Those of us with 'normal' vision accept our colorful world as a matter of course. Who cares if Mark Zuckerberg chose a particular shade of blue for his platform’s logo? He does. He’s colorblind; that’s the only shade his eyes can interpret.
Dogs are also colorblind. They chase tennis balls with gusto not because they’re bright yellow but because they are rapidly-moving projectiles. So if you have a puppy that loves to ‘get the ball!’, try to find blue ones. That way, they’ll be able to see what they’re chasing.
When taking vision difficulties into consideration, it’s astounding how limited the English language’s use of color is. Especially when compared to the French language’s palette. The language of Molière uses colors as adjectives, of course, but also as verbs and to convey ideas:
- To express preferences and descriptions
- To represent the French culture
- To build French vocabulary
- To trigger memories
We’re set to explore the French language’s lexicon of colors and their many uses. Along the way, you might discover new uses for color in your native language.
Building Your French Color Vocabulary
How would you describe the color blue – or green, red or any color? You might take the easy route: “The same color as my (insert something of that color you own)”. You could get scientific: “It’s the color at (name its place) on the spectrum”.
Or you could follow the French method: describe colors as primary, secondary and tertiary. Mixing primary colors delivers the secondary hues. Tertiary tones result from mixing primary and secondary colors. Refer to these columns to see which colors belong where.
Primary Colors
- bleu (blue)
- rouge (red)
- jaune (yellow)
Secondary Colors
- violet/violette (violet)
- vert/verte (green)
- orange
Tertiary Colors
- rose (pink)
- turquoise
- marron (brown)
If you’re putting a greyscale tone into words, you would resort to the French ‘shades’ category. It covers white, black and gray, of course. You may further refine your description by adding light, dark or ‘middle’ – “Un gris moyen”, for instance.
Describing hair color in French calls for yet more vocabulary. In English, we’re fine describing gingers as red-headed and brunettes as brown-haired. Blondes typically remain blond. Some might say “That yellow-haired child” but it’s not common.
The ‘blond’ designation is the same in French but you cannot say someone has ‘les cheveux rouges’. The proper word is ‘rousse/roux’. Nor can you use the tertiary color marron to describe someone with brown hair. Their hair is either brun or châtain, depending on whether it’s generically brown or chestnut brown.
In French, ‘hair’ is most often used in its plural form and its grammatical gender is masculine. Thus, you must apply the color’s masculine form when describing someone’s hair. If you’re describing non-standard hair colors, you should use the colors’ standard forms: “Elle a les cheveux verts pâle”, for example.
Should you see someone with their hair dyed a vivid red, you must then use rouge rather than roux/rousse. You may further specify that you’re talking about dyed hair. “Il a les cheveux colorés en rouge éclatant”. Note the word order in all of these examples: “He/she has the hair + color + descriptor(s)”
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Grammar Notes for Using Colors
In French, color adjectives follow the object they describe. Always say “La voiture jaune”, never ‘la jaune voiture’. Also, remember grammatical gender. If the color modifies something grammatically feminine, the color must also be in the feminine form.
Not all colors change form in the feminine. Vert becomes ‘verte’ and noir turns into 'noire' but rouge will remain rouge regardless of gender.
Secondary descriptors remain grammatically masculine regardless of the object they describe. For example, the ‘dark’ in “Une jupe en rose foncé” (a dark pink skirt) does not get a second E. It describes the color pink, not the grammatically female skirt.
Expressing Preferences and Descriptions Using Colors
If you’re like most people, you have a preferred color palette. Thus, it would be no problem for you to shop for shoes and clothes in your favorite colors. Standard requests like “Est-ce que vous avez celui en (enter color here)?” - “Do you have this one in (my color)?” should be easy for you.
But let’s say you’re searching for an apartment in Paris. You might tour a room with yellow walls and exclaim “Les murs jaunes illuminent la pièce!”. Yellow walls may well brighten a room but the walls’ color matters less than the natural light pouring in. But saying “The room is well-lit” is banal; it doesn’t reflect the proper appreciation for the color explosion your eyes feast on.
Using color to describe the room’s brightness will tip the rental agent off to your cultural competence. You surely know that the French language tends toward beauty and poetry. The sooner you can paint complete, colorful pictures with your words, the smoother your integration into French society will be.
Once you get the hang of weaving color into your French interactions, you’ll have no trouble peppering your language with color references. English speakers might consider “The setting sun combs the sky in orange and pink.” trite and overdone. However, gushing “Le coucher du soleil peigne le ciel en orange et rose” is not uncommon in French.
The French language is nothing if not formal and polite. These qualities lend the language a poetic quality that more utilitarian tongues like English lack. You needn’t worry about coming off as a wannabe poet when speaking in these terms. On the contrary; you’ll fit right in with native French speakers.
Cultural Significance of Colors in French Language and Art
France is not the only country to have color-named places. Still, from le Mont Blanc to la Côte D’Azure, hues dapple the French landscape and language.
Using colors as verbs is a great example of such. In the US, we might turn red occasionally. We may even turn white.
But only in France may one griser (turn grey), verdir (turn green) and bleuir (turn blue). These and other colors are verbs you may conjugate to describe any situation. You might fret over ‘griser’ as you look over your hair dye options. Or you might dismay over your pork chop ‘qui a verdi’; with today’s prices, nobody could blame you.
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We typically don’t think of France as a mystical country but the French attach meaning to the full spectrum of colors. We might guess some of them: red is passion, for example. We know green as the color of jealousy but the French add renewal and nature to its meaning.
Wearing orange signals you’re creative and violet and purple stand for everything from nobility to spirituality. You might think of these interpretations as ‘mood ring hokey’ or horoscope hoaxing. However, the French take these color meanings seriously. You would offend your French friends if you laughed about their color interpretations.
Indeed, you should put as much effort into learning French color interpretations as you do in mastering the proper goodbye for each situation. A fair part of interpreting (French) art relies on understanding why the artists used the colors they did. And didn’t the French cultural icon Edith Piaf tell us all about La Vie en Rose?
Fun Exercises to Learn and Remember French Colors
We can’t say enough about the French language’s penchant for the poetic. Thus, memorizing French idioms is a good way to remember French colors. La vie en rose is an example of such but you could put ‘voir’ in front to say ‘Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses’.
Note that the French are never green with envy. If they describe themselves as green, it’s with rage: “Je suis vert de rage!”. Remember, if a native French speaker tells you they have ‘un bleu’, it doesn’t mean a spot of depression, it means they somehow got a bruise.
You might remember colors in French by what they represent differently in our culture, and which representations are similar. For instance, if your French friend is ‘au rouge’, they’re not burning with passion, as the color might indicate. Rather, they may be about to ask you for money to tide them over because they’re ‘in the red’.
Use colors’ verb forms as often as possible. Doing so will help boost your French conjugation while helping you remember French colors. While you’re at it, label your emotions. You can be ‘bleu de tristesse’ or ‘orange de joie’, ‘jaune de jalousie’ or ‘noir comme la nuit’ when you’re in a black mood.
You might follow the musical group Chicago’s advice and play Color My World. If you’re on your own, describe all the colors you see.
If you’re in a group, tempt them into playing I Spy with you. “I spy, with my little eye… something… VERT et ROUGE!”. Players must then name things which are both green and red.
Learning your colors in French is part of the language-learning experience. Learning how to use colors to communicate your feelings is as important as using the right hello at the right time. Both will ensure your access and acceptance into French society.
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