café
color, Latin America
Brown is café in much of Latin America, named after the drink, and marrón in Spain. For hair and eyes people also say castaño.
Meaning: the color brown (adjective)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| café | color, Latin America |
| marrón | color, Spain |
| castaño | hair, eyes |
Café stays the same for masculine and feminine, so zapatos café and chaqueta café are both correct. Marrón also does not change for gender, but it takes a plural: zapatos marrones.
Which one should you use?
For hair and eyes, castaño is the standard word: pelo castaño and ojos castaños. Dark brown skin is described with other words, such as moreno.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Marrón is the usual word in Spain and is understood everywhere. In Mexico and several other countries café is the everyday color word, and marrón can sound like textbook Spanish.
Did you know?
- The color name café comes from the drink, which itself comes from the Arabic word for coffee.
Examples in context
- Tengo unos zapatos café.I have brown shoes.
- Mi perro es marrón.My dog is brown.
- Ella tiene el pelo castaño.She has brown hair.
Example conversation
Daniel shops for a jacket in Mexico City.
- Daniel¿Tiene esta chamarra en color café?Do you have this jacket in brown?
- VendedoraSí, aquí está en café oscuro.Yes, here it is in dark brown.
- DanielPerfecto, me la llevo.Perfect, I will take it.
