moreno versus castaño

Question

Hi.

Americans just say, "brown hair." Dark brown, light brown. I've seen both "moreno" and "castaño" for brown hair. What is the difference?

Also, in American English, we can refer to a person as "a red head" and "a blond," but not a "brown."

Is Spanish similar with "pelirrojo" and "rubio"? And is either "moreno" or "castaño" used that way?

Thanks, -c

But we do refer to someone as being a brunette. - Janice, Aug 19, 2009

I always have. You're a blonde, a redhead or a brunette or Marge Simpson. (calva o cañosa like me) - 0074b507, Aug 20, 2009

Answer 1

Also, in American English, we can refer to a person as "a red head" and "a blond," but not a "brown."

Brunette? (even though it covers from light brown to black).

marrón .vs. castaño

Best part of link:

Here (finally) is a photo of hair color I can call brown, and rule out "castaño" ... but if there's one thing I've found about people agreeing on what color something is, is that it sparks almost as many disagreements as politics and religion.

for sure!!! - brendagreen, Jun 14, 2013

Answer 2

Castano means light brown (I should know; its my maiden name). moreno is more like a dark brown.

Castano means nothing. That word does not exist in Spanish. - lazarus1907, Aug 19, 2009

But castaño does. Some people can't type the tilde. - firelance80, Aug 20, 2009

some people can infer what a word means - brendagreen, Jun 14, 2013

Answer 3

Castaño is brown, especially with hair, but castaño is any hair colour from brown to dark. You have to specify that you are talking about the hair.

specify this! - brendagreen, Jun 14, 2013

Answer 4

At the very least, there's also auburn and chestnut to describe (brownish) hair color. "brunette" is merely a word derived from the French for "brown" (the modification serves to suggest either a diminutive or a sense similar to the English suffix "-ish".