café
Mexico, everyday
In Mexico "brown" is most often café, as in color café. The word marrón is understood too. It is also called moreno.
Meaning: color of earth or coffee (adjective)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| café | Mexico, everyday |
| marrón | neutral |
| moreno | skin tone, hair |
Mexicans say zapatos color café for brown shoes. Because café is already the color, it does not change for masculine or feminine nouns.
Which one should you use?
Marrón is the standard word in Spain and is used elsewhere in Latin America. Moreno or morena describes brown skin or dark brown hair on a person.
How does it change in a sentence?
In color café the word café stays the same. Moreno changes with the person: moreno for a man and morena for a woman.
Did you know?
- The color word café is the same as the word for coffee, so color café literally means "coffee color".
Examples in context
- Prefiero los zapatos color café.I prefer the brown shoes.
- Mi perro es café con manchas blancas.My dog is brown with white spots.
- Ella es morena y tiene ojos grandes.She has brown skin and big eyes.
Example conversation
Rosa shops for a bag with a salesperson in a store in Monterrey.
- Rosa¿Tiene esta bolsa en color café?Do you have this bag in brown?
- VendedorSí, la tenemos en café claro y oscuro.Yes, we have it in light and dark brown.
- RosaMe llevo la oscura.I will take the dark one.
