Sofa = 沙发 [shā fā]

A big grey beast has a padded sofa built right into its side: a living 沙发.

沙发 (shāfā) means “sofa.” It is a sound loan from English; 沙 (sand) and 发 (send out) don’t mean anything together.

Count sofas with 张 (zhāng) or 个 (gè): 一张沙发.

他坐在沙发上看电视。 — Tā zuò zài shāfā shang kàn diànshì. — He is sitting on the sofa watching TV.

这个沙发太软了。 — Zhège shāfā tài ruǎn le. — This sofa is too soft.