French Clothes and Colours: Porter vs Mettre

How colours agree

Vert, verte, verts, vertes

An adjective (a describing word) matches its noun’s gender and number. Most add letters you only see in writing; a few change their sound too.

Colour	masc.	fem.	plural	Note
black	noir	noire	noirs / noires	spelling only
white	blanc	blanche	blancs / blanches	feminine changes the sound: BLON → BLONSH
blue	bleu	bleue	bleus / bleues	spelling only
red	rouge	rouge	rouges / rouges	ends in -e already
green	vert	verte	verts / vertes	feminine changes the sound: VAIR → VAIRT
grey	gris	grise	gris / grises	feminine changes the sound: GREE → GREEZ
brown	marron	marron	marron / marron	never changes (also a noun)
orange	orange	orange	orange / orange	never changes (also a noun)

Wearing and putting on

Porter, mettre, s’habiller, enlever

English “wear” and “put on” map onto different French verbs. Each line below is one everyday sentence.

porterto wear

Ellesheportewearsune robea dressrouge.red

el PORT ün ROB ROOZH

“She’s wearing a red dress.”

mettreto put on

Metsput-onton manteau,your coatil fait froid.it’s cold

may ton mon-TOH, eel fay FRWA

“Put your coat on, it’s cold.”

s’habillerto get dressed

JeIm’habilledress-myselfvite.quickly

zhuh ma-BEE VEET

“I get dressed quickly.”

enleverto take off

Enlèvetake-offtes chaussures !your shoes

on-LEV tay shoh-SÜR

“Take your shoes off!”

essayerto try on

JeIpeuxcanl’essayer ?it-try-on

zhuh PUH lay-say-YAY

“Can I try it on?”

In the shop

Je peux l’essayer ? Je fais du 38.

A short exchange in a clothes shop, with the phrases you need to ask for a size and try something on.

Vendeuse

Bonjour,helloje peuxI canvous aider ?you help

bon-ZHOOR, zhuh puh voo zay-DAY · “Hello, can I help you?”Always greet with bonjour when entering a French shop.

Vous

JeIcherchelook-forun pulla jumperbleu.blue

zhuh SHAIRSH un PÜL BLUH · “I’m looking for a blue jumper.”Chercher: to look for (no “for” needed).

Vendeuse

Vousyoufaitesdoquelle taille ?what size

voo FET kel TIE · “What size are you?”

Vous

JeIfaisdodu 40.of-the 40

zhuh fay dü ka-RONT · “I’m a 40.”Faire du + size.

Vous

Oùwheresontareles cabines d’essayage ?the fitting-rooms

oo son lay ka-BEEN day-say-YAZH · “Where are the fitting rooms?”

Vous

C’estit’sun peua bittrop grand.too big

say tun PUH troh GRON · “It’s a bit too big.”Trop: too. Avez-vous la taille en dessous ? (the size below)

Sizes and pointures

36, 38, 40: French sizes

Women’s clothes use European sizes; shoes use la pointure (shoe size). Approximate conversions:

La taille	36	38	40	42	44
UK	8	10	12	14	16
US	4	6	8	10	12

La pointure	38	40	42	44	46
UK	5	6.5	8	9.5	11
US (men)	6	7.5	9	10.5	12

Say Je fais du 40 for clothes and Je chausse du 42 or Je fais du 42 for shoes. Du here is de + le: “I do (the size) 40”.

Dress codes and invitations

Tenue correcte exigée

Invitations and signs describe how to dress with fixed phrases. Read from casual to formal.

Giving an opinion on clothes

Ça te va bien ! C’est trop serré.

Aller à quelqu’un means “to suit someone”: the clothes are the subject, the person is the object, as with plaire.

Çathatte vayou suitsbien !well

sa tuh VA BYAN · “That suits you!”

C’estit’stroptooserré.tight

say troh say-RAY · “It’s too tight.”

C’estit’sun peua bitlarge.big

say tuhn puh LARZH · “It’s a bit big.”

Cette couleurthis colourne te va pas.doesn’t suit you

set koo-LUR nuh tuh va PA · “That colour doesn’t suit you.”

C’estit’sà la mode.in fashion

say ta la MOD · “It’s fashionable.”

C’estit’sdémodé.out-of-fashion

say day-mo-DAY · “It’s out of date.”

Keep going

French clothes and colours: une robe bleue, des chaussures noires, and je fais du 38

Vert, verte, verts, vertes

Porter, mettre, s’habiller, enlever

Je peux l’essayer ? Je fais du 38.

36, 38, 40: French sizes

Tenue correcte exigée

Ça te va bien ! C’est trop serré.

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