Un Sedan negro.
A black sedan.
On the run, someone asks which car to look for, and the woman answers with its color, placed right after the word for the car.
From Jack Reacher: Sin regreso · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "black" in Spanish
negro
adjectivefeminine: negraplural: negros, negras
"Black" in Spanish is negro. It changes its ending to match the noun, so a black bag is un bolso negro and a black suitcase is una maleta negra. Like other colors, it goes after the noun.
Hear "negro" in real movie scenes
A getaway car and a game of chess. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Blancas o negras?
White or black?
In a hospital room the doctor offers the young patient a rematch and asks which side he wants, and because the pieces are feminine and plural, black becomes negras.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Black in everyday phrases
Six phrases where negro, or a different word, means black.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| en blanco y negro | in black and white |
| la oveja negra | the black sheep |
| el mercado negro | the black market |
| el humor negro | dark humor |
| un agujero negro | a black hole |
| un café solo | a black coffee (in Spain) |
Tip: Spanish puts white first: a black-and-white photo is una foto en blanco y negro.
Grammar: negro, negra, negros, negras
Four points that come up every time you name the color.
Four endings
negro and negros for masculine nouns, negra and negras for feminine ones: un bolso negro, dos casas negras.The color goes second
Say un coche negro, a black car. In everyday Spanish the color doesn't come before the noun.The noun can disappear
In ¿Blancas o negras? nobody says the word for the pieces, but negras still agrees with it.Mixed groups take -os
One masculine and one feminine noun together take negros: El bolso y la maleta son negros.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
El bolígrafo negro es largo.
The black pen is long.
El bolso es negro.
The bag is black.
El bolso negro es pequeño.
The black bag is small.
¿Qué son estos puntos negros?
What are these black dots?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una maleta negro
✓una maleta negra
Maleta is feminine, so black needs its -a ending.
✗el negro bolso
✓el bolso negro
In Spanish the color follows the thing it describes.
✗un café negro (ordering in Madrid)
✓un café solo
In Spain a coffee with no milk is called solo. You'll hear café negro in parts of Latin America.
Real conversation: guess what it is
A short guessing game in the park. Tap to listen.
You're in the park under a tree. Your friend Miguel hides a small object in his hand and makes you guess what it is.
¡Oye! Aquí hay una cosa pequeña.
Hey! I've got a little something here.
Pues, ¿de qué color es?
Well, what color is it?
Es negro y amarillo.
It's black and yellow.
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 34 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
The country name Montenegro means "black mountain". Picture a dark mountain every time you say negro.
Questions about "black" in Spanish
How do you say black in Spanish?
Negro for masculine nouns and negra for feminine ones. In the plural it's negros and negras.
How do you say black coffee in Spanish?
In Spain, order un café solo. Many Latin Americans say café negro, and in Colombia a small black coffee is un tinto.
How do you say "black and white" in Spanish?
Blanco y negro, with white first: una película en blanco y negro, a black-and-white movie.
How do you say black hair in Spanish?
El pelo negro. To describe someone, use tener: Tiene el pelo negro.
