There are two cases of colour adjectives that never agree nor change:
- when the colour is described by a phrase containing two or more words (e.g. black and white, dark green, light blue)
- when the colour actually derives from a real thing like a fruit, material, animal (e.g. orange, chestnut)
Look at these compound adjectives:
Il a des yeux bleus, des yeux bleu clair.
He has blue eyes, light blue eyes.
Tu as une jupe blanche?
- Oui, et une robe noir et blanc.
Do you have a white skirt?
- Yes, and a black and white dress.
J'ai une jupe orange et des boucles d'oreille orange.
I have an orange dress and orange earrings.
Elles portaient des robes ivoire.
They wore ivory dresses.
See also regular colour adjectives: Colour descriptions change according to gender and number (adjectives)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
compound adjective
C'était une voiture verte.
- Oui, une voiture vert foncé.
It was a green car.
- Yes, a dark green car.
Il a des yeux bleus, des yeux bleu clair.
He has blue eyes, light blue eyes.
Tu as une jupe blanche?
- Oui, et une robe noir et blanc.
Do you have a white skirt?
- Yes, and a black and white dress.
noun
Elles portaient des robes ivoire.
They wore ivory dresses.
J'ai une jupe orange et des boucles d'oreille orange.
I have an orange dress and orange earrings.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
4/11/17
Would be nice if Amélie or Laura could chime in.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Chris
Kwiziq community member
4/11/17
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
12/07/17
Des yeux noisette is correct because "noisette" is a real thing: it means hazelnut.
Tamani
Kwiziq community member
13/07/17
Thank you! Yes, I googled 'noisette' and discovered it is a hazelnut. I wish I'd known that before taking the test!
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
24/10/16
Yes, because in French, the masculine singular form is considered as the "original" form which then changes according to rules of agreement. I know.... :)
DeAnna
Kwiziq community member
17 June 2018
1 reply
Would “rose” be an invariable color?
Would it be correct to say, ”J’aime des roses rose!”
Chris
Kwiziq community member
18 June 2018
18/06/18
Hi DeAnna,
according to the lesson (https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-colour-descriptions-adjectives-change-according-to-gender-and-number) the correct way to say it is:
J'aime les roses roses. -- I love pink roses.
In general, colors derived from object names such as orange (an orange) or marron (le marron/the chestnut) stay immutable. However, the color rose (pink) does vary, even though it seems to derive from a real object, too.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Greetings, -- Chris (not a native speaker).