couleur
/ku.lœʁ/feminine
The English word "color" is couleur in French.
couleur is a feminine noun referring to a particular set of the visible spectrum. You can use the phrase en couleur to describe something that is displayed or printed in color, such as a television broadcast or a photograph.
Meaning: particular set of the visible spectrum (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Standard French, Vert means green and Vert clair means light green.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of couleur is couleurs.
How do you pronounce it?
couleur is pronounced /ku.lœʁ/ and has two syllables.
When do people say it?
In informal contexts, you might encounter the expressions Brun(e) comme une noisette (brown as a hazelnut) or Rouge comme une tomate (red as a tomato).
Did you know?
- While English has 'blue' for sadness, French speakers use avoir le cafard (to have the cockroach) to describe melancholy, though bleu is used for bruising.
- In French, the word couleur is used in the expression donner des couleurs à un récit, which means to embellish or exaggerate a story to make it more interesting.
- French has a specific phrase faire grise mine, which uses the 'gray' color to describe someone who looks grumpy or dissatisfied.
Examples in context
- C'est ta couleur !It's your color!This sentence is useful for identifying someone's color using couleur.Tatoeba #1482138 by Julien_PDC, translation #5489887 by Mar1L
- La couleur est belle.The color is beautiful.This sentence is useful for describing the beauty of a color using couleur.Tatoeba #10497192 by pkill, translation #10497194 by CM
- Quelle couleur est-ce ?What color is this?This sentence is useful for asking which color something is using couleur.Tatoeba #5461575 by Aiji, translation #2298640 by Adelpa
- La voiture est noire.The car is black
- Ce t-shirt est rouge comme une tomateThis t-shirt is as red as a tomato
- 235 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa is choosing a paint color for her bedroom.
- NathanCette couleur est-elle trop vive ?Is this color too bright?
- LéaNon, j'aime beaucoup cette couleur.No, I like this color a lot.
- NathanTu veux une autre couleur ?Do you want another color?
- LéaNon, je garde celle-ci.No, I am keeping this one.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “color” translations and entries couleur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
