By the end of this lesson you'll be able to name clothes and colours, talk to a shop assistant, give your size, and understand how much something costs.
Clothes
Here are the everyday words. As usual, learn each one with its article.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le pantalon | luh pahn-tah-LOHN | trousersSingular in French. |
| le jean | luh JEEN | jeansSingular in French. |
| le pull | luh PEWL | jumper, sweater |
| le tee-shirt | luh tee-SHURT | T-shirt |
| le manteau | luh mahn-TOH | coat |
| le chapeau | luh shah-POH | hat |
| la robe | lah ROBB | dress |
| la jupe | lah ZHEWP | skirt |
| la chemise | lah shuh-MEEZ | shirt |
| la veste | lah VEST | jacket |
| les chaussures | lay shoh-SEWR | shoes |
| les chaussettes | lay shoh-SET | socks |
Two surprises for English speakers: le pantalon and le jean are singular in French. So "the trousers are grey" is Le pantalon est gris.
Je cherche une robe noire.
I'm looking for a black dress.
Les chaussettes sont roses.
The socks are pink.
Colours
Colours are adjectives, so they follow the rules from the lesson on adjective agreement: they go after the noun and they match it.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| noir / noire | nwahr | black (masculine / feminine) |
| blanc / blanche | blahn / blahnsh | white (masculine / feminine) |
| bleu / bleue | bluh | blue (masculine / feminine) |
| vert / verte | vehr / vehrt | green (masculine / feminine) |
| gris / grise | gree / greez | grey (masculine / feminine) |
| rouge | roozh | red |
| jaune | zhohn | yellow |
| rose | rohz | pink |
| marron | mah-ROHN | brownNever changes. |
| orange | oh-RAHNZH | orangeNever changes. |
- Most colours add -e for the feminine and -s for the plural: une jupe verte, des pulls verts.
- Blanc is irregular: un pull blanc, une chemise blanche.
- Colours that already end in -e, like rouge, jaune and rose, don't change for the feminine, but they do add -s in the plural: des robes rouges.
- Marron and orange never change: des chaussures marron, une veste orange. This is because they're named after things, a chestnut and an orange.
In the shop
As always, start with bonjour. Then these phrases will get you through.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Je cherche… | zhuh SHEHRSH | I'm looking for… |
| Je regarde, merci. | zhuh ruh-GARD, mehr-SEE | I'm just looking, thanks. |
| Je voudrais essayer… | zhuh voo-dreh eh-seh-YAY | I'd like to try on…Fixed phrase for now. |
| la taille | lah TAH-y | the size |
| Je fais du 38. | zhuh feh dew trahnt-WEET | I'm a size 38.Fixed phrase for now. |
Je voudrais essayer and Je fais du 38 are fixed phrases for now, so learn them whole. French clothes sizes are numbers, and they're not the same as British or American sizes, so check the label or ask.
Je voudrais essayer la veste verte, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like to try on the green jacket, please.
Quelle taille ? — Je fais du 40.
What size? — I'm a size 40.
The question Quelle taille ? uses quel from the lesson on question words, and it's feminine, because taille is.
Prices
You'll use the numbers from the lesson on numbers 21 to 100 here.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Combien ça coûte ? | kohn-byan sah KOOT | How much does it cost?Also: Ça coûte combien ? / C'est combien ? |
| coûter | koo-TAY | to cost |
| l'euro | luh-ROH | the euro |
| le centime | luh sahn-TEEM | the cent |
| cher / chère | shehr | expensive (masculine / feminine) |
Coûter is a regular -er verb, so it's le pull coûte for one thing and les chaussures coûtent for several.
Combien ça coûte, le manteau ? — Quatre-vingt-neuf euros.
How much does the coat cost? — Eighty-nine euros.
Les chaussures coûtent soixante-dix euros.
The shoes cost seventy euros.
La veste est chère.
The jacket is expensive.
Cher is an adjective, so it matches the noun: un pull cher, une robe chère. In Ça coûte cher, it works differently and doesn't change.
Putting it together
Here's a complete exchange in a clothes shop.
- Bonjour. Je cherche un pull bleu. (Hello. I'm looking for a blue jumper.)
- Quelle taille ? (What size?)
- Je fais du 42. Combien ça coûte ? (I'm a 42. How much does it cost?)
- Trente-cinq euros. (Thirty-five euros.)
- Je voudrais essayer le pull, s'il vous plaît. (I'd like to try on the jumper, please.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on ce, cet, cette and ces shows how to say "this jumper" and "those shoes", which is just what you need in a shop. After that, the review of this unit brings together shopping and cafés.