Brown in Different Languages
Discover 'Brown' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Brown, a warm and earthy color, signifies stability, reliability, and wholesomeness. It's the color of tree trunks, dirt, and life's essentials like bread and chocolate. Culturally, brown holds various meanings across the globe. In Japan, it represents simplicity and nature, while in some African cultures, it's associated with fertility and the earth. In the Western world, it often symbolizes practicality and warmth.
Given its widespread significance, knowing the translation of 'brown' in different languages can be intriguing and useful. For instance, in Spanish, it's 'marrón', in French, 'marron', and in German, 'braun'. These variations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also the unique cultural perspectives associated with this color.
Delving into the translations of 'brown' offers a glimpse into how different cultures perceive and value this color. So, let's explore more about 'brown' in various languages!
Brown
Brown in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bruin | ||
| The Afrikaans word "bruin" originally referred to a dark horse, and only later came to mean "brown" in general. | |||
| Amharic | ብናማ | ||
| The word ብናማ can also refer to a roasted cereal grain. | |||
| Hausa | launin ruwan kasa | ||
| In the context of soil, "launin ruwan kasa" can also mean "clay-colored." | |||
| Igbo | aja aja | ||
| The Igbo word "aja aja" may also refer to a type of dark-colored animal, such as a goat or dog. | |||
| Malagasy | brown | ||
| In Malagasy, the word "Brown" can also refer to a type of tree or a type of animal. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | bulauni | ||
| The word "bulauni" is related to "bura" (a dark color) | |||
| Shona | bhurawuni | ||
| Bhurawuni is also a type of mushroom that can be found in Zimbabwe's forests after rainy seasons. | |||
| Somali | bunni | ||
| The word also means 'roasting' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | sootho | ||
| The word 'sootho' has a related term 'lesootho', which is the name of the country Lesotho. | |||
| Swahili | kahawia | ||
| The word 'kahawia' also means 'coffee' in Swahili, derived from the Arabic word 'qahwah'. | |||
| Xhosa | ntsundu | ||
| The word "ntsundu" can also mean "deep" or "dark" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | brown | ||
| The Yoruba word "brown" also translates to "a shade of red". | |||
| Zulu | nsundu | ||
| The Zulu word "nsundu" also means "a dark patch on the skin". | |||
| Bambara | bilenman | ||
| Ewe | kɔdzẽ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umukara | ||
| Lingala | marron | ||
| Luganda | kitaka | ||
| Sepedi | sotho | ||
| Twi (Akan) | dodoeɛ | ||
Brown in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بنى | ||
| The word 'بنى' ('brown') in Arabic may also refer to the color 'tawny' or, when combined with 'أشقر' ('blond'), to a light brown shade. | |||
| Hebrew | חום | ||
| The word "חום" (brown) also means "heat" or "warmth" in Hebrew, possibly due to the association of brown colors with the warmth of the sun or fire. | |||
| Pashto | نصواري | ||
| The word "نصواري" in Pashto also refers to a specific shade of brown, often seen in the color of horses. | |||
| Arabic | بنى | ||
| The word 'بنى' ('brown') in Arabic may also refer to the color 'tawny' or, when combined with 'أشقر' ('blond'), to a light brown shade. | |||
Brown in Western European Languages
| Albanian | kafe | ||
| Albanian "kafe" comes from Turkish "kahve" (coffee) and also means "dark, opaque, or thick liquid". | |||
| Basque | marroia | ||
| The Basque word "marroia" is of Celtic origin and also has the meaning of "rust". | |||
| Catalan | marró | ||
| The word 'marró' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer-, meaning 'to grind' or 'to crush'. | |||
| Croatian | smeđa | ||
| In Proto-Slavic, "smeđa" meant "stinking" or "putrid," while a different root meant "brown." | |||
| Danish | brun | ||
| Brun (Brown) also derives from the word 'brande' (to burn), denoting something scorched in color. | |||
| Dutch | bruin | ||
| In Dutch, "bruin" (brown) is the same word as the name for a bear, "beer". | |||
| English | brown | ||
| The word "brown" derives from the Old English word "brun", which meant "dark" or "burnt" and was also used to describe the color of beer or dark bread. | |||
| French | marron | ||
| Marron means both brown and chestnut in French, as the word is derived from the Italian marrone, meaning chestnut. | |||
| Frisian | brún | ||
| In Saterland Frisian, "brún" exclusively means "red," not "brown." | |||
| Galician | marrón | ||
| Marrón is a Galician word of Celtic origin, related to the words for "rusty" or "rust". | |||
| German | braun | ||
| The word braun is derived from the Middle High German word brūn, which originally meant 'shining', 'gleaming'. | |||
| Icelandic | brúnt | ||
| The word "brúnt" in Icelandic can also refer to the surface of coffee or the golden crust on baked goods. | |||
| Irish | donn | ||
| Though "donn" usually means "brown" in Irish, it can also mean "earth," "the land," "a chieftain," or even "a river." | |||
| Italian | marrone | ||
| "Marrone" in Italian means 'dark chestnut' and also 'chestnut tree'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | brong | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "brong" can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic "brûnoz" meaning "burnt" or "brown". | |||
| Maltese | kannella | ||
| Although 'kannella' exclusively means 'brown' in Maltese today, it originally meant 'cinnamon'. | |||
| Norwegian | brun | ||
| In Norwegian, "brun" also means "burn". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | castanho | ||
| The word "Castanho" derives from Latin "castaneus" (chestnut-colored) and is also used in Galician and Spanish. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | donn | ||
| "Donn" in Scots Gaelic also means "dark" and comes from the Proto-Celtic root *dubnos, meaning "deeply submerged", from the Indo-European root *dheub-, meaning "deep", "dark". | |||
| Spanish | marrón | ||
| In Spanish, the word "marrón" can also refer to a type of chestnut or a type of clay | |||
| Swedish | brun | ||
| In modern Swedish, "brunn" can also mean "well, spring" and "brown" is "brun". | |||
| Welsh | brown | ||
| The word 'brown' derives from the Old English word 'brun', which referred to the dark reddish color of a roasted chestnut. | |||
Brown in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | карычневы | ||
| The Belarusian word "карычневы" can also refer to a horse of a brown colour or a type of mushroom. | |||
| Bosnian | braon | ||
| Braon has multiple meanings in Bosnian, including 'chestnut horse' and 'a type of coffee bean'. | |||
| Bulgarian | кафяв | ||
| "Кафяв" is also a term used to describe roasted coffee beans in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | hnědý | ||
| The word "hnědý" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰwendh-, meaning "to shine". | |||
| Estonian | pruun | ||
| Estonian “pruun” was originally related to the color of roasted grain or russet hair only, but it later extended to shades of reddish-brown and, finally, to the whole range of brown hues. | |||
| Finnish | ruskea | ||
| The word "ruskea" ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic word *rauskô- (cognate with English "russet"), meaning "reddish-brown". | |||
| Hungarian | barna | ||
| Barna derives from the Turkic word 'baran', meaning 'wild sheep', whose fleece was used to create brown textiles. | |||
| Latvian | brūns | ||
| "Brūns" is a type of wood, "brūns" is a horse, "brūns" is a beer, "brūns" is a potato, "brūns" is a fish. | |||
| Lithuanian | rudas | ||
| The word "rudas" also means "rusty" or "reddish" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | кафеава | ||
| The word 'кафеава' (brown) in Macedonian is derived from the Turkish word 'kahverengi', which in turn is derived from the Persian word 'kāh' (straw) | |||
| Polish | brązowy | ||
| The word "brązowy" derives from the word "brąz", meaning copper, because of the reddish brown color of copper alloys. | |||
| Romanian | maro | ||
| "Maro" can also mean "chestnut". While in Romanian the adjective for "brown" is "brun", "Maro" is used in some fixed expressions like "calul maro" (the brown horse). | |||
| Russian | коричневый | ||
| The word "коричневый" (brown) derives from the Old Russian word "кор" (bark), indicating its initial association with the color of tree bark. | |||
| Serbian | браон | ||
| The word "браон" is derived from the German word "braun", meaning "brown" or "dark brown". | |||
| Slovak | hnedá | ||
| The word "hnedá" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*gъnędъ", which originally meant "reddish-brown" or "chestnut-colored". | |||
| Slovenian | rjav | ||
| It originally meant 'reddish' (compare Gothic 'rauða', English 'ruddy'). | |||
| Ukrainian | коричневий | ||
| The Ukrainian word "коричневий" (brown) is also used to describe a reddish-brown hue, similar to the color of rust. | |||
Brown in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বাদামী | ||
| বাদামী color refers to the skin color of almonds, the fruit of the almond tree. | |||
| Gujarati | ભુરો | ||
| The word "ભુરો" can also refer to a type of soil or a type of rice. | |||
| Hindi | भूरा | ||
| The word भूरा ('brown') in Hindi may have originated from the Sanskrit root 'bhur' meaning 'earth' or 'soil' or from the Prakrit word 'bhurra' meaning 'dark' or 'tawny'. | |||
| Kannada | ಕಂದು | ||
| The word 'ಕಂದು' is also used to refer to a type of cloth dyed with natural brown dyes. | |||
| Malayalam | തവിട്ട് | ||
| Derived from Sanskrit "tapas" (heat), "തവിട്ട്" also means "dark skin" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | तपकिरी | ||
| "तपकिरी" may come from the Sanskrit word "तप" (heat, penance), and can also refer to a reddish-brown shade. | |||
| Nepali | खैरो | ||
| The word "खैरो" in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word "कपिलः", meaning "coppery" or "yellowish-brown" | |||
| Punjabi | ਭੂਰਾ | ||
| The word 'ਭੂਰਾ' or 'boora' is often used to describe the earth or soil, hence 'earthy' soil | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දුඹුරු | ||
| 'දුඹුරු' also means 'sad' or 'dull' in Sinhala, with some people suggesting that it could be linked to the appearance of withered brown leaves. | |||
| Tamil | பழுப்பு | ||
| Telugu | గోధుమ | ||
| The word 'గోధుమ' can also refer to wheat, and is cognate with the Hindi word 'गेहूँ' ('gehu'). | |||
| Urdu | براؤن | ||
| The Urdu word 'براؤن' ('brown') can also refer to a type of rice or to someone with dark complexion. | |||
Brown in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 棕色 | ||
| 棕色 means brown in Chinese, but also alludes to people with dark or freckled skin. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 棕色 | ||
| 棕色 means "brown" in Chinese, but it can also refer to a monk's robe or a type of tea. | |||
| Japanese | 褐色 | ||
| The kanji '褐' can also refer to 'tanned skin' or 'the color of withered grass'. | |||
| Korean | 갈색 | ||
| The word "갈색" also refers to the color of certain animals, such as horses and cows, and has been used in Korean since the 15th century. | |||
| Mongolian | хүрэн | ||
| "Хүрэн" also refers to the color of a horse, a reddish brown in this case. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အညိုရောင် | ||
| "According to the Sanskrit language, the word "brown” comes from the word brauna." | |||
Brown in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | cokelat | ||
| The word "cokelat" in Indonesian has a different meaning from its original Spanish "chocolate". | |||
| Javanese | coklat | ||
| "Coklat" can also mean "mud" or "dirt" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ត្នោត | ||
| Lao | ສີນ້ ຳ ຕານ | ||
| The name is derived from the colour of palm wine or the juice from sugar cane flowers. | |||
| Malay | coklat | ||
| The word "coklat" derives from the Nahuatl word "xocolatl" meaning "bitter water" and originally referred to drinking chocolate. | |||
| Thai | สีน้ำตาล | ||
| The Thai word "สีน้ำตาล" (brown) is composed of the words "สี" (color) and "น้ำตาล" (sugar), likely referring to the color of sugarcane or caramel. | |||
| Vietnamese | nâu | ||
| The word "nâu" in Vietnamese can also refer to the color "mustard" or "yellow-brown". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kayumanggi | ||
Brown in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qəhvəyi | ||
| In Ottoman Turkish, "qəhvəyi" referred to coffee and its preparation, potentially influencing its meaning in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | қоңыр | ||
| Қоңыр can also mean 'dark green'. The word is cognate with 'κόνις' (konis) in Greek, meaning 'dust'. | |||
| Kyrgyz | күрөң | ||
| "Күрөң" also means "a kind of wolf with reddish brown hair". | |||
| Tajik | қаҳваранг | ||
| "қаҳваранг" comes from the Persian word "قهوهای", which originally referred specifically to the color of coffee. | |||
| Turkmen | goňur | ||
| Uzbek | jigarrang | ||
| The Uzbek word "jigarrang" could be related to the word "jigar", which means liver, and may therefore refer to the color of the liver. | |||
| Uyghur | قوڭۇر | ||
Brown in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | palaunu | ||
| The Hawaiian word "palaunu" also refers to the color auburn, in addition to its primary meaning of brown. | |||
| Maori | parauri | ||
| The word "parauri" in Maori can also mean "dark-green" or "bronze-colored". | |||
| Samoan | lanu enaena | ||
| Lanu enaena, meaning 'brown' in Samoan, comes from the word enaena, meaning reddish-brown, as well as the word ena, meaning 'rust' or 'red oxide'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kayumanggi | ||
| In Tagalog, the word 'kayumanggi' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kumkuma', meaning saffron, but it has come to be associated with brown skin. | |||
Brown in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | anti | ||
| Guarani | yvysa'y | ||
Brown in International Languages
| Esperanto | bruna | ||
| The word "bruna" in Esperanto also means "dark-skinned", "brunette", or "dusky". | |||
| Latin | brunneis | ||
| The Latin word "brunneis" not only means "brown," but also "sable" and "dark." | |||
Brown in Others Languages
| Greek | καφέ | ||
| In Greek, the word "καφέ" ('kafé') initially referred to a shade of wine red (similar to 'rust') before being applied to the color brown in the Renaissance. | |||
| Hmong | xim av | ||
| The Hmong word "xim av" also means "dark" or "black" when paired with other dark, black colored items. | |||
| Kurdish | qehweyî | ||
| The word 'qehweyî' in Kurdish derives from the Persian word 'qahave' meaning 'coffee', ultimately originating from the Arabic word 'qahwa'. | |||
| Turkish | kahverengi | ||
| Kahverengi derives from "kahvereng","coffee-colored", which comes from "kahveh","coffee", which in turn comes from Arabic "qahwah","wine". | |||
| Xhosa | ntsundu | ||
| The word "ntsundu" can also mean "deep" or "dark" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | ברוין | ||
| The Yiddish word "ברוין" (brown) is a loanword from the German word "braun". | |||
| Zulu | nsundu | ||
| The Zulu word "nsundu" also means "a dark patch on the skin". | |||
| Assamese | মটিয়া | ||
| Aymara | anti | ||
| Bhojpuri | भूअर | ||
| Dhivehi | މުށި | ||
| Dogri | भूरा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kayumanggi | ||
| Guarani | yvysa'y | ||
| Ilocano | kayumanggi | ||
| Krio | brawn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | قاوەیی | ||
| Maithili | कत्थी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯣꯡ ꯃꯆꯨ | ||
| Mizo | uk | ||
| Oromo | diimaa duukkanaa'aa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବାଦାମୀ | ||
| Quechua | chunpi | ||
| Sanskrit | पिङ्गल | ||
| Tatar | коңгырт | ||
| Tigrinya | ቡኒ | ||
| Tsonga | buraweni | ||