In
Spanish,
negro (feminine
negra) is most commonly used for the color black, but it can also be used to describe people with dark-colored skin. In Spain, Mexico, and almost all of Latin America,
negro (lower-cased, as
ethnonyms are generally not capitalized in
Romance languages) means just 'black colour' and it doesn't refer by itself to any ethnic or race unless further context is provided. As in English, this Spanish word is often used figuratively and negatively, to mean 'irregular' or 'undesirable', as in
mercado negro ('
black market'). However, in Spanish-speaking countries where there are fewer people of West African slave origin, such as Argentina and Uruguay,
negro and
negra are commonly used to refer to partners, close friends
[22] or people in general, independent of skin color. In Venezuela the word
negro is similarly used, despite its large West African slave-descended population percentage.
In certain parts of Latin America, the usage of
negro to directly address black people can be colloquial. It is important to understand that this is not similar to the use of the word
***** in English in urban
hip hop subculture in the United States, given that "negro" is not a racist term.
For example, one might say to a friend, "Negro ¿Cómo andas? (literally 'Hey, black-one, how are you doing?'). In such a case, the diminutive negrito can also be used, as a term of endearment meaning 'pal'/'buddy'/'friend'. Negrito has thus also come to be used to refer to a person of any ethnicity or color, and also can have a sentimental or romantic connotation similar to 'sweetheart' or 'dear' in English. In other Spanish-speaking South American countries, the word
negro can also be employed in a roughly equivalent term-of-endearment form, though it is not usually considered to be as widespread as in Argentina or Uruguay (except perhaps in a limited regional or social context). It is consequently occasionally encountered, due to the influence of
*****, in
Chicano English in the United States.
