Is the term "negrito" an insult?
Luis Suarez the footballer has been punished for calling a black player "negrito". He (suarez )claims the term is not an insult . the footballing powers dont agree.Who is right?
11 Answers
Well Suarez needs to realise that he's in England, not South America, now. We have made massive strides to almost eradicate racism from sport. Our fans mix comfortably side by side (which of course they should do) regardless of race or colour. I must admit we still don't see too many British Indians/Pakistanis at football games, but hopefully as time passes this too will change.
Using the word 'negrito' to an opposing player, in whatever context, is wrong. Suarez will now know, not to do it again. Oh, and don't make me laugh, Suarez knew exacly what he was saying 
I am fed up with all this if someone called me a "Stupid Gringo or Honkey" it is the stupid I would object to.
Enough of this crap !
I suppose maybe he didn't like being called a "negrito" = a little black man.
I can think of worse things to be called.
It isn't racist.
As a matter of fact, most of the time is used as a term of endearment. It can be used in a derogatory phrase, but it isn't racist.
Remember, is not what you say, but how you say it. 
Words have only those meanings which you attach to them. So, determining whether something was said with an intent to offend requires understanding the context in which that word was said.
Perhaps Negrito is not an offensive word in the ordinary sense (as pointed out by 4Annie) but why did Suarez choose that particular word to refer to a black player? So, in this case, Suarez, most likely, used the term 'Negrito' as an insult.
I find "negrito" to be pretty offensive, especially with that doubtful diminutive attached: -ito, dedicated to an adult.
I don't understand why someone has to refer to other's colour of skin while playing a game. It's distasteful.
I don't like neither negrito, nor chinito, nor blanquito (which nobody uses, by the way)
so let me get this right, the word or term negrito can vary from one end of the scale being a term of endearment to a nasty racist insult at the other, that leaves a lot of grey area in between. As there wasnt any video evidence and as far as i know nobpdy heard what he is alleged to have said then it boils down to one players word against the other .Suarez should have been therefore given the benefit of the doubt and warned that this word is unacceptable on the football pitch.
i have been trying to learn spanish for a couple of years mainly by using a dictionary or phrase books,i end up getting bored and consequently havent progressed much.its much better to practice speaking the language,ideally to a native spanish speaker,or intercommunicate with other likeminded folk .this is where you lot come in.now going back to the Luis Suarez issue.I have never come upon the term"negrito"its a new one to me and iv been studying spanish(half heartedly il admit)for a couple of years. now if i havnt heard it then what chance is there that the blokes sitting on the F.A disiplinary panel have ? pretty slim id guess.Iwould imagine that they would have had to consult a spanish speaker and ask them if "negrito"was a racist insult .The answer they got back must have been "too right it is" Have they got it right is all im asking.the FA asked the question and im doing the same.
iv been studying spanish(half heartedly il admit)for a couple of years.
Well, good for you to find us then
if you had been studying here for two years, your Spanish would be good by now
find our free lessons above and all resources under "more".
Negrito can be a friendly term, and it can be an insult, all depends on context.
The word to use for an insult in this case would be negro + azo, extremely offensive.
Oy, this is something!
Why do we have to punish him? He most likely did not mean any harm (if he did, he would be repeating episodes like this). Even if he did mean it; why get him on one little incident? I don't get it.
I am sure it is only offensive to those who take it. Simple as that.
Like a thread that was started before. Somewhere along the lines of "Is it offensive to call a woman 'chica'?" A person replied with saying that it is if you don't know her very well and it is not if you know her well. All in the eyes of the beholder. Unfortunately, the eyes of the beholder here (the powers) pounce on every little thing they can.
Suarez is 1/4 black himself (black grandpa). Black people call each other such names in a friendly way all the time (just lookup the lyrics of some mainstream rap songs). Therefore it could have been a term of endearment. In fact, Evra's own teammates sometimes call him by that name, so it's hypocrite at best.
"Duerme, Duerme Negrito" is a lovely lullaby sung by one of my favourites, Mercedes Sosa - obviously not derogatory in this context....maybe it depends on the country?
