How to Say "Brown" in Swahili

kahawia

The Swahili word for brown is kahawia.

The word kahawia is used to describe something that has a brown color.

Meaning: having a brown color/colour (adj)

What does it mean word for word?

The word kahawia is derived from the word for coffee, reflecting the color of coffee beans or the liquid itself.

As an adjective, kahawia does not change its form to agree with the noun's class or number.

If you are at a market in Kenya or Tanzania, asking for 'kahawia' might lead someone to hand you a cup of coffee rather than a brown object.
In Swahili, if you want to describe a person with a 'brown' complexion, you would rarely use kahawia and would instead use terms related to 'dark' or 'black' skin tones.
In some Swahili dialects, specific shades of brown are described by the type of soil or wood they resemble rather than a single abstract color word.

Ongeza moto ili keki ya mahindi iwe kahawia pande zote.
Increase the heat to brown the corn cake on both sides.
This sentence shows how to use kahawia to describe a corn cake being browned.
Tatoeba #10869699 by ecorralest101, translation #4409759 by LB
Mbweha wa kahawia mwepesi aliruka juu ya mbwa mzembe wa kahawia.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy brown dog.
This sentence uses kahawia to describe a fox and a dog.
Tatoeba #10835396 by ecorralest101, translation #894824 by pauldhunt
Mwana wa mfalem alimweleza kwamba amepotea njia msituni wakati alikuwa akiwinda, na kwamba amelala ndani ya chumba cha choma mkaa, ambaye alimpa mkate wa jibini na wa kahawia.
The Prince told him that he lost his way in the forest as he was hunting, and that he had slept in the cottage of a charcoal-burner, who gave him cheese and brown bread.
This sentence uses kahawia to describe brown bread.
Tatoeba #10884471 by ecorralest101, translation #6211778 by Hybrid

Said and Neema are looking at a piece of clothing in a shop.

Sources

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