cheveux châtains
The English phrase "light brown hair" is translated into French as cheveux châtains.
This phrase is used to describe hair that is a pale or golden shade of brown. The term is derived from châtain, which means "chestnut-colored", referring to the brownish hue of a chestnut.
Which one should you use?
While cheveux châtains refers to a light or medium brown, the phrase cheveux bruns is often used to describe much darker hair that is almost black.
Did you know?
- In French, you cannot use the word châtain to describe anything other than hair. You would not call a brown dog or a brown coat châtain, but would instead use marron or brun.
- While châtain describes hair, the word châtaigne is used for the actual chestnut nut. This is why you will rarely see the nut called châtain in a grocery store.
- The word châtain is an adjective that remains invariable in many traditional contexts, meaning it does not always take an 's' to match the plural 'cheveux'.
Examples in context
- Son nouveau petit ami a les cheveux châtains et les yeux marron.Her new boyfriend has light-brown hair and brown eyes.This sentence is useful for describing the physical appearance of a person using cheveux châtains.Tatoeba #10684393 by carlosalberto, translation #10684395 by carlosalberto
- J'adore ta chevelure châtain clair, elle te va vraiment bien!I love your light brown hair, it really suits you!
- Les cheveux bruns clairs sont très répandus dans la région.Light brown hair is very common in the region.
- Elle a de beaux cheveux châtains.She has beautiful light brown hair.
- Les enfants ont souvent les cheveux châtains.Children often have light brown hair.
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are looking at a photo of a new coworker.
- HugoEst-ce que tu l'as vue ?Have you seen her?
- LéaOui, elle a les cheveux châtains.Yes, she has light brown hair.
- HugoElle est très sympathique.She is very nice.
- LéaOui, je l'aime beaucoup.Yes, I like her a lot.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
