125 Italian Adjectives
Figuring out adjectives is key to learning any language, and Italian is bursting with words to describe anything you can think of.
Adjectives in Italian do not work in quite the same way as they do in English. Knowing the differences is an important part of working towards fluency.
This post will be your guide to understanding the most important things to know about Italian adjectives. It will make your sentences impressive, exciting, cool and maybe even magical. (See what we did there?)
Contents
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How to Use Italian Adjectives
Adjective Placement
One of the biggest differences between English and Italian is the placement of adjectives in a sentence.
Unlike English (but like most other Romance languages), Italian usually puts the adjective after the noun it is describing.
For example, a “pink apple” in English becomes a mela rosa (apple pink) in Italian. Here are some other examples:
The green plant — La pianta verde
A smart man — Un uomo inteligente
A skinny cat — Un gatto magro
The funny joke — Lo scherzo divertente
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. There are some cases where adjectives go before nouns in Italian, though it is not nearly as common.
Usually, putting an adjective before a noun puts less emphasis on that descriptor.
Sometimes, a noun might even have an adjective before and after it to provide two kinds of description. Remember that the adjective that comes after the noun is the one with more emphasis on it.
In some cases, the position of an adjective in a sentence changes the meaning of the phrase. Adjectives placed before the noun tend to focus on the quality of something while an adjective placed after usually emphasizes a more literal, physical description.
There is a common example you might have heard where the adjective goes before the noun:
A beautiful woman — Una bella donna
Here are some examples of how the meaning of a sentence can change depending on where you place the adjective:
A great book — Un grande libro
A big book — Un libro grande
An old friend — Un vecchio amico
An old friend (age) — Un amico vecchio
A new car (new to me) — Una nuova machina
A new car (fresh off the lot, no miles, brand spanking new) — Una macchina nuova
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Listen closely to the use of adjectives to get the hang of the difference placement makes. You can even use video flashcards to make your own word lists and to hear adjectives used in various contexts.
It’s important to note that some adjectives are irregular when they go before a noun, changing their form. We will discuss this later in the post.
Italian Adjectives and Gender
Italian shares another trait with a lot of Romance languages: nouns have genders.
This might seem like a complicated concept for English speakers. The basic idea is that there are masculine nouns and feminine nouns, and these determine the endings of certain words—including adjectives.
Masculine nouns usually end in -o or -e and use the articles il / lo (the) or un (a), with l’ being used for words that start with vowels.
When they are changed from singular to plural, masculine nouns end in an -i. These use plural articles such as gli (for words beginning with vowels, z and s+consonants) and i (for all other consonants).
Here are some examples of masculine nouns:
the man / men — l’uomo / gli uomini
the sock/s — il calzino / i calzini
the boot/s — lo stivale / gli stivali
Feminine nouns usually end in -a, and use the articles la (the) or una (a).
When a feminine word is pluralized, the -a turns into an -e and uses the article le. Words beginning with vowels will still use l’ as their article.
Here are some examples of feminine nouns:
the woman / women — la donna / le donne
the bag/s — la borsa / le borse
the shoe/s — la scarpa / le scarpe
It might seem strange to study nouns when you are learning about adjectives, but it is very important.
Adjectives in Italian must agree with the gender of the noun they are modifying. This means that adjectives change their form based on whether the word they are describing is masculine or feminine.
Here is a set of adjectives being used to describe masculine nouns:
The tired man — L’uomo stanco
The new socks — I nuovi calzini
The yellow boot — Lo stivale giallo
Note that all of the adjectives used here have endings that agree with the endings of their nouns, consisting of -i and -o when applicable.
Here are those same adjectives applied to our feminine nouns:
The tired woman — La donna stanca
The new bag — La nuova borsa
The yellow shoes — Le scarpe gialle
Notice that these endings change to -a or -e depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.
With some practice, you will catch on in no time!
Irregular Italian Adjectives
Some adjectives change their form when they go before a noun, making them irregular adjectives. This only occurs for four specific adjectives: grande (big), buono (good / well), santo (holy) and bello (handsome / beautiful).
Like regular adjectives, these irregular four change based on the noun they describe, using four forms: plural / singular masculine and plural / singular feminine.
In addition to these forms, an irregular adjective’s form also depends on whether the noun it modifies starts with a vowel or a consonant.
In addition, irregular adjectives take different articles than most adjectives: dei for masculine and delle for feminine.
It makes a lot more sense if you simply see it in action. Let’s take a look at the word buono:
Masculine Singular:
A good dog — Un buon cane
Masculine Plural:
good dogs — Dei buoni cani
Masculine Singular (with s+consonant or z):
A good boot — Un buon stivale
Masculine Plural (with s+consonant or z):
Some good boots — Dei buoni stivali
Feminine Singular:
A good apple — Una buona mela
Feminine Plural:
Some good apples — Delle buone mele (some good apples)
While the rest of the adjectives mostly follow these patterns, you can find specific charts outlining the exact conjugation of irregular adjectives.
Since there are so few of these irregular adjectives, they are relatively easy to study. Make sure that you know them all well!
Predictive and Attributive Italian Adjectives
There are two types of adjectives in Italian: predictive and attributive.
Figuring out the difference is simple.
Predictive adjectives use the verb essere (to be) to describe a noun:
The bag is blue — La borsa è blu
Attributive adjectives are directly attached to the noun they are describing, such as with many of the earlier examples. Here is one again so you can see how this looks:
A pink apple — Una mela rosa
This is all a matter of placement, so the forms are simple to identify. To make sure you have your predictive adjectives down right, practice the conjugation of essere.
125 Useful Italian Adjectives to Know
Now that you know the basics of how Italian adjectives work, here is a list of 125 Italian adjectives that you can use to describe things in Italian!
1. abbronzato — tanned
Quest’estate sono andata al mare tutti i giorni e adesso sono abbronzato.
(This summer I went to the beach every day and now I am tanned.)
2. abituato — accustomed, used to
Non è abituata ad andare a letto così presto.
(She is not accustomed to going to bed so early.)
3. accattivante — captivating
Quell’attrice è famosa per il suo sorriso accattivante.
(That actress is famous for her captivating smile.)
4. adorabile — adorable
Tua figlia con quel vestito rosa è adorabile.
(Your daughter is adorable in that pink dress.)
5. affamato — hungry
Uno squalo affamato è pericoloso.
(A hungry shark is dangerous.)
6. allegro — cheerful
Alana è sempre allegra, ma suo marito è sempre scontroso.
(Alana is always cheerful, but her husband is always grumpy.)
7. alto — tall
Donovan ha solo dieci anni, ma è alto come suo padre.
(Donovan is only ten years old, but he is as tall as his father.)
8. amichevole — friendly
I Golden Retriever sono molto amichevoli.
(Golden Retrievers are very friendly.)
9. antipatico — unpleasant
Oscar the Grouch è il personaggio più antipatico in “Sesame Street.”
(Oscar the Grouch is the most unpleasant character on “Sesame Street.”)
10. arrogante — arrogant
Le persone arroganti non piacciono a nessuno.
(No one likes arrogant people.)
11. artigianale — artisanal
Mi piacciono molto i gioielli artigianali.
(I really like artisanal jewelry.)
12. barbuto — bearded
Mio marito è l’uomo barbuto nell’angolo.
(My husband is the bearded man in the corner.)
13. basso — short
Molte persone credono che Napoleone Bonaparte fosse il francese più basso della storia.
(Many people believe that Napoleon Bonaparte was the shortest Frenchman in history.)
14. bello — beautiful
Ieri ha comprato un bel vestito per il matrimonio.
(Yesterday she bought a beautiful dress for the wedding.)
15. benevolo — benevolent
Il re benevolo ha fatto molto per il suo regno.
(The benevolent king did a lot for his kingdom.)
16. bianco — white
La macchina bianca è la mia.
(The white car is mine.)
17. biondo — blond
La donna ha i capelli biondi e gli occhi azzurri.
(The woman has blond hair and blue eyes.)
18. bravo — good
Sei molto bravo a cucinare!
(You are very good at cooking!)
19. brutto — ugly
Possiamo leggere la storia del brutto anatroccolo?
(Can we read the story of the ugly duckling?)
20. buono — good
Una buona granita è difficile da trovare in America.
(A good granita is hard to find in America.)
21. caldo — hot
Durante l’estate, le giornate calde sembrano non finire mai.
(During the summer, the hot days seem to never end.)
22. calvo — bald
L’uccello nazionale degli Stati Uniti è l’aquila calva.
(The national bird of the United States is the bald eagle.)
23. caotico — chaotic
Non posso sentirti, è troppo caotico qui.
(I can’t hear you, it is too chaotic here.)
24. capriccioso — capricious
Giorgio è un bambino capriccioso.
(Giorgio is a capricious child.)
25. carico — loaded, charged
Sono carico di lavoro.
(I am overloaded with work.)
26. carino — cute, nice
È stato molto carino ad aiutarmi con il trasloco.
(He was very nice to help me with the move.)
27. cattivo — bad
Sei una strega buona o cattiva?
(Are you a good witch or a bad witch?)
28. chiuso — closed
Possiamo considerare il caso chiuso.
(We can consider the case closed.)
29. combattivo — combative
Non so perché sei sempre così combattivo, siamo amici!
(I don’t know why you are always so combative, we are friends!)
30. creativo — creative
Uno scrittore creativo non ha problemi a scrivere su qualsiasi argomento.
(A creative writer has no problem writing on any topic.)
31. delizioso — delicious
Il salmone che ho mangiato stasera era delizioso.
(The salmon I ate tonight was delicious.)
32. depresso — depressed
È possibile che un gatto sia depresso?
(Is it possible for a cat to be depressed?)
33. deserto — deserted
La Sicilia è piena di spiagge deserte da esplorare.
(Sicily is full of deserted beaches to explore.)
34. discreto — decent, discreet
È una persona discreta: non racconta mai i segreti altrui.
(She is a discreet person: she never tell the secrets of others.)
35. disordinato — messy
Ogni mattina, quando si sveglia, ha i capelli disordinati.
(Every morning, when she wakes up, she has messy hair.)
36. disponibile — available
Questo articolo non è disponibile.
(This item is not available.)
37. divertente — fun, funny
Mi piacciono i film di Bud Spencer e Terence Hill perché sono divertenti.
(I like films with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill because they are funny.)
38. dolce — sweet
Non amo i dessert molto dolci.
(I don’t love sweet desserts.)
39. educato — polite
La bambina era molto educata con i suoi insegnanti.
(The little girl was very polite with her teachers.)
40. enorme — enormous
Hai visto quell’albero enorme nel parco?
(Did you see that enormous tree in the park?)
41. eroico — heroic
Superman è il personaggio più eroico dei fumetti.
(Superman is the most heroic character in comics.)
42. facile — easy
Imparare una nuova lingua non è facile.
(Learning a new language is not easy.)
43. famoso — famous
Gli attori molto famosi, di solito, non sono molto gentili.
(Usually, the very famous actors are not very nice.)
44. fedele — faithful
Un cavaliere è sempre fedele al suo re.
(A knight is always faithful to his king.)
45. fenomenale — phenomenal
Le stelle cadenti sono uno spettacolo fenomenale.
(Shooting stars are a phenomenal sight.)
46. fiducioso — trusting, sure
È sempre molto fiducioso delle sue capacità.
(He is always sure of his abilities.)
47. freddo — cold
Le tue mani sono fredde come il ghiaccio.
(Your hands are cold like ice.)
48. furbo — sly, clever
Il cane furbo trova sempre un modo per ricevere un biscotto.
(The clever dog always finds a way to get a cookie.)
49. geloso — jealous
Non le piacciono gli uomini gelosi.
(She doesn’t like jealous men.)
50. generoso — generous
Grazie per il regalo, sei troppo generoso!
(Thank you for the gift, you are too generous!)
51. gentile — kind
Il suo nuovo fidanzato è molto gentile con lei.
(Her new boyfriend is very kind to her.)
52. gioioso — joyous
Il Natale è sempre un’occasione gioiosa.
(Christmas is always a joyous occasion.)
53. giovane — young
Sei ancora troppo giovane per soffrire di mal di schiena.
(You’re too young to suffer from backaches yet.)
54. gradevole — pleasant
Quel fiore ha un profumo molto gradevole.
(That flower has a very pleasant scent.)
55. grande — big
Volete una casa grande in campagna?
(Do you guys want a big house in the countryside?)
56. grasso — fat
Il mio gatto è grasso e deve dimagrire.
(My cat is fat and has to lose weight.)
57. grave — serious
Dopo l’incidente, le sue condizioni erano gravi.
(After the accident, his condition was serious.)
58. grosso — large
Il procione ha mangiato tutte le ciambelle e adesso ha lo stomaco grosso.
(The raccoon ate all the doughnuts and now he has a large stomach.)
59. ideale — ideal
La situazione non è ideale, ma possiamo gestirla.
(The situation isn’t ideal, but we can handle it.)
60. ignorante — ignorant
Quando parli così sembri una persona ignorante.
(When you talk that way, you seem like an ignorant person.)
61. illegale — illegal
È illegale guidare senza patente.
(It is illegal to drive without a license.)
62. imbarazzante — embarrassing
Spero che non abbia visto quella foto imbarazzante!
(I hope he didn’t see that embarrassing photo!)
63. impulsivo — impulsive
I bambini sono sempre impulsivi.
(Kids are always impulsive.)
64. intelligente — intelligent
Einstein era un uomo molto intelligente.
(Einstein was a very intelligent man.)
65. invidioso — envious
Sei solo invidioso perchè ho più soldi di te.
(You’re just envious because I have more money than you.)
66. leale — loyal
Non esiste un amico più leale di un cane.
(There is no more loyal friend than a dog.)
67. lento — slow
Questo libro è noioso perchè ha una trama molto lenta.
(This book is boring because it has a very slow plot.)
68. letale — lethal
Alcuni serpenti hanno un veleno letale.
(Some snakes have lethal venom.)
69. libero — free
Sei libero di andartene quando vuoi.
(You are free to leave whenever you want.)
70. lieto — pleased
Sono lieto di vederti qui.
(I am pleased to see you here.)
71. loquace — loquacious
L’insegnante loquace ha parlato per due ore.
(The loquacious teacher talked for two hours.)
72. lungo — long
Sono in ritardo perchè ho avuto una lunga riunione oggi.
(I’m late because I had a long meeting today.)
73. lussuoso — luxurious
La prima classe in aereo è così lussuosa che non potrò mai tornare in classe economica!
(First class on a plane is so luxurious that I can never go back to economy class!)
74. magro — thin
Lei è molto magra, la sua dieta ha funzionato!
(She is very thin, her diet worked!)
75. malato — sick
Non mi sento molto bene, forse sono malato.
(I don’t feel very well, maybe I am sick.)
76. maleducato — rude
Non ho mai visto bambini così maleducati!
(I have never seen such rude children!)
77. malizioso — malicious
La ladra aveva un sorriso malizioso quando ha rubato il vaso.
(The thief had a malicious smile when she stole the vase.)
78. matto — crazy
Solo le persone matte guidano così veloce.
(Only crazy people drive so fast.)
79. migliore — better
Pensa di essere migliore di tutti.
(He thinks he is better than everyone.)
80. miserabile — miserable
Sono miserabile senza di te.
(I am miserable without you.)
81. naturale — natural
Preferisce curarsi solo con rimedi naturali.
(She prefers to treat herself with only natural remedies.)
82. nero — black
I gatti neri non portano davvero sfortuna.
(Black cats don’t really bring bad luck.)
83. noioso — boring
Questo corso mi piacerebbe di più se non fosse così noioso.
(I would like this course better if it weren’t so boring.)
84. ordinato — ordered, tidy, organized
Non ho mai visto una scrivania così ordinata!
(I have never seen a desk so organized!)
85. orgoglioso — proud
Mio padre era orgoglioso quando mi sono laureato.
(My father was proud when I graduated.)
86. paranoico — paranoid
Sono paranoica quando sono a casa da sola e sento un rumore strano.
(I feel paranoid when I am at home alone and hear a strange sound.)
87. pauroso — fearful
I bambini non devono guardare film paurosi prima di andare a letto.
(The kids shouldn’t watch scary movies before going to bed.)
88. paziente — patient
Non è un uomo paziente, vuole sempre tutto subito.
(He is not a patient man, he always wants everything right now.)
89. pazzesco — crazy
Guida ad una velocità pazzesca.
(He drives at a crazy speed.)
90. pericoloso — dangerous
Puoi mangiare alcuni tipi di funghi, ma altri sono pericolosi.
(You can eat some kinds of mushrooms, but others are dangerous.)
91. perso — lost
L’ufficio oggetti smarriti è pieno di telefoni persi.
(The lost and found office is always full of lost phones.)
92. pesante — heavy
Attenta, quella è una scatola pesante.
(Be careful, that is a heavy box.)
93. piatto — flat
Gli antichi greci hanno scoperto che non viviamo su un pianeta piatto.
(The ancient Greeks discovered that we don’t live on a flat planet.)
94. piccante — spicy
Molte persone dicono che il cibo indiano è davero piccante.
(Many people say that Indian food is really spicy.)
95. piccolo — small
Vuole un animale piccolo, come un coniglio.
(She wants a small animal, like a rabbit.)
96. pieno — full
Non posso mangiare di più, sono pieno.
(I can’t eat any more, I’m full.)
97. pigro — lazy
Mio fratello non pulisce mai la sua camera da letto perché è un ragazzo pigro.
(My brother never cleans his bedroom because he is a lazy boy.)
98. popolare — popular
Le cheerleader sono sempre popolari al liceo.
(Cheerleaders are always popular in high school.)
99. positivo — positive
È meglio essere positivo che pensare sempre al peggio.
(It is better to be positive than to always think the worst.)
100. povero — poor
Povero cane, non può trovare il suo osso!
(Poor dog, he can’t find his bone!)
101. presuntuoso — presumptuous
La donna presuntuosa pensa di avere sempre ragione.
(The presumptuous woman always thinks she is right.)
102. rapido — fast, rapid, swift
Con la modalità rapida, la lavastoviglie finirà prima di andare a letto.
(With the rapid mode, the dishwasher will finish before we go to bed.)
103. raro — rare
Lui vende libri rari.
(He sells rare books.)
104. realistico — realistic
Lui ha una visione realistica della vita.
(He has a realistic view of life.)
105. regolare — regular
Con un routine di allenamento regolare, puoi tornare in forma velocemente.
(With a regular workout routine, you can get back in shape quickly.)
106. ricco — rich
Lei è diventata ricca vincendo alla lotteria.
(She became rich by winning the lottery.)
107. sano — healthy
La mela è un frutto molto sano.
(The apple is a very healthy fruit.)
108. scarso — scarce
L’acqua è molto scarsa nel deserto.
(Water is very scarce in the desert.)
109. sconfitto — defeated
Dopo una lunga guerra, il nemico fu sconfitto.
(After a long war, the enemy was defeated.)
110. segreto — secret
La chiave segreta è sotto una roccia.
(The secret key is under a rock.)
111. seguente — next
La settimana seguente mia zia sarà in Australia.
(The next week my aunt will be in Australia.)
112. sensibile — sensitive
La spia conosceva molte informazioni sensibili.
(The spy knew a lot of sensitive information.)
113. stretto — narrow
La strada è stretta, guida con attenzione.
(The street is narrow, drive carefully.)
114. stupido — stupid
Non esiste una domanda stupida nella mia aula.
(There is no such thing as a stupid question in my classroom.)
115. tenace — tenacious
Dopo un’ora, lo scoiattolo tenace ha trovato la sua noce.
(After an hour, the tenacious squirrel found his nut.)
116. timido — shy, timid
La bambina timida non parla spesso.
(The shy girl doesn’t talk very often.)
117. tollerante — tolerant
I miei genitori non sono tolleranti quando si tratta di brutti voti.
(My parents aren’t tolerant when it comes to bad grades.)
118. tranquillo — calm, quiet
Stai tranquillo, c’è ancora tempo per prendere il treno.
(Stay calm, there is still time to catch the train.)
119. triste — sad
Anche i libri tristi sono belli.
(Even sad books are beautiful.)
120. vecchio — old
La mia macchina è troppo vecchia, non funziona di più.
(My car is too old, it doesn’t work anymore.)
121. veloce — fast
Il Frecciarossa è un treno molto veloce.
(The Frecciarossa is a very fast train.)
122. vivace — lively
Pur avendo ottant’anni, è ancora molto vivace.
(For being eighty years old, he is still very lively.)
123. vivo — alive
Quel scarafaggio è ancora vivo?
(Is that cockroach still alive?)
124. viziato — spoiled
La principessa viziata non era contenta del cibo di McDonald’s.
(The spoiled princess wasn’t happy with the McDonald’s food.)
125. volgare — vulgar
Non usare quel linguaggio volgare davanti alla tua sorellina!
(Don’t use that vulgar language in front of your little sister!)
There are hundreds more Italian adjectives out there to spice up your speaking and writing, but now you know 125 more! Knowing these adjectives (and how to use them) will help you fill your Italian sentences with much more detail!
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