Red/Rouge Pink/Rose Orange/Orange Yellow/Jaune Green/Vert Blue/Bleu Purple/Violet Gray/Gris Black/Noir White/Blanc Brown/Brun or Marron
Red/Rouge: “Rouge” is pronounced just like the type of makeup (if that’s unclear, it’s pretty much “rooj”). The only difference is that the “r” comes softly from the back of the mouth. Pink/Rose: “Rose” is pronounced just like you would in English, but again with that “French” R sound. Orange/Orange: In English, you emphasize the first syllable but in French you’re going to emphasize the second syllable and make sure that the “a” makes a short “o” sound. Pronounce it like “oh RONJ”. Yellow/Jaune: Think of the French name Jean, a form of John. Say “Jean” but make the kind of short “o” noise you make more into sounding like the word “oh”. Green/Vert: The T is silent. Pronounce it like “air” with a V in front. Blue/Bleu: Sounds the same. Purple/Violet: VEE-oh-lay. Gray/Gris: Think of the word “agree”. Leave off the “a” at the beginning and there you go! Black/Noir: Have you ever heard of filme noir, a genre of American cinema a few decades ago? Noir is pronounced like that–and if you’re still not sure: no-R (pronounce that R like the letter). White/Blanc: Think of the word “blank”. Now make the “a” noise into a short “o” noise.
