Des yeux bleus, but des yeux marron: it depends on where the word comes from.
In English a colour never changes, so learners of French train themselves to add -e and -s to bleu, vert or noir, then do the same with marron and orange. That is where it goes wrong: French has a group of invariable colour adjectives that stay the same whatever the noun. You write des chaussures marron, with no s, next to des chaussures noires.
Below: how to tell the two groups apart, the colours that never change, the six exceptions, and compound colours like bleu clair.
French colour words come in two kinds. True adjectives (bleu, vert, noir, gris, blanc, jaune, rouge, violet) agree in gender and number like any adjective. Nouns used as colours (marron, orange, noisette, cerise) do not agree at all.
| Colour | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bleu | adjective, agrees | des yeux bleus, une robe bleue |
| marron | noun (the chestnut), invariable | des yeux marron |
| orange | noun (the fruit), invariable | des murs orange |
| bleu clair | compound colour, invariable | des pulls bleu clair |
| rose | noun, but an exception: agrees | des joues roses |
The rule page on agreement of colour adjectives has exercises to check yourself.
Marron is first of all a noun: the chestnut. When it names a colour, French reads it as short for "the colour of a chestnut", so the word stays exactly as it is. The same goes for gender: there is no feminine form.
As a noun, marron takes the normal plural again: des marrons chauds, roasted chestnuts. That follows the usual plural of French nouns.
Same logic. As a colour, orange comes from the fruit and never changes: des rideaux orange, une robe orange. With an s, it can only mean the fruit: j'ai acheté des oranges.
Any colour named after a fruit, a flower, a stone, a food or an object stays invariable. The ones you will meet most often:
So: des pantalons kaki, des yeux noisette, des chaussettes bordeaux.
Six colours come from nouns but agree anyway, because usage has turned them into true adjectives: rose, mauve, fauve, pourpre, écarlate and incarnat.
Orange is not on the list, even though it looks like rose: des rideaux orange, des rideaux roses.
As soon as a colour is made of two words, the whole group stays invariable, even when each word on its own is a true adjective.
None. Learners often write "des yeux bleus clairs", agreeing both words; the correct form is des yeux bleu clair. When two colours are blended, they are joined by a hyphen and nothing agrees either: des yeux bleu-vert, des cheveux gris-bleu.
With more than one object and more than one colour, the spelling depends on the meaning. If each object has all the colours, nothing agrees. If each object has one colour, each colour agrees.
| Phrase | Meaning | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| des drapeaux bleu et blanc | each flag is blue and white | no |
| des drapeaux bleus et blancs | some flags blue, others white | yes |
| des chaussettes rose pâle | one compound colour | no |
| des chaussettes roses | rose alone, an exception | yes |
Before you write a colour, ask two questions. Is the word a true colour adjective (bleu, vert, noir) or a noun (marron, orange, noisette)? And does it stand alone, or is it followed by another word (clair, foncé, another colour)? It agrees only if it is a true adjective standing alone, or one of the six exceptions. In every other case it stays as it is, which is the opposite of ordinary French adjective agreement.
True adjective alone: it agrees. Noun used as a colour, or a colour of two words: it never changes. Rose, mauve, fauve, pourpre, écarlate and incarnat agree anyway. Apostrophe· reads you sentences like these as dictations and explains the rule at each mistake you make.
Is marron plural in French?
No. Des yeux marron, des chaussures marron: marron comes from the name of the chestnut and stays invariable. It only takes an s as a noun, as in des marrons chauds.
Does orange agree in French?
No: des rideaux orange, une robe orange. It comes from the fruit. Only rose, mauve, fauve, pourpre, écarlate and incarnat agree despite coming from nouns.
Do compound colours agree in French?
No. Des pulls bleu clair, une veste vert foncé, des yeux bleu-vert: as soon as a colour is made of two words, nothing agrees.
Is it des yeux bleus or des yeux bleu?
Des yeux bleus. Bleu is a true adjective and agrees when it stands alone. Add clair or foncé and it stops agreeing: des yeux bleu clair.
Does marron have a feminine form?
No. Une veste marron, une robe marron. Invariable colours change neither for gender nor for number.
Apostrophe· reads you a sentence, corrects it word by word, and explains the exact rule behind each mistake.
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