capelli castani
In Italian, the English phrase "brown hair" is translated as capelli castani.
The phrase capelli castani is used to describe hair that is light or dark brown in color.
Which one should you use?
While English speakers might use 'brown' for very dark hair, in Italian, capelli neri is used for black hair, whereas capelli castani specifically refers to brown shades.
Did you know?
- If you call someone's hair marrone instead of castani, it sounds as though you are describing the color of a piece of cardboard rather than human hair.
- The word castani comes from the chestnut fruit, meaning that someone with 'brown hair' is effectively described as having 'chestnut hair'.
- In Italian, the word capelli is almost always plural because it refers to the collective strands of hair on a head, whereas English can treat 'hair' as an uncountable mass.
Examples in context
- Ho i capelli castani.I have brown hair.This sentence is useful for expressing that you have capelli castani.Tatoeba #730188 by Guybrush88, translation #436665 by lukaszpp
- Ha i capelli castani.He has brown hair.This sentence is useful for expressing that he has capelli castani.Tatoeba #14003900 by Guybrush88, translation #2258381 by _undertoad
- Emily ha i capelli castani.Emily has brown hair.This sentence is useful for describing Emily's hair as having capelli castani.Tatoeba #4612230 by Guybrush88, translation #2854010 by CN
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Sofia are describing a friend to each other.
- FrancescoCom'è fatto il nuovo collega?What does the new colleague look like?
- SofiaÈ alto e ha i capelli castani.He is tall and has brown hair.
- FrancescoAh, quindi somiglia a te!Ah, so he looks like you!
- SofiaSì, abbiamo entrambi i capelli castani.Yes, we both have brown hair.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
