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French colour patterns: à rayures, à pois and uni

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Match six French clothing-pattern descriptions to labelled fabric swatches. Distinguish à rayures, à pois and uni, and see which words agree with the garment.

In short

À rayures means striped, à pois dotted, and uni / unie plain. Use à carreaux for checked and fleuri / fleurie for a floral pattern. Fixed phrases with à stay the same, while adjectives such as uni and fleuri agree with the garment noun.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Six fabric swatches: stripes, dots and plain green above checks, flowers and geometric shapes.
Read A–C across the top row and D–F across the bottom; the table gives a garment example for each pattern. Illustration: Atelier

Read the fabric swatches from left to right: A, B and C across the top row; D, E and F across the bottom. The table names each pattern and gives an example garment that could use it. Match the French description to the pattern, then compare fixed phrases with changing adjective endings.

Pattern positions and example garments
Label and positionExample garmentVisible pattern
A · top leftShirtAlternating navy and white stripes
B · top middleSkirtSmall round dots
C · top rightJacketOne flat colour, no pattern
D · bottom leftTrousersRepeated grid of squares
E · bottom middleDressSmall flower shapes
F · bottom rightT-shirtRepeated triangles, circles and squares

Match the French description to its pattern label

Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.

Keep à rayures, à pois and à carreaux as chunks

Une chemise à rayures and un pull à rayures use the same pattern phrase. The word rayures remains part of that fixed description; you do not turn it into a masculine adjective because pull is masculine. The same principle applies to à pois and à carreaux.

Un pull à rayures ; une chemise à rayures.

A striped jumper; a striped shirt.

Uni and fleuri agree with the garment

Agreement changes in the adjective patterns
Masculine singularFeminine singularPlural examples
Un pull uniUne veste unieDes pulls unis ; des vestes unies
Un tissu fleuriUne robe fleurieDes tissus fleuris ; des robes fleuries

Uni means plain or without a pattern here. Unie is its feminine form. Fleuri names a floral pattern, so une robe fleurie has the feminine ending. A floral garment may contain several colours; the pattern word does not give one main colour by itself.

Question 1No account needed
Which phrase describes dots?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

À pois. À pois names the dotted pattern with small round shapes.

Question 2No account needed
Which description means a plain jacket?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Une veste unie. Unie is the feminine adjective meaning plain, matching veste.

Question 3No account needed
Does à rayures change when chemise becomes pull?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

No, the fixed phrase stays à rayures. The phrase à rayures stays the same with different garment nouns.

To describe a garment precisely, combine colour and pattern only when you know both: une chemise bleue à rayures blanches. The first colour describes the shirt, and blanches describes the stripes. For a beginner’s request, the simpler une chemise à rayures may already identify the intended pattern.

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