fear [4].
• Rire jaune. To laugh with embarrassment or annoyance hidden [5].
• Être vert de peur, de rage, de jalousie. To feel intense fear, rage or jealousy [6].

Try five questions on the rules above.

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Common mistakes

• Adding an s to orange or marron. They come from nouns and never change [1][3].
• Making rose fixed. Rose is one of the seven that agree: lèvres roses [1].
• Agreeing both words of a two-word colour. Say bleu marine and vert clair, with no change to either part [2].
• Hyphenating every compound. Colour plus colour usually takes a hyphen; colour plus noun usually does not [2].
• Putting the colour before the noun. The OQLF examples all put it after: une chemise verte [1].
• Relying on a colour list from a blog, including this one. The language office updates its pages. Compare the page’s own date with the date at the top of this one.

See also: body parts in French.

See also: clothes in French.

See also: animals in French.

Sources