咖啡色
gaa3 fei1 sik1
The Cantonese word for brown is 咖啡色 (gaa3 fei1 sik1).
The term is used to describe something that possesses a brown color.
Meaning: having a brown color/colour (adj)
Which one should you use?
You may also encounter the shortened form 啡色, which is a more concise way to say brown in spoken Cantonese or the formal term 褐色.
How do you pronounce it?
gaa3 fei1 sik1
Did you know?
- When describing skin tones, Cantonese speakers rarely use 咖啡色. Instead, they use terms related to 'white' or 'dark' to avoid the clinical or object-based feel of 'coffee color'.
- The word 咖啡 is a phonetic loanword from the Arabic 'qahwa', mirroring how the English word 'coffee' was adopted from the same root.
- The character 啡 in 咖啡色 is specifically used to represent the phonetic sound of the 'fe' in 'coffee', rather than having an independent meaning.
Examples in context
- 我哋選嘅沙發係啡色嘅。The sofa we chose is brown.
- 我有一對咖啡色嘅鞋。ngo5 jau5 jat1 deoi2 gaa1 fei1 sik1 ge3 haai4.I have a pair of brown shoes.
- 呢件咖啡色嘅衫好靚。ni1 gin6 gaa1 fei1 sik1 ge3 saam1 hou2 leng3.This brown shirt is very pretty.
- 我想買個咖啡色嘅皮包。ngo5 soeng2 maai5 go3 gaa1 fei1 sik1 ge3 pei4 baau1.I want to buy a brown leather bag.
Example conversation
Two friends are shopping for a new sofa.
- 子健 Tsz Kin嘉欣，你覺得呢個咖啡色點？ga1 jan1, nei5 gok3 dak1 ni1 go3 kaafi1 sik1 dim2?Ka欣, what do you think of this brown one?
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan我覺得咖啡色太深喇。ngo5 gok3 dak1 kaafi1 sik1 taai3 sam1 laa3.I think brown is too dark.
- 子健 Tsz Kin但係咖啡色好容易打理。daan6 hai6 kaafi1 sik1 hou2 jung4 ji6 daa2 lei5.But brown is easy to maintain.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan咁我哋試下其他色啦。gam2 ngo5 dei6 si3 haa6 kei4 taa1 sik1 laa1.Then let's try other colors.
