chica morena
/t͡ʃika moɾena/from spelling rules
The English phrase "dark girl" is translated into Spanish as chica morena.
Chica morena is commonly used to describe a girl with a darker complexion, though it also translates to "brunette girl." The adjective moreno/a can refer specifically to hair color, skin tone or both.
Which one should you use?
Chica morenita is an informal and endearing diminutive of morena used to refer to a dark-skinned girl. Chica de tez oscura means girl with dark complexion and is a formal way to describe someone with dark skin.
How does it change in a sentence?
The indefinite article 'una' is used to say 'a dark girl' (una chica morena). The phrase uses plural endings for both the noun and the adjective to refer to multiple girls (chicas morenas).
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃika moɾena/
Did you know?
- The word morena has a strange etymological ancestor in the Latin word for a 'sea eel', which was the Greek smuraina.
- In religious contexts, the Virgin Mary is often referred to as La Morenita in various Latin American shrines.
- While morena is common, some Spanish speakers use trigueña to describe a skin tone like wheat, which is a specific shade of dark.
Examples in context
- Ella es una chica de tez oscuraShe is a dark-skinned girl.
- La chica de cabello negro es morenaThe girl with black hair is dark-skinned.
- ¡Hola, morenita! ¿Cómo estás?Hi, dark-skinned girl! How are you?
- Esa chica morena es muy simpática.That dark girl is very nice.
- La chica morena tiene los ojos verdes.The dark girl has green eyes.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are talking about a new student.
- Sofía¿Quién es la nueva alumna?Who is the new student?
- DanielEs una chica morena de Colombia.She is a dark girl from Colombia.
- Sofía¿Habla mucho inglés?Does she speak much English?
- DanielSí, ella habla muy bien.Yes, she speaks very well.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries morena, CC BY-SA 4.0.
