Cinturón negro, cinturón marrón.
A black belt, a brown belt.
In karate, the belt color shows how far you've come.
From El Karate Kid 4 · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "brown" in Spanish
marrón
adjectivesame for masculine and feminineplural: marrones
In Spain, "brown" is marrón. In Mexico and much of Latin America people say café, like the drink. For hair and eyes, most speakers use a third word: castaño.
Hear "marrón" in real movie scenes
Two scenes where someone says it. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿E-es negro o marrón?
I-is it black or brown?
A bear shows up on the mountainside, and a scared hiker asks what color it is.
Marrón, café or castaño: which one to use?
It depends on the country, and on whether you're talking about hair and eyes.
| Word | Where you'll hear it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| marrón | Spain, Argentina, Uruguay; understood everywhere | One form for both genders: un bolso marrón, una maleta marrón. |
| café | Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Chile | It doesn't change either: una camisa café. In Spain, café only means coffee. |
| castaño | Everywhere, for hair and eyes | pelo castaño (brown hair), ojos castaños (brown eyes). This one does change: castaña, castaños. |
Tip: Wordy teaches marrón, the word people use in Spain. In Mexico, say café: una mesa café is a brown table.
Grammar: marrón, marrones
Four things to know before you use it in a sentence.
One form for both genders
un bolso marrón, una maleta marrón. There's no marrona.The accent goes away in the plural
marrón, but marrones: los zapatos marrones. The stress stays on the same syllable, so the written accent isn't needed.It goes after the noun
la mesa marrón, not la marrón mesa. Most colors follow the noun.Asking about color
¿De qué color es? What color is it? Es marrón. It's brown.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
El bolso marrón es perfecto.
The brown bag is perfect.
La maleta es marrón.
The suitcase is brown.
Los zapatos marrones son nuevos.
The brown shoes are new.
Tiene el pelo castaño.
He has brown hair.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una maleta marrona
✓una maleta marrón
Marrón has no feminine form.
✗los zapatos marróns
✓los zapatos marrones
Add -es in the plural, and drop the written accent.
✗el pelo marrón (for hair)
✓el pelo castaño
For hair, Spanish speakers say castaño.
✗un bolso café (in Madrid)
✓un bolso marrón
In Spain, café is the drink. The color is marrón.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
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How to remember it
Marrón looks like maroon, and both come from the French word for chestnut, marron. Picture a shiny brown chestnut.
Questions about "brown" in Spanish
How do you say brown in Spanish?
In Spain, brown is marrón. In Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Chile people usually say café. For hair and eyes, castaño is the usual word.
Is marrón masculine or feminine?
It has one form for both: un bolso marrón, una maleta marrón. The plural is marrones, without the written accent.
How do you say brown hair and brown eyes in Spanish?
Pelo castaño for hair. For eyes, both ojos castaños and ojos marrones are common.
