Learn French: Où sont les nouveaux manteaux et les beaux chapeaux ? - Where are the new coats and the beautiful hats?

In French, most nouns and adjectives take an -s to become plural. However, words that end in -eau (like nouveau, manteau, beau, and chapeau) are irregular. To make them plural, you add an -x instead, giving us nouveaux manteaux and beaux chapeaux.

Do I pronounce the -x at the end of nouveaux, manteaux, beaux, and chapeaux?

No, the final -x in these plural words is completely silent. They are pronounced exactly the same as their singular forms. When listening to spoken French, you only know they are plural because you hear the plural article les before them.

I thought adjectives usually go after the noun. Why are nouveaux and beaux placed before the nouns here?

You are right that most French adjectives go after the noun. But short, common adjectives that describe Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size (often remembered by the acronym BAGS) go before the noun. Both beau (beautiful) and nouveau (new) fall into these categories, so they come before manteaux and chapeaux.

What would happen if we used feminine plural nouns instead, like robes (dresses)? Would we still use the -eaux ending for the adjectives?