"Black" in Spanish

Quick Answer

Black in Spanish can be negro, oscuro, or de color. It all depends on what you’re talking about. Read this article to learn more about the different ways to say black in Spanish!

Let’s Talk about Colors: Black as an Adjective

When describing something that's black in color in Spanish, you'll use the word negro. Let’s take a look at some examples:

examples
Esas nubes negras son señal de que pronto llegará la tormenta. Those black clouds are a sign that the storm will soon come.
Mi pantalón es negro. My pants are black.
La bici de Felipe es negra y roja. Felipe’s bike is black and red.

negro 1

Ser and Estar with Adjectives

Ser(to be) is used instead of estarto describe the color of an object when we’re talking about a permanent state. However, when we refer to something temporary, then we use estar.

examples
El cielo está negro por la noche. At night, the sky is black.
El carro de Luisa es negro. Luisa’s car is black.

Remember that adjectives have to match the nouns they describe in gender and number. Review noun-adjective agreement with this article.

Let’s Talk about Colors: Black as a Noun

When talking about black in Spanish meaning the name of the color, we use el negro. For example:

examples
Mi color preferido es el negro. Es muy elegante. My favorite color is black. It’s really elegant.
El negro combina bien con casi todos los colores. Black goes well with almost every color.

Much More Than Black in Spanish

We use colors to express our preferences, describe our surroundings, and talk about human attributes. So, let’s check out some basic color terms that go beyond black in Spanish.

Spanish	English
amarillo	yellow
azul	blue
blanco	white
café	brown
gris	gray
marrón	brown
morado/ púrpura	purple
naranja/ anaranjado	orange
rojo	red
rosado/ rosa	pink
verde	green
violeta	violet

Expressing Preferences and Describing Surroundings

One of the easiest ways to practice colors in Spanish is to talk about your preferences and describe your surroundings.

examples
Una camisa blanca y un pantalón negro siempre quedan bien. A white whirt and black pants always look good.
Mi gata es negra como el carbón. My cat is black as coal.
Mariana compró un cartera negra. Mariana bought a black purse.

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Beyond Black as a Color in Spanish in Descriptions

Black is also used to describe objects that are very dark in color, though not purely black. For example:

Spanish	English	Meaning
negro	black	dark
negro, de color	black	skin
negro	black	without light
negro	black	connected with the supernatural
negro	black	very sad

examples
En medio de la noche negra vimos una luz distante. In the middle of the black night, we saw a distant light.
Algunos dicen que en ese pueblo practican magia negra. Some say that in that village they practice black magic.
Cuando nos enteramos de las noticias, lo que había sido un día feliz se convirtió en una noche negra. When we heard the news, what had been a happy day turned into a black evening.

Black, often written with a capital b, can be used to refer to individuals belonging or related to diverse groups of people with ancestors from, especially, Africa or Oceania. In this case, Black in Spanish is either persona negra or persona de color, as a noun, or negro or de color, as an adjective.

examples
El tema de la tesis de doctorado de Patricia es la literatura negra de las excolonias. Patricia’s PhD dissertation deals with Black literature in postcolonial countries.

examples

El tema de la tesis de doctorado de Patricia es la literatura negra de las excolonias.

Patricia’s PhD dissertation deals with Black literature in postcolonial countries.

Black in Spanish: Phrases That Use Black

What about the phrases in English that use black? As some of the phrases are figurative, the translation is not always direct. Take a look at how we say black in Spanish in the following phrases:

Spanish	English
día negro	black day
tener fondos	to be in the black
mercado negro	black market
claro, inequívoco	black-and-white
El muerto se ríe del degollado.or El comal le dice a la olla.or Le dijo la sartén al cazo.	The pot calling the kettle black.