A few weeks ago we looked at some common expressions for describing people. This week, I’ll expand a bit on that lesson and share another of my favorite French songs that – while maybe it doesn’t perfectly illustrate the concepts – is definitely related to the topic!

First, the lesson!

Earlier we looked at how to describe people; their eye color and hair color for the most part^. Below are some additional terms you may find useful when talking about what people look like.

Autres couleurs des yeux (Other eye colors):

Autres couleurs des cheveux (Other hair colors):

And now the song!

^ Here’s one more useful word I might have included in previous posts about how to describe people: mignon/mignonne (and mignons/mignonnes … since like any adjective it must agree – in general – in gender and number with the noun it modifies!). ‘Mignon’ (and all the variations) means ‘cute, adorable, charming’. It is found in filet mignon (which literally means ‘little/cute filet’) … and it is also the origin of the English word ‘minion’ as in http://www.minionsmovie.com/minions.html

* From the verb ‘tondre’ which means ‘to shear’ or ‘to shave all the hair off of’ vs. ‘raser’ / ‘to shave’ as you might a face, or legs, etc.
** ‘compter pour des prunes’ is a French expression that means ‘to be of little worth’ (lit. ‘to count for plums’). See this previous post for more on plums and other fruits . . . and the reason why plums are of so little esteem!
*** Venetian (or Titian) blond is a shade of auburn or strawberry blond hair.
**** This word can mean ‘naughty’, ‘bad’ but also ‘ugly’ . . . as in « t’es vieux chaussures sont plutôt vilaines » (your old shoes are pretty ugly).