Most adjectives in French agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. However, there are two major exceptions for colors where the adjective becomes invariable, meaning it never changes form.
Compound Colors
When a color is made of two words to describe a specific shade—like a color plus clair (light), foncé (dark), marine (navy), or fluo (neon)—the entire expression is invariable.
| Their jerseys are dark green, even if the logo is red. | Leurs maillots sont vert foncé, même si le logo est rouge. |
| Our opponents will end up buying navy blue tracksuits. | Nos adversaires finiront par acheter des survêtements bleu marine. |
Colors Derived from Nouns
Colors named after physical objects in the real world (like fruits or gemstones) are also invariable. Common examples include orange, marron (brown), turquoise, and kaki.
| Are they wearing turquoise shoes for the match? | Portent-elles des chaussures turquoise pour le match ? |
| Are their socks khaki or rather orange? | Leurs chaussettes sont kaki ou plutôt orange ? |
Regular vs. Invariable Colors
When mixing regular colors and invariable colors, notice how regular colors (like bleu) still add an -s for plural nouns, while compound colors remain unchanged.
| We have blue bags and light blue jerseys. | Nous avons des sacs bleus et des maillots bleu clair. |
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