Do you know the difference between Latino, Hispanic and Spanish?

It's a question that I think leaves most of us scratching our heads -- what exactly is the distinction between being Latino, Hispanic or Spanish? There's a difference, of course, between ethnicity, nationality, and heritage -- but when it comes to general folks, it's hard to explain the distinction.

So that's where Kat Lazo from Bustle.com comes in. Kat went to the streets to find out the answer by asking the general public on the street ... and the resounding answer was ... 'Uuummmmm.'

The folks at Bustle broke it down for us in real simple terms ... and we thank them for it!

So what does Hispanic mean?
Hispanic is a term that refers to people of Spanish speaking origin or ancestry. Think language -- so if someone is from Spanish speaking origin or ancestry, they can be described as Hispanic.

Latino?
Latino is a more frequently used term which refers to origin or ancestry to Latin America. Think geographic location -- so if someone is from, say Honduras, they are Latino.

And Spanish?
Spanish describes someone who comes from Spain. It's a term of nationality, but it's also a language. This is a bit of an easier one because if you are describing someone as being Spanish, they are from, or their ancestry is from, Spain. If you describe the language they are speaking, it is also Spanish.

Cosmopolitan also spelled it out rather nicely for us with a nice little cheat sheet.

But this is our favorite graphic from Bustle that describes exactly which geographic locations around the world are referred to as Latinos or Hispanics: