We've come to the final 10 adjectives of the list of 50 good-to-know Italian adjectives. If you can learn these and use them in a sentence, you will have a good basis for conversation in many situations. Of course, there are many more and we'll feature new lists from time to time.
41) simpatico (likeable, congenial, nice)
This is such a great Italian adjective, but it’s hard to translate into English. It describes a person that you want to get to know, someone who is attractive as a person, rather than physically, someone with a great personality, and a warm smile. More about simpatico here.
E poi il cuoco è uno simpatico, stava simpatico pure a te.
And besides, the cook is a nice guy. You liked him, too.
Caption 62, La Ladra EP. 8 - Il momento giusto - Part 9
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41a) antipatico (unpleasant, troublesome, nasty)
The opposite of simpatico, antipatico can describe a person, but also behavior or a situation.
È severo e pure un po' antipatico.
He is stern and also a bit unfriendly.
Caption 41, Provaci ancora prof! S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco - Part 4
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Ti devo dare una notizia un po’ antipatica (I have to give you some unpleasant news).
Il mio insegnante di Italiano è veramente antipatico (my Italian teacher is really not very nice).
42-42a) Educato (polite, well-behaved, good-mannered) and its opposite, maleducato (rude, ill-mannered, impolite) have nothing, or very little, to do with going to school and getting an education. They have to do with manners and behavior, and also training as regards children and animals.
È una ragazza madre ed è una persona tanto carina, tanto gentile, educata.
She's a single mother and is a very nice person, very kind, polite.
Caption 43, La Ladra EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 6
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Non si azzardi più a chiamarmi a quest'ora, maleducato!
Don't you dare call me again at this hour, how rude!
Caption 69, Il Commissario Manara S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde - Part 12
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In other words, educato and maleducato are generally false friends. They do not mean "educated" and "uneducated."
43) Sospettoso mostly describes a person. For something that’s suspicious-looking, the adjective sospetto is normally used. Il sospetto is a noun that means “the suspect.”
No, il barone era sospettoso e faceva assaggiare il cibo prima di mangiare alla moglie,
No, the baron was suspicious and had the food tasted, before eating it, by his wife,
Captions 14-16, Caravaggio EP1 - Part 20
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44) affettuoso (affectionate, loving, tender)
Un tipo affascinante, simpatico, affettuoso.
A charming, friendly, affectionate type.
Caption 42, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 10
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45) ingenuo (naive, gullible, inexperienced, innocent)
Someone who is ingenuo isn’t all that familiar with the ways of the world. They may be too trustful and might easily get conned.
Mi crede così ingenuo da affidare a Lei un compito così delicato?
Do you think I'm so naive that I would entrust such a delicate task to you?
Caption 47, Il Commissario Manara S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi - Part 3
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46) tranquillo (tranquillo, calm, with no worries)
This very useful adjective covers a lot of ground, so it’s a good one to have in your Italian vocabulary. If you travel in Italy, you’ll undoubtedly hear this expression a lot: Stai tranquillo. It means, “Don’t worry.” The polite version is Stia tranquillo. It can also mean, “Stay calm.”
Lei non è incriminato di niente, deve stare tranquillo, va bene?
You haven't been incriminated of anything, you can rest easy, all right?
Caption 20, Il Commissario Manara S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde - Part 7
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47) preoccupato (worried, concerned)
This adjective looks like it should mean “preoccupied,” but it basically means “worried.”
Sono molto preoccupato per mio figlio (I’m very worried about my son).
And someone might say to you:
Non ti preoccupare (Don’t worry).
And if the situation is formal:
Non si preoccupi (Don’t worry [formal]).
More about worrying in Italian, here.
48) intelligente (intelligent)
This is an easy cognate and it means just what you would think!
49) stupido (stupid)
This is another adjective that means just what you would imagine it would.
50) pazzo (crazy)
This is a fun word and primarily describes a person or animal. Note that just as in English we can be crazy about something or someone, Italian uses this adjective, too.
Sono pazza/pazzo di te (I’m crazy about you).
And “to go crazy” is diventare pazzo (to become crazy).
When we are talking about something, on the other hand, we need the adjective pazzesco. Pazzo is only for humans and animals.
Hai avuto un successo pazzesco, eh?
You were wildly successful, huh?
Caption 1, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 2
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51) furbo (clever, cunning, shrewd)
Ho detto: "Non fare il furbo".
I said "Don't be a wise guy."
Caption 39, L'Italia a tavola Interrogazione sul Piemonte
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This adjective can either be positive or somewhat pejorative, depending on the context. It is sometimes transformed into a noun, as in the example above.
And with that, we’ve given you more than 50 (but who’s counting?) good-to-know Italian adjectives to put in your pocket. Try them out for size — practice them as you go about your day, observing your human, animal, and physical surroundings.
Learn more!
Practical examples of these adjectives can be found throughout Yabla videos available with a subscription. Yabla offers you the possibility of learning at your own pace and through videos pertaining to your interests. Expand your horizons by learning one of the most romantic languages in the world.
A Yabla subscriber has asked us to shed some light on the difference between noioso and annoiato. They are both adjectives and can be used to describe a person. There are some intricacies involved with these words, which we'll get to, but let's start out with the noun: la noia.
Che noia!
What a bore!
Caption 9, Acqua in bocca - Un amico per Pippo
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What is tricky about this noun (and its related adjectives) is that it can indeed imply boredom, but it can also mean "the bother" or "the nuisance." In fact, in the previous example, we don't know the context, but the meaning could also have been "what a nuisance," or "what a pain." The noun noia rarely refers to a person him- or herself, as "bore" would in English.
The following example is from Tuscany where noia is used a great deal to mean "bother." And it's often used with the verb dare (to give) — dare noia (to be a bother, to be annoying, to be in the way).
Erano alberi che davano noia e basta,
They were trees that were a bother and nothing more,
Caption 30, Gianni si racconta - L'olivo e i rovi
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So che noia can mean "what boredom" or "what a pain!" And dare noia can be interpreted as bothering, or being a bother, or being in the way.
We also have the verb annoiare that does remind one of the verb "to annoy." Indeed, that is one of the meanings and comes from the Latin "inodiare" — avere in odio (to have hateful feelings for).
Mi disturba, mi annoia,
You're bothering me, you're annoying me,
Caption 11, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sul Piemonte
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But it is much more common for this verb to be used in its reflexive form annoiarsi. In this case it's always about being bored or possibly fed up.
Io non mi annoio mai quando sto con lui, mai.
I never get bored when I am with him, ever.
Caption 34, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita
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We've seen that noia isn't just about boredom, so likewise, noioso can mean boring, but not necessarily. Let's look at some examples of the different nuances.
Noioso can describe a person who is not very interesting, a dull person:
Abbiamo solamente avuto un piccolo flirt.
We just had a little fling.
Genere depresso e noioso, capisci?
Depressed and boring type, you understand?
Captions 9-10, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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It can also describe a movie, for example:
Il film era noioso, purtroppo (the movie was boring, unfortunately).
Here's a perfect example of something that is not boring. It's annoying. And in fact, the N and O sounds can hint at that.
Eh, povero Dixi, il singhiozzo è noioso
Oh, poor Dixi, the hiccups are bothersome
Caption 15, Dixiland - Il singhiozzo
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Annoiato can be used as the past participle of annoiare, or more often, as we mentioned above, the past participle of the reflexive verb annoiarsi. In this case, it means "to get or to be bored."
Oppure: "No, non andrò alla festa di Marcello.
Or: "No, I won't go to Marcello's party.
Ci sono già stato l'anno scorso e mi sono annoiato".
I already went to it last year and I got bored."
Captions 48-49, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne
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But as often occurs, past participles are also used as adjectives. With annoiato, this can describe one's state of being.
Ciao. Sei annoiato o annoiata
Hi. Are you bored (m) or bored (f)
e ti vuoi divertire e rilassare?
and you want to have a good time and relax?
Captions 3-4, Marika spiega - Il cinema
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Let's try using all these forms in a silly, made-up dialogue.
Lei: Sembri annoiato, è così? (You seem bored. Are you?)
Lui: No, ho solo sonno (No, I'm just sleepy.) E inoltre, come posso annoiarmi ad ascoltare i tuoi racconti per l'ennesima volta? (And besides, how can I get bored listening to you tell your stories for the umteenth time?)
Lei: Beh, so che posso essere un po' noiosa a volte, scusami (Well, I know I can be a bit boring at times, sorry.) Allora smetto di darti noia, e me ne vado (I'll stop bothering you, then, and I'll leave.)
Lui: No, aspetta, se vai via mi annoierò davvero (If you leave, I will get bored for real.) E tra l'altro, ho dei lavori noiosissimi da fare e non ne ho nessuna voglia (And besides, I have some really tedious jobs to do and I have no desire to do them.)
Lei: OK, so che sono noiosa, ma non sarebbe meglio fare quei lavori dato che siano anche urgenti (OK, I know I am being a pain, but wouldn't it be better to do those jobs, given that they're urgent?)
Lui: OK, ora sei noiosa davvero. Mi sono ampiamente annoiato con questa storia (OK, now you are really being boring/irritating. I'm pretty sick of this thing), quindi forse è meglio se te ne vai... (so maybe it's better if you do leave.)
OK, ciao. Non ti voglio annoiare con un'altra delle mie storie noiose. (OK, bye. I don't want to bore you with another of my boring stories.)
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