color café
/koloɾ kafe/from spelling rules
The English phrase "brown color" is translated into Spanish as color café.
color café refers to the color that resembles the shade of earth or coffee. In many Spanish-speaking contexts, you can omit the word color and simply use café as an adjective, such as when saying ojos café for brown eyes.
Which one should you use?
While color café is common in many Latin American countries, marrón is the more standard term for the color brown in Spain and many other regions. Additionally, if you want to describe a lighter, reddish-brown shade, you might use color canela.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some parts of Mexico, color café oscuro might be used to describe dark brown shades.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase color café, the word café acts as an adjective and does not change to match the gender or number of the noun it describes.
Did you know?
- The word café has a long journey from the Arabic word qahwa, which originally referred to a type of wine or coffee, traveling through Turkish and Italian before reaching Spanish.
- While café is used for 'brown' in many regions, the word also describes a specific social setting, as a café is a coffee house or bistro.
- Depending on the region, using café instead of marrón can immediately signal whether a speaker is from Spain or Latin America.
Examples in context
- El sofá es de color marrón oscuro.The sofa is dark brown.
- Ella lleva una chaqueta marrón elegante.She's wearing an elegant brown jacket.
- Sus ojos son de color café claro.Her eyes are light brown.
- Necesitamos pintura color café para la sala.We need brown paint for the living room.
- ¿Dónde compraste tus botas café con leche?Where did you buy your light brown boots?
- Me encanta el pelo café con leche de mi amiga.I love my friend's coffee-colored hair.
- Quiero comprar una camiseta color chocolate.I want to buy a chocolate brown t-shirt.
- La silla es de un marrón muy similar al color chocolate.The chair is a very similar brown color to chocolate.
- El sofá es de color café.The sofa is brown.
- Me gusta ese vestido de color café.I like that brown dress.
- Sus ojos son de color café.Her eyes are brown.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are looking at a new rug in a store.
- Javier¿Te gusta este tapete de color café?Do you like this brown rug?
- LucíaSí, es un color muy bonito.Yes, it is a very beautiful color.
- JavierCombina bien con tu silla.It goes well with your chair.
- LucíaTienes razón, lo voy a comprar.You are right, I am going to buy it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries café, color, CC BY-SA 4.0.
