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:
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:
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.