kono toryou wa chairo ppoi.

This paint looks brownish.

Breakdown of kono toryou wa chairo ppoi.

• は: topic particle
• この: this
• 茶色ちゃいろい: brown
• 〜っぽい: -ish; seeming to have a noticeable quality

Questions & Answers about kono toryou wa chairo ppoi.

How do you read this sentence?

A natural reading is:

この とりょう は ちゃいろっぽい。
Kono toryō wa chairo-ppoi.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• この = koh-noh
• 塗料 = toh-ryoh
• は is pronounced wa here
• 茶色っぽい = cha-ee-roh-ppoi

The small っ in っぽい doubles the p sound, so ぽい becomes ppoi.

What does この mean here, and what is it modifying?

この means this and directly modifies the noun that follows it.

So:

• この 塗料 = this paint / this coating material

In Japanese, この must come right before a noun. You cannot usually say この by itself the way you can sometimes say this in English.

Compare:

• この塗料 = this paint
• このは茶色っぽい = incorrect

If you want to say this one, you would use これ instead.

Why is the particle は used after 塗料?