couleur or
The phrase "gold colour" in French is couleur or.
couleur or refers to a yellow-orange color that resembles the actual metal gold.
Which one should you use?
Use couleur or when you are specifically referring to the color of the metal gold. In contrast, the adjective doré (or dorée) is more commonly used to describe anything that possesses a golden appearance or a golden sheen.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase couleur or, the word or (meaning gold) acts as an invariable adjective of color, which means it does not change its form to match the gender or number of the noun it follows. If you use the related phrase couleur dorée (golden color) instead, the adjective dorée must agree in both gender and number with the noun it modifies.
Did you know?
- The word or is a homonym in French. While it means gold in couleur or, it is also used as a conjunction meaning 'now' or 'yet' to introduce a new point in an argument.
- While couleur or describes the specific pigment, doré is used in French cooking to describe a perfect brown crust on meat or pastry.
- The word for gold, or, shares an ancient linguistic root with the concept of the 'dawn'. This connects the brightness of the morning light to the glow of the metal.
Examples in context
- Cette montre est d'une teinte doréeThis watch has a golden shade
- J'adore ce fauteuil en velours jaune d'orI love this velvet armchair in golden yellow
- Ce bijou est orné de pierres précieuses doréesThis jewelry is adorned with precious golden stones
- Elle cherche une robe de couleur or.She is looking for a gold colour dress.
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are choosing decorations for a party.
- LéaJe préfère les ballons de couleur or.I prefer the gold coloured balloons.
- LucasMoi, je préfère le blanc.Me, I prefer white.
- LéaMais la couleur or est plus festive !But the gold colour is more festive!
- LucasC'est vrai, Lucas est d'accord.That's true, Lucas agrees.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries couleur, or, CC BY-SA 4.0.
