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You can also use "кофейный" (coffee-coloured) as synonym for "brown".
by d_silin 10mo ago
You can also use "кофейный" (coffee-coloured) as synonym for "brown".
- koakuma-chan 10mo agoThat wouldn't be natural though. You would never describe, say, pants, as "coffee-coloured" in Russian.
- d_silin 10mo agoIt would make your Russian more posh, eccentric or sophisticated, depending on the context, but not necessary unnatural.
- galkk 10mo agoБрюки цвета кофе is natural in Russian. Pretentious, but still natural.
- koakuma-chan 10mo ago"Брюки цвета кофе" ("pants of coffee color") is natural, "коричневые брюки" ("brown pants") is natural, but "кофейные брюки" is not. In fact the latter would likely be interpreted as "coffee pants" or "pants made out of coffee."
- d_silin 10mo ago"кофейного цвета брюки" is acceptable too.
- koakuma-chan 10mo agoI admit that. I also realize that tguvot is actually arguing in my favor, as he said that coffee color is distinct from brown, and therefore the inference is that they aren't synonymous. I would summarize that they are conceptually different, as "brown" is a real color, whereas "coffee color" is a marketing color.
- tguvot 10mo ago"кофейные брюки" is totally ok. everybody will understand it. it's just the way the russian language is. you can abuse it, you can come up with words that do not really exist in language and make no sense, yet, everybody will understand what you meant to say
- koakuma-chan 10mo ago> "кофейные брюки" is totally ok. everybody will understand it. If the context is clothes, people would likely be able to guess, sure. But consider another example "кофейная чашка" ("a coffee mug"). In this context, it would most certainly be interpreted as "a mug for coffee" and not as "a coffee-coloured mug." In other words, you must include the word "цвет" ("color") for it to be correct and unambiguous. > it's just the way the russian language is. you can abuse it, you can come up with words that do not really exist in language and make no sense, yet, everybody will understand what you meant to say I don't think this is unique to Russian. I'm sure you can do the same in English and Japanese at least.
- tguvot 10mo ago"кофейная чашка" meaning will be resolved according to context where it's used Don't know japanese, but english been main language that i consume in past 25 years or so. i never saw it abused to same degree as russian gets abused
- LudwigNagasena 10mo agoIt’s fine as an occasional stylistic choice, but using it repeatedly as a regular synonym for brown is a pragmatic and collocational error. The meaning is clear, but the wording is marked, and overuse makes the speech sound odd in everyday contexts.
- tguvot 10mo agocoffee color won't be synonym for brown. it will be distinct color, just like strawberry, raspberry, straw, ruby, etc colors.
- tguvot 10mo agoactually you will. "coffee color" it's distinct from brown. And then there is also "coffee with milk" color. Won't be surprised if there is "pumpkin latte" color nowdays.
- koakuma-chan 10mo agoUh huh. Don't forget "aliceblue" and "rebeccapurple." But seriously, those are just arbitrary marketing aliases, aren't they. I remember e-shopping for sneakers, and every brand's "off-white" was a different color.