elle a les cheveux bruns
The English phrase "she has brown hair" is translated into French as elle a les cheveux bruns.
This phrase is used to describe a woman or a girl who has brown hair.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "she has the hair browns".
Which one should you use?
While elle a les cheveux bruns is used for dark brown hair, you may use elle a les cheveux châtains if you want to specify that she has medium to light brown or chestnut hair.
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, hair is treated as a plural noun (les cheveux), which requires the adjective bruns to also be in its plural form.
Did you know?
- In French, the word for hair cheveux is always plural when describing a person's head of hair. If you used the singular cheveu, you would be talking about a single individual strand of hair.
- The feminine pronoun elle used in this phrase traces back to the Latin word illa, which was used to point out a specific person.
- The word brun is often used to describe not just hair, but skin tone as well. In some contexts, calling someone brun can imply they have a darker complexion or are tanned.
Examples in context
- Madame Dupont possède des cheveux bruns très élégants.Madame Dupont possesses very elegant brown hair.
- Elle a les cheveux châtains qui lui donnent un air naturel et chaleureux.She has light brown hair that gives her a natural and warm look.
- Elle a de longs cheveux bruns et soyeux.She has long and silky brown hair.
- Je sais qu'elle a les cheveux bruns.I know that she has brown hair.
- Est-ce qu'elle a les cheveux bruns ?Does she have brown hair?
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are looking at a photo of a woman.
- ManonRegarde cette femme sur la photo.Look at this woman in the photo.
- GabrielAh oui, elle a les cheveux bruns.Ah yes, she has brown hair.
- ManonElle est très jolie.She is very pretty.
- GabrielC'est vrai, elle est magnifique.It's true, she is gorgeous.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, elle, les, CC BY-SA 4.0.
