ColorsLearning French colors is not difficult, since many of the French words for colors are identical to or similar to the English words, having evolved from the same root word form.

Grammar Rules with French Colors

Colors in French are adjectives that go after the noun they are modifying.

Une robe dorée (“A golden robe”)

Les yeux bleu aciers (“Steel blue eyes”)

Remember that when colors are used as adjectives, they need to agree with the gender and number of the noun they are modifying. Notice that the first example above has an extra e on the end, because une robe is feminine, and the second example above has an s on the end since les yeux is plural.

Modifying the Color

  • Dark: foncé (for example: vert foncé means “dark green”)
  • Light: clair (for example: bleu clair means “light blue”)
  • Colors that are halfway between two major colors, such as “red-orange” or “yellow-green” are described in the same way in French (rouge – orange or jaune – vert) and are not listed out separately in the colors list below.
English/French Color Vocabulary List
whiteblanc
silverargent
beigebeige
pinkrose
redrouge
orangeorange
yellowjaune
greenvert
turquoise (blue green)turquoise
cyancyan
bluebleu
purpleviolet
mauvemauve
graygris
blacknoir
golddoré
brownmarron
navy bluebleu marine
fuchsiafuchsia
maroonbordeaux
olive greenvert olive
chartreusevert chartreuse
hot pinkrose fluo
tanfauve
lime greenvert citron
sky bluebleu ciel
lavenderbleu lavande
slate graygris ardoise
ivoryivoire
off-whiteblanc cassé
chocolate brownmarron chocolat
salmon pinkrose saumon
indigo bluebleu indigo
khakikaki
mint greenmenthe a l’eau
steel bluebleu acier