bonito

Borrowed from Spanish bonito.

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːtəʊ

bonito (plural bonito or bonitos or bonitoes)

1. Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda that are related to and resemble the tuna, but smaller. [from 16th c.]
   • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 165:

     Mr Scott, the chief mate, being a capital fisherman, the table was almost daily furnished with an albacore, bonito, or dolphin, and not unfrequently with all three, which he struck with a gig.

2. A large tropical fish of species Katsuwonus pelamis (skipjack tuna), allied to the tunny.
   • 2022 October 19, J. Kenji López-Alt, “What Kenji López-Alt Makes His Family for Dinner”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     Making dashi is simple once you have katsuobushi (shaved, dried bonito flakes) and kombu (sea kelp), which have become increasingly easy to find across the United States. (You can also order them online.)

3. The medregal (Seriola fasciata), an edible fish of the southern United States and the West Indies.
4. The cobia or crab eater (Rachycentron canadum), an edible fish of warm waters globally.

• skipjack
• tunny

• IPA^(key): /boˈnito/ [boˈni.t̪ʊ]
• Rhymes: -ito

Borrowed from Spanish bonito (“pretty, cute”), a diminutive of bueno, from Latin bonus (“good”).

bonito (feminine bonita, masculine plural bonitos, feminine plural bonitas)

1. pretty, lovely

   Synonyms: belo, fermoso, feito, guapo

   Antonym: feo

Borrowed from Spanish bonito.

bonito m (plural bonitos)

1. bonito; tuna

   Synonym: atún

• “bonito”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “bonito”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /bɔˈɲi.tɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -itɔ
• Syllabification: bo‧ni‧to
• Homophone: Bonito

bonito n (indeclinable)

1. bonito, skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

   Synonyms: bonito latający, bonito paskowany, tunek pasiasty, tuńczyk pasiasty, tuńczyk skoczek

• bonito in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -itu
• Hyphenation: bo‧ni‧to

Borrowed from Spanish bonito (“pretty, lovely”), a diminutive of bueno (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”).

bonito (feminine bonita, masculine plural bonitos, feminine plural bonitas, comparable, comparative mais bonito, superlative o mais bonito or bonitíssimo, diminutive bonitinho, augmentative bonitão)

1. pretty, lovely

   Synonyms: belo, formoso

   Antonym: feio

• bom
• bonzinho

bonito (comparable, comparative mais bonito, superlative o mais bonito)

1. (Brazil) beautifully, in a beautiful way

   Ela canta bonito ― She sings beautifully

• Kabuverdianu: bunitu

Borrowed from Spanish bonito.

bonito m (plural bonitos)

1. various species of fish related to or sharing resemblance with the tuna, such as the albacore and the frigate tuna

• “bonito”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “bonito”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), São Paulo: 7Graus, 2009–2026
• “bonito”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “bonito”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “bonito”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “bonito”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• IPA^(key): /boˈnito/ [boˈni.t̪o]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ito
• Syllabification: bo‧ni‧to

From bueno +‎ -ito.

bonito (feminine bonita, masculine plural bonitos, feminine plural bonitas)

1. pretty, cute
2. nice, lovely, sweet, fine, charming, great

   bonito jugador ― nice player

   • 2023 March 27, Jackie Wattles, “Esta impresionante alineación de 5 planetas será visible esta semana: ¿cómo verla?”, in CNN en Español‎^[3]:

     “Es como cuando el cuentakilómetros de tu coche llega a 44.444”, dijo. “Es bonito e inusual. Pero en realidad no significa nada”.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

From Arabic بِينِيث (bīnīṯ, “bonito”).^[1] Other sources prefer a derivation from bonito (“pretty”, literally “the good one”), referring to the fish's appearance (see Etymology 1 above),^[2][3][4][5] despite the existence of a similar Medieval Latin form boniton,^[6][7] but this could be a simple coincidence or convenient availability bias.

bonito m (plural bonitos)

2. (zoology) tuna; bonito

   Synonyms: biza, bonítalo

3. (zoology) skipjack

• “bonito”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• bunito

Borrowed from Spanish bonito.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /boˈnito/ [boˈn̪iː.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -ito
• Syllabification: bo‧ni‧to

bonito (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜈᜒᜆᜓ)

1. yellowfin tuna

   Synonym: tulingan

• “bonito”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “bunito”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018