jaune
/ʒon/
The English word 'yellow' is translated into French as jaune.
jaune is an adjective used to describe something that has yellow as its color. It can also function as a noun to refer to the color itself. If you want to describe the process of becoming yellow or more yellow, you would use the related verb jaunir.
Meaning: having yellow as its color (adj)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective jaune is invariable in gender, so it remains the same whether it describes a masculine or feminine noun. However, it does change in number. You must add an 's' to form the plural jaunes to agree with plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒon/
Did you know?
- The word jaune actually traces its roots back to the Latin word galbinus, which originally described a specific shade of pale yellow or greenish-yellow.
- The phrase un gilet jaune refers to the 'yellow vests' protest movement that began in France in 2018.
- In the Tour de France, the leader of the general classification wears the maillot jaune, making it the most prestigious jersey in cycling.
Examples in context
- Le feu est jaune.The light is yellow.This sentence shows how to use jaune to describe the color of a light.Tatoeba #10188617 by felix63, translation #10188614 by CM
- Le livre est jaune.The book is yellow.This sentence demonstrates using jaune to describe the color of a book.Tatoeba #7778359 by tras, translation #5256981 by solejar
- Le fruit est jaune.The fruit is yellow.This sentence illustrates the use of jaune when describing the color of a fruit.Tatoeba #8602635 by Aiji, translation #2898167 by AlanF_US
- Le soleil brille dans un ciel jaune.The sun shines in a yellow sky.
- Les champs dorés s'étendent à l'infini.The golden fields extend to infinity.
- Regarde cette fleur, elle est jaune vif!Look at this flower, it's bright yellow!
- J'aime bien cette chemise, elle est jaune citron.I quite like this shirt, it's lemon yellow.
- 139 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are looking at a painting.
- GabrielJ'aime cette fleur jaune.I love this yellow flower.
- EmmaElle est très brillante.It is very bright.
- GabrielC'est ma couleur préférée.It is my favorite color.
- EmmaMoi, je préfère le bleu.Me, I prefer blue.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yellow” translations and entries jaune, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jaune, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
