Isn't it incorrect to call a girl a bonito?

Question

A friend of a friend, commented on my great niece as being bonito. She was trying to call her pretty, or cute.

to our English ears sometimes "o" and "a" sound similar and sometimes "a" and "e" sound similar - rabbitwho, Jan 5, 2012

Answer 1

Hello ASantoya, welcome to the Forum.

"Bonito" means literally "pretty", so I see no immediate problem at least with the intention. If the pretty one is a girl, then this person should have said "bonita". Es una niña bonita.

If the subject is a boy, in some Hispanic cultures they prefer to use other words such as "guapo" (handsome) - because "bonito" may feel effeminate.

There are a lot of subtleties involved in here, depending on exactly where the exchange takes places, the age of the kids, and so forth. But quite frankly, I think that in most cases, if a person who is clearly a foreigner, and does not speak the language, calls one of my little kids "bonito", I would take it as a well-meant compliment, and simply say "gracias".

Answer 2

I'd say she is muy bonita as she is a girl. Either that or he thinks she looks like a tuna

bonito (pez) (type of tuna)

That particular kind of tuna is called "bonito" because it's a pretty fish. - Gekkosan, Jan 5, 2012

That is what I thought. It kind of offended me that this girl thinks she knows Spanish and she misuses the language. - ASantoya27, Jan 5, 2012