Agreement (gender and number)
The adjective agrees with the noun it describes.
Feminine: usually +e
petit → petite, grand → grande, jeune → jeune (already ends in -e).
Plural: usually +s
petits, grandes.
If it already ends in -s or -x, the plural doesn’t change: gris → gris, heureux → heureux (m. pl.).
Very common irregulars (special forms before a vowel / silent h):
beau → belle; bel ami (m. sing. before vowel/h)
nouveau → nouvelle; nouvel an
Adjectives to describe emotions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| heureux | happy |
| joyeux | cheerful |
| content | content / glad |
| enthousiaste | enthusiastic |
| excité | excited (nervous/activated) |
| soulagé | relieved |
| reconnaissant | grateful |
| fier | proud |
| confiant | confident |
| serein | serene |
| calme | calm |
| détendu | relaxed |
| curieux | curious |
| surpris | surprised |
| émerveillé | amazed |
| touché | moved |
| ému | emotional / touched |
| inspiré | inspired |
| motivé | motivated |
| rassuré | reassured |
| amoureux | in love |
| nostalgique | nostalgic |
| mélancolique | melancholic |
| pensif | thoughtful |
| nerveux | nervous |
| stressé | stressed |
| anxieux | anxious |
| inquiet | worried |
| angoissé | distressed |
| effrayé | frightened |
| apeuré | afraid |
| choqué | shocked |
| fâché | angry |
| en colère | furious / angry |
| frustré | frustrated |
| jaloux | jealous |
| déçu | disappointed |
| triste | sad |
| abattu | down / discouraged |
| déprimé | depressed |
| honteux | ashamed |
| coupable | guilty |
| isolé | isolated |
| seul | alone |
| indifférent | indifferent |
| confus | confused |
| perdu | lost (disoriented) |
| épuisé | exhausted |
| dégoûté | disgusted |
All in masculine singular form; the feminine usually adds -e: heureux → heureuse, angoissé → angoissée, etc.
Adjectives to describe physical appearance
| French | English |
|---|---|
| grand (grande) | tall |
| petit (petite) | short, small |
| mince | thin / slim |
| gros (grosse) | fat / big-built |
| fort (forte) | strong |
| musclé (musclée) | muscular |
| élancé (élancée) | slender |
| trapu (trapue) | stocky / sturdy |
| beau (belle) | handsome / beautiful |
| joli (jolie) | pretty / nice-looking |
| laid (laide) | ugly |
| jeune | young |
| âgé (âgée) | elderly |
| chauve | bald |
| barbu | bearded |
| moustachu (moustachue) | moustached |
| blond (blonde) | blond |
| brun (brune) | dark-haired |
| roux (rousse) | red-haired |
| bronzé (bronzée) | tanned |
Position (before or after the noun)
In French, most adjectives go after the noun:
une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant.
A frequent group goes before the noun (size, basic value, order, quantity…), often remembered as BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) + some common ones:
Before the noun (useful list):
petit, grand, gros, long, court, joli, beau/bel, mauvais, bon, meilleur, pire, jeune, vieux/vieil, nouveau/nouvel, premier, dernier, autre, même, seul, certain, quelconque, plusieurs, quelque, tout.
- un grand hôtel, une belle maison, mes premiers pas.
Meaning changes depending on position
Some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they are placed before or after the noun:
| Before the noun | After the noun |
|---|---|
| ancien = “former / previous” → mon ancien prof | ancien = “old (age / historical)” → un bâtiment ancien |
| cher = “dear (affectionate)” → ma chère amie | cher = “expensive” → une robe chère |
| pauvre = “poor (unfortunate)” | pauvre = “poor (no money)” |
| propre = “own” → ma propre chambre | propre = “clean” |
| seul = “only” → la seule solution | seul = “alone” |
| grand = “great (important)” → un grand homme | grand = “tall (height)” |
Colors and compound adjectives
Simple colors agree in gender and number: des robes rouges, des murs blancs.
Invariable:
Colors derived from nouns: orange, marron, kaki, crème (do not change: des chemises marron).
Compound colors or hyphenated ones: des yeux bleu clair, des chemises gris-bleu (invariable).
Chic, super, sympa are usually invariable in everyday language (des vêtements chic), although “sympa” accepts sympas in casual plural use.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| rouge | red |
| orange | orange |
| jaune | yellow |
| vert | green |
| bleu | blue |
| violet | violet / purple |
| rose | pink |
| marron | brown |
| noir | black |
| blanc | white |
| gris | grey |
| beige | beige |
| turquoise | turquoise |
| bordeaux | burgundy |
| kaki | khaki |
| crème | cream |
| doré | golden |
| argenté | silver |
| saumon | salmon |
| lavande | lavender |