-
1 Colours
Not all English colour terms have a single exact equivalent in French: for instance, in some circumstances brown is marron, in others brun. If in doubt, look the word up in the dictionary.Colour termswhat colour is it?= c’est de quelle couleur? or (more formally) de quelle couleur est-il?it’s green= il est vert or elle est verteto paint sth green= peindre qch en vertto dye sth green= teindre qch en vertto wear green= porter du vertdressed in green= habillé de vertColour nouns are all masculine in French:I like green= j’aime le vertI prefer blue= je préfère le bleured suits her= le rouge lui va bienit’s a pretty yellow!= c’est un joli jaune!have you got it in white?= est-ce que vous l’avez en blanc?a pretty shade of blue= un joli ton de bleuit was a dreadful green= c’était un vert affreuxa range of greens= une gamme de vertsMost adjectives of colour agree with the noun they modify:a blue coat= un manteau bleua blue dress= une robe bleueblue clothes= des vêtements bleusSome that don’t agree are explained below.Words that are not true adjectivesSome words that translate English adjectives are really nouns in French, and so don’t show agreement:a brown shoe= une chaussure marronorange tablecloths= des nappes fpl orangehazel eyes= des yeux mpl noisetteOther French words like this include: cerise ( cherry-red), chocolat ( chocolate-brown) and émeraude ( emerald-green).Shades of colourExpressions like pale blue, dark green or light yellow are also invariable in French and show no agreement:a pale blue shirt= une chemise bleu pâledark green blankets= des couvertures fpl vert foncéa light yellow tie= une cravate jaune clairbright yellow socks= des chaussettes fpl jaune vifFrench can also use the colour nouns here: instead of une chemise bleu pâle you could say une chemise d’un bleu pâle ; and similarly des couvertures d’un vert foncé (etc). The nouns in French are normally used to translate English adjectives of this type ending in -er and -est:a darker blue= un bleu plus foncéthe dress was a darker blue= la robe était d’un bleu plus foncéSimilarly:a lighter blue= un bleu plus clair (etc.)In the following examples, blue stands for most basic colour terms:pale blue= bleu pâlelight blue= bleu clairbright blue= bleu vifdark blue= bleu foncédeep blue= bleu profondstrong blue= bleu soutenuOther types of compound in French are also invariable, and do not agree with their nouns:a navy-blue jacket= une veste bleu marineThese compounds include: bleu ciel ( sky-blue), vert pomme ( apple-green), bleu nuit ( midnight-blue), rouge sang ( blood-red) etc. However, all English compounds do not translate directly into French. If in doubt, check in the dictionary.French compounds consisting of two colour terms linked with a hyphen are also invariable:a blue-black material= une étoffe bleu-noira greenish-blue cup= une tasse bleu-verta greeny-yellow dress= une robe vert-jauneEnglish uses the ending -ish, or sometimes -y, to show that something is approximately a certain colour, e.g. a reddish hat or a greenish paint. The French equivalent is -âtre:blue-ish= bleuâtregreenish or greeny= verdâtregreyish= grisâtrereddish= rougeâtreyellowish or yellowy= jaunâtreetc.Other similar French words are rosâtre, noirâtre and blanchâtre. Note however that these words are often rather negative in French. It is better not to use them if you want to be complimentary about something. Use instead tirant sur le rouge/jaune etc.To describe a special colour, English can add -coloured to a noun such as raspberry (framboise) or flesh (chair). Note how this is said in French, where the two-word compound with couleur is invariable, and, unlike English, never has a hyphen:a chocolate-coloured skirt= une jupe couleur chocolatraspberry-coloured fabric= du tissu couleur framboiseflesh-coloured tights= un collant couleur chairColour verbsEnglish makes some colour verbs by adding -en (e.g. blacken). Similarly French has some verbs in -ir made from colour terms:to blacken= noircirto redden= rougirto whiten= blanchirThe other French colour terms that behave like this are: bleu (bleuir), jaune (jaunir), rose (rosir) and vert (verdir). It is always safe, however, to use devenir, thus:to turn purple= devenir violetDescribing peopleNote the use of the definite article in the following:to have black hair= avoir les cheveux noirsto have blue eyes= avoir les yeux bleusNote the use of à in the following:a girl with blue eyes= une jeune fille aux yeux bleusthe man with black hair= l’homme aux cheveux noirsNot all colours have direct equivalents in French. The following words are used for describing the colour of someone’s hair (note that les cheveux is plural in French):fair= blonddark= brunblonde or blond= blondbrown= châtain invred= rouxblack= noirgrey= griswhite= blancCheck other terms such as yellow, ginger, auburn, mousey etc. in the dictionary.Note these nouns in French:a fair-haired man= un blonda fair-haired woman= une blondea dark-haired man= un bruna dark-haired woman= une bruneThe following words are useful for describing the colour of someone’s eyes:blue= bleulight blue= bleu clair invlight brown= marron clair invbrown= marron invhazel= noisette invgreen= vertgrey= grisgreyish-green= gris-vert invdark= noir
См. также в других словарях:
Coat of Many Colors (song) — Coat of Many Colors Single by Dolly Parton from the album Coat of Many Colors B side She Never Met a Man (She Didn t Like) Released October 30, 1971 … Wikipedia
The New Yorker — For other uses, see New Yorker (disambiguation). The New Yorker First issue s cover with dandy Eustace Tilley, created by Rea Irvin. The image, or a variation of it, appears on the cover of The New Yorker with every anniversary issue. Editor… … Wikipedia
List of The Sopranos characters — The following is a listing of fictional characters from the HBO series The Sopranos. To view characters organized by their associations, see the subpages section. Contents 1 Main characters 2 Supporting characters 3 Recurring guest stars … Wikipedia
List of Mutants in The Hills Have Eyes — The Mutants, or Hill People, are the main antagonists of the remakes of The Hills Have Eyes series of films. The Mutants are a deformed and reclusive off shoot of the Human race, created through radiation. Contents 1 Origin 2 Notable Mutants 2.1 … Wikipedia
The Oyster Princess — Infobox Film name = The Oyster Princess director = Ernst Lubitsch writer = Hanns Kräly Ernst Lubitsch starring = Victor Janson Ossi Oswalda Harry Liedtke Julius Falkenstein cinematographer = Theodor Sparkuhl music = Aljoscha Zimmermann… … Wikipedia
List of The Incredibles characters — The Parr family. From left to right: Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible, Violet and Dash. Bottom: Jack Jack. Bob Parr redirects here. For Team Leader of History Channel s Shadow Force and television producer Bob Parr, see Bob Parr (producer). The… … Wikipedia
The Trial of R. Kelly — Infobox Boondocks Episode Title = The Trial of R. Kelly Caption = R. Kelly supporter being interviewed. Airdate = November 13, 2005 Season no. = 1 Episode no. = 2 Production no. = 101 Writer = Rodney Barnes Aaron McGruder Director = Anthony Bell… … Wikipedia
Duffle coat — Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand wearing a duffle coat … Wikipedia
List of The Keys to the Kingdom characters — The Keys to the Kingdom is a fantasy adventure book series, written by Garth Nix, started in 2003 with Mister Monday. The series follows the story of Arthur Penhaligon and his charge as the Rightful Heir of the Architect to claim the Seven Keys… … Wikipedia
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — Coat of arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church during Sede Vacante (the escutcheon and motto are proper to the incumbent) Not to be confused with the post of Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. The Camerlengo of the… … Wikipedia
Burlington Coat Factory — Warehouse Corporation Type Private Industry Retail Founded 1924 … Wikipedia