zung1棕
Jyutpingzung1
Yalejūng
Definition
Brown.
neutralcolours
How it's used
Native speakers almost exclusively use the two character term 棕色 when describing this colour. Using the single character 棕 on its own to describe an object is rare and can sound overly literary or incomplete. It is standard to treat it as a noun-based adjective, often requiring the addition of 色 to sound natural in daily speech.
Examples
He bought a pair of brown leather shoes.
Do you like brown or black more?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake 棕 for the colour coffee, which is 咖啡色. While both are shades of brown, 咖啡色 is far more common in everyday life for describing clothing or objects, whereas 棕色 is used more for formal descriptions or specific natural objects like animals.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- 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.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
