fe1啡
Jyutpingfe1
Yalefē
Definition
Brown; the color of a tree trunk or coffee beans.
colloquialcoloursdescriptions
How it's used
Refers specifically to the colour brown, derived from the loanword for coffee. While it can stand alone as a noun, it is almost always paired with 色 to function as an adjective. It is the standard way to describe brown objects in daily life, replacing the more formal or literary terms found in written Chinese.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often forget to add 色 after 啡 when describing an object, but using 啡 alone as an adjective can sound incomplete or unnatural in many contexts.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- How oftenUsually, sometimes, all the time, rarely, never. All five sit in one slot, between the subject and the verb.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
