brown, dark, blonde, blond, fair
I am trying to know it my inquiries are correct. I have looked them up in the dictionary but I need confirmation because some of them sound a bit strange.
I am brown = yo soy moreno
I am dark = yo soy moreno (de pelo oscuro)
I am dark = yo soy de raza negra.
Blonde/fair hair = pelo rubio
I am blonde = soy rubia (mujer)
I am blond = soy rubio (hombre)
I am fair = soy rubio/rubia (hombre o mujer)
I am sure you have something to say about this. Thank you.
15 Answers
Mira lo que dicen de moreno en WR:
moreno,-a
1 (de pelo) dark-haired
(de piel) dark-skinned
2 (bronceado) tanned
ponerse moreno, to get a suntan
II m,f (persona) (de pelo) dark-haired person
(de piel) dark-skinned person
Eso de brown no se dice , quizás en broma o algo...como en España cuando decimos, estoy negro y no es del sol
brown 1 having the colour of earth, wood, or coffee: dark brown hair 2 having skin that has been turned brown by the sun: He'd been on vacation and looked very brown. He was as brown as a berry after two weeks in the sun.
sounds weird to me, but may be...let's see what the natives say.
and yes, I am going bald.
Me voy a poner negro si continuo tomando el sol = I am going to get a deep/strong tan if I go on sunbathing.
Me estoy poniendo negro = I am getting a tan,
No se puede traducir por brown. Que yo sepa de hecho eso de "I'm brown" tiene otro significado. Mira esto del Urbandict.
1.) A person with brown skin. sumtimes south asian(indian - like moi)
También es argot para heroína.
NIla, rubia en plan normal, o sea, no rubia escandinava, es
I am fair.
soy morena: I have brown hair
estoy morena: I am tanned, nunca I am brown.
Soy negra. I am black.
Normamente no se dice I am dark, no lo creo. Tal caso, I am dark skinned.
Thank you for making your own effort to translate. You did a good job, but I'll add the following:
"Soy de pelo oscuro" means "I have dark hair", but "Soy de piel oscuro" means "I have dark skin".
"Soy de negra raza" means "I am black (by race)"
Love you Nila and your questions!!
I am brown= This is usually incorrect unless you are referring to your tan. "Wow, I am really brown! I didn't realize how long I was in the sun."
I am dark.= This is not really used unless something is added such as "I am dark skinned."
I believe "I am blonde" is preferred over the second spelling "blond".
I am fair.= This usually refers more to skin tone. Unless the expression "fair haired" is used.
For some reason also, women are more likely to say "I am blonde" or "I am a blonde" than men. I think men would be more likely to say "I have blonde hair".
I'm sure others will have more eloquent answers, but I hope this is helpful.
Oh, yes, and "brown" seems to have another meaning. I have just seen it.. But not the meaning I am looking for. It is good to know when you can use it.
1.) A person with brown skin. sumtimes south asian(indian - like moi)
Thank you. I think my questions have been answered. Perhaps, there is one doubt with the word "dark" because it sounds strange in Spanish. "Dark" is similar to "oscuro" and it seems strange that can be mean "moreno". It sounds more like "black people" or something like that. But, sometimes, there are things in languages that cannot be understood. Perhaps this is the case.
As you can see, "brown" is used for a tan. I think there is not problem with that.
But, what about "dark"?.
In page 1247 Collins Dictionary "he is tall and dark" = él es alto y moreno.
In Longman Dictionary: 3 dark HAIR/EYES/SKIN someone who is dark has hair, eyes, or skin that is brown or black in colour [? fair]: a tall, dark man John's dark skin and eyes.
They say "someone who is dark" and "a tall, dark man" Then it seems to be clear that "dark" can mean "moreno". What do you think?
Both dictionaries have the same type of examples. But, none of the native speakers have mentioned it. Why?
Well, thank you, Heidita. I am going to cut and paste some information I have found in Longman Dictionary. You seem to be right.
4 fair HAIR/SKIN someone who is fair, or who has fair hair or skin, has hair or skin that is very light in colour [? dark]
brown 1 having the colour of earth, wood, or coffee: dark brown hair 2 having skin that has been turned brown by the sun: He'd been on vacation and looked very brown. He was as brown as a berry after two weeks in the sun.
3 dark HAIR/EYES/SKIN someone who is dark has hair, eyes, or skin that is brown or black in colour [? fair]: a tall, dark man John's dark skin and eyes
Firstly, we can see that in Longman dictionary says that “someone who is fair, or who has fair hair or skin, has hair or skin that is very light in colour [? dark]. Then, we can say “I am fair”. (As Heidita said).
Secondly, in Longman dictionary “brown” is used for tan. (As Heidita said).
Thirdly, in Longman dictionary “dark” is used alone. Then, I would say: I am a dark woman. (Do you agree with that?).
I hope this to be correct.
Heidita, I thank you the translation of the sentences. I am going to copy them. Anyway, there was a doubt that I would like to know.
How do you say "me estoy quedando calvo" and "me voy a quedar calvo"?.
I have seen that "quedarse calvo" is "to go bald"?. As you can see, the problem is when "go" goes with and adjective.
Well, Heidita is right when she says that “brown” has something to do with “moreno” (when you get your suntan). I have looked up “moreno” in Collins Dictionary and I have found this: Collins page 669 – “to go brown, to tan” = ponerse negro. Then, I would like to know how these sentences could be translated:
Me voy a poner negro si continuo tomando el sol = I am going to go brown if I go on sunbathing.
Me estoy poniendo negro = I am going brown.
(Are the translations correct?)
Also, I have looked up “rubio/a” in Collins Dictionary and I have found “blond/blonde”, but “fair” only appears when it goes with “hair”. All this is disconcerting because in Oxford Superlex Dictionary “fair” appears with it goes alone and it means “rubio o rubia” as Heidita says.
And now I am going to talk about “moreno” again. In page 1247 of Collins Dictionary appears “moreno” alone. “He is tall and dark” = él es alto y moreno. The same dictionary seems to be contradictory because when I look up “moreno” in the Spanish part (page 669) they translate “moreno” in several ways: dark-haired, dark-skinned. And when it goes with “hair”: brown. Then I wonder: why don’t they mention “moreno” when it goes alone in this other part of the dictionary?. And it looks strange that neither of you have mentioned it either. There is a contrast between the information in page 1247 and 669.
The truth is that I am wishing to finish with this topic but there are a lot of contradictions, even, in the dictionary. Can anyone help me with this?. I mean, can I say: I am dark (soy moreno)?. And, can I say: I am fair (soy rubio/a)?. I know this is getting complicated but I do not like to finish this topic having doubts.
Also, I would like to know if the translations in bold are correct.
This dictionary is quite good, but this time it is complicating the things.
Creo que voy a dejar de indagar más y voy a aceptar tus respuestas. Suenan muy prácticas y, la verdad, es que mucho no me gustan las respuestas del diccionario. Gracias.
I was wondering about the use of yo soy vs. soy alone, zoltan. THe reference article shows both possibilities but I was going to err in favor of using soy alone.
Well, I have to do a more direct question.
To say "yo soy moreno", I know that the easiest way is to say "I have dark/brown hair", but if I do not want to name the hair, is there any other way?. The problem is that, in my dictionary, "brown" appears as "bronceado or moreno". And, on other occassions, "black" is translated as "persona de raza negra" and other times, it is translated as "moreno".
To say "soy rubia" you have to say "I am blonde". You cannot say "I am blond". According to my dictionary, "blond" is for men. What do you think about it?. Anyway, it sounds strange.
I was wondering about the use of yo soy vs. soy alone, zoltan. THe reference article shows both possibilities but I was going to err in favor of using soy alone.
Compré la casa = yo compré la casa.
It is better not to use "yo". Most of the times, we use it without "yo". Sometimes, you use "yo" to emphasize. For example, yo... compré la casa (I was the one who bought the house). You emphasize that you are the owner. After that, is it clear who bought the house?.
Nicole-Baile, mis questions are always to learn English. 
No need to use yo.
