Describing Facial Appearance in French

French offers a rich vocabulary for describing the face, and understanding how plurals and color words work will help you sound natural and accurate. Let’s break it down step by step.

Talking About Eyes

To describe eye colour, use the phrase:

• J’ai les yeux… – I have … eyes
• Il a les yeux… – He has … eyes
• Elle a les yeux… – She has … eyes

Common eye colours:

French	English
les yeux bleus	blue eyes
les yeux verts	green eyes
les yeux marron	brown eyes

Note on “marron”:
Unlike many other colour adjectives, marron is invariable—it doesn’t change for gender or number. So you say les yeux marron, not les yeux marrons.

Irregular plural alert:

• Un œil – an eye
• Les yeux – eyes
  This is a highly irregular plural and one of the most important to remember.

Talking About Hair

Hair is always referred to in the plural in French:

• J’ai les cheveux… – I have … hair
• Il a les cheveux… – He has … hair
• Elle a les cheveux… – She has … hair

Common hair colours:

French	English
les cheveux blonds	blond hair
les cheveux bruns	brown hair
les cheveux gris	grey hair

Note on “brun” vs. “marron”:

• For hair, brun is the standard word for brown.
• Marron is typically reserved for eye color, though you might hear it used for hair in casual speech.

Irregular Plurals in Facial Vocabulary

French plurals are usually formed by adding -s, but there are exceptions:

1. Words ending in -eu or -au

These typically take -x in the plural:

• le cheveu – a hair
• les cheveux – hairs (used to mean “hair” collectively)

2. Irregular plural: œil → yeux

This is one of the most irregular and essential plural forms in French.

3. Invariable nouns

Some nouns don’t change in the plural, even though they end in -s in the singular:

• le bras → les bras (arm/arms)
• le corps → les corps (body/bodies)
  These stay the same in spelling, though context tells you whether they’re singular or plural.

Sentence Builder: Describing Appearance

Let’s put it all together:

J’ai… I have… Il a… He has… Elle a… She has…

les yeux bleus blue eyes les yeux marron brown eyes les yeux verts green eyes

J’ai… I have… Il a… He has… Elle a… She has…

les cheveux blonds blond hair les cheveux bruns brown hair les cheveux gris grey hair

J’ai… I have… Il a… He has… Elle a… She has…

les yeux bleus et les cheveux blonds blond hair and blue eyes

Practice

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