cheveux châtains
The English phrase brown hair is translated into French as cheveux châtains.
The phrase des cheveux châtains is used specifically for light brown or chestnut-colored hair. To say that you have brown hair, the standard construction is avoir les cheveux châtains, using the definite article les instead of the indefinite article des when describing your own hair.
Which one should you use?
While cheveux châtains refers to a specific chestnut-brown shade, the term cheveux bruns is often used to describe much darker, almost black-brown hair or to denote a 'brunette' person.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as an adjective for hair, châtain is one of the few color adjectives in French that remains invariable (it does not take an 's' to agree with the plural cheveux) in many traditional contexts, though châtains is also commonly accepted in modern usage.
Did you know?
- The term brunette is an English loanword from French, but in France, the adjective brun is used for both men and women. The English 'brunette' specifically feminized a color that is neutral in its native French usage.
- The word châtain comes from the same root as châtaigne meaning 'chestnut'. This means that when a French speaker describes brown hair, they are literally calling it 'chestnut-colored'.
- If you want to describe very light brown hair, you might use the word blond, as the boundaries between 'light brown' and 'dark blonde' can overlap in French.
Examples in context
- J'ai les cheveux châtains.I have brown hair.This sentence is useful for stating your own hair color using cheveux châtains.Tatoeba #730222 by U2FS, translation #436665 by lukaszpp
- Il a des cheveux châtains ondulés et des yeux foncés.He has wavy brown hair and dark eyes.This sentence uses cheveux châtains to describe a person's wavy hair and dark eyes.Tatoeba #8939531 by lbdx, translation #2490807 by Hybrid
- Son nouveau petit ami a les cheveux châtains et les yeux marron.Her new boyfriend has light-brown hair and brown eyes.This sentence uses cheveux châtains to describe a boyfriend's hair and brown eyes.Tatoeba #10684393 by carlosalberto, translation #10684395 by carlosalberto
- Elle a les cheveux bruns et les yeux verts.She has brown hair and green eyes.
- J'ai une chevelure brune et ondulée.I have a head of brown and wavy hair.
- Il a des cheveux châtains qui brillent au soleil.He has chestnut-colored hair that shines in the sun.
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a photo of a stranger.
- HugoEst-ce qu'elle a les cheveux châtains ?Does she have brown hair?
- EmmaOui, elle a les cheveux châtains.Yes, she has brown hair.
- HugoEt elle est très jolie.And she is very pretty.
- EmmaC'est vrai, elle est charmante.It's true, she is charming.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
