How do you say "brown" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "brown" is 茶色 (chairo). It is a adjective pronounced "chah-ee-roh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

茶色 is written in kanji. Romanised as chairo, it sounds roughly like "chah-ee-roh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

木の幹は茶色です。

Ki no miki wa chairo desu.

Tree trunks are brown.

Usage notes

Chairo (茶色) means brown, literally 'tea color'. The word comes from cha (茶, tea), reflecting the brown color of brewed Japanese tea.

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Questions about 茶色

How do you pronounce 茶色?

茶色 is romanised as chairo. Say it roughly like "chah-ee-roh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 茶色 formal or casual?

茶色 is a na-adjective or noun-adjective. It is neutral in register and fits naturally in both casual and polite sentences. Add na before a noun, or use desu for a polite predicate.

How is 茶色 written in Japanese?

茶色 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.