Instead of using adjectives to talk about size, Italian has the device of altering the noun itself, thus producing a new word. Different endings are added onto the root word. Let's look at how this works with some nouns with feminine endings.
An example of this is pentola. Una pentola is a pot. It's already pretty big, big enough for cooking pasta. Un pentolone is an even bigger pot for if you're cooking lots of pasta or canning tomatoes, as in the second example below. We could also say una pentola grande, (a big pot) but sometimes it's easier to say pentolone. So, when you hear a word that ends in -one, it's likely a large version of something that comes in various sizes.
Ci serve, naturalmente, anche qualcosa per cuocere la pasta. Una pentola, un'altra pentola per la pasta,
We also need, naturally, something for cooking the pasta. A pot, another pot for the pasta,
Captions 79-81, L'Italia a tavola Tonnarelli cacio e pepe - Part 1
Play Caption
Here, a woman is describing how to make tomato sauce to can. She's going to make a big batch.
Alcuni, eh, lo fanno appassire un po' dentro i pentoloni sul fuoco...
Some, uh, cook them down a bit in big pots on the burner...
Caption 28, Giovanna spiega La passata di pomodori
Play Caption
When the item in discussion is the smalller version, the ending -ino is typical:
E per farlo, prendiamo un pentolino come questo e ci mettiamo un pochino di olio extravergine di oliva.
And to do that we take a saucepan like this and we put a little extra virgin olive oil in it.
Captions 18-19, Marika spiega La Parmigiana di melanzane - Part 1
Play Caption
Una capanna is a shack, shed, or hut. It's a feminine noun.
...oppure costruivamo una capanna con delle sedie e delle coperte
...or else we'd build a hut out of chairs and bed covers
Caption 8, Anna e Marika ricordi di infanzia
Play Caption
Un capannone can either be called a "shed," even though it's big, a "hangar," or, in the case of a mechanic's workplace, a "garage." It will have a different name in English depending on its use. It may or may not have 4 walls. It may or may not be makeshift.
...che segnalava la presenza di auto truccate in un capannone al Quadraro e trac. Va be', allora vogliamo brindare?
...that reported the presence of souped-up cars in a hangar in Quadraro, and boom. OK, so do we want to make a toast?
Captions 35-37, La Ladra EP. 8 - Il momento giusto - Part 14
Play Caption
If the shack or hut is tiny, as it would be for a hunter's blind, then il capannino is the word of choice. There might be room for just one person.
Although una macchina can be any kind of machine, it's also the word for car. The more official Italian word is automobile, just like in English. The stress goes on the second O, however.
Infatti, quando ho compiuto venti anni, mi ha regalato una macchina nuova.
In fact, when I turned twenty, she got me a new car.
Captions 31-32, Adriano Nonna
Play Caption
Ci porta Giampi, che lui c'ha un macchinone.
Giampi will take us. He has a big car.
Caption 53, Sposami EP 3 - Part 7
Play Caption
Sometimes the resulting word can retain the gender of the original word, as in the case of macchina.
E sotto c'era un altro cartellino bianco con disegnato su un camioncino con un gancettino che si porta via una macchinina.
And below it was another little white sign picturing a little truck with a little hook on it, which is towing a little car away.
Captions 89-91, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 1
Play Caption
As you listen to more videos, you will start noticing the endings -one and -ino. Look for the noun within the noun and you'll often be able to figure out what a word means.
It can be hard to remember whether an Italian noun ends in o or a. Sometimes it doesn't really matter, and people from different regions will express the noun one way or the other. An example of this is il puzzo/la puzza. They both mean "a bad smell" "a stench."
Beh, è bello sentire gli odori, ma noi sentiamo gli odori, ma sentiamo anche le puzze. Ecco infatti, senti questa puzza?
Well, it's nice to smell odors, but we smell scents, but we also smell bad odors. There you go, in fact, do you smell this stench?
Captions 12-14, Daniela e Francesca Il verbo sentire
Play Caption
They're both associated with the verb puzzare (to stink).
But often, the ending does make a difference in meaning: It might be a small difference, where you'll likely be understood even if you get it wrong:
Se vuoi fare contento un bambino, dagli un foglio bianco e una matita colorata.
If you want to make a child happy, give him a white sheet of paper and a colored pencil.
Captions 7-8, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 1
Play Caption
una spolverata de [di] parmigiano e 'na [una] foglia di basilico a crudo sopra.
a sprinkling of Parmesan and a raw basil leaf on top.
Caption 9, Anna e Marika Un Ristorante a Trastevere
Play Caption
Both sheets of paper are flat and thin, and in English a leaf can be a sheet of paper. We might use this term when talking specifically about books, but normally a leaf is a leaf and a sheet of paper is a sheet of paper.
Of course it's better to get it right!
But what about palo and pala? Actually, if we think about it, they both have similar shapes, but their function is completely different.
Il problema era, era un palo, un palo che stava proprio lì. Un palo di ferro
The problem was, was a post, a post that was right there. An iron post
Captions 83-85, Provaci Ancora Prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 1
Play Caption
La preparazione del terreno per la semina, il contadino la fa con una vanga, che è una specie di pala ma fatta apposta per il terreno,
The preparing of the ground for sowing, the farmer does with a spade, which is a kind of shovel but made especially for the ground,
Captions 19-20, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 2
Play Caption
So just for fun, and perhaps to help remember, we have a little crossword puzzle for you, all in Italian. All the words have one version that ends in a and one that ends in o. You might have to use a dictionary.
Click on the link and follow the instructions.
When endings count: Italian nouns ending in a or o
We've had a request for translations of the crossword puzzle. While we can't put the translation in the crossword itself, here are the clues in English:
Across
4. where ships can be docked
7. I use it for sewing
8. You have one when you are sad
10. I use it to write or draw on when it is made of paper
11. it grows in the ground or in a pot
12. one uses it to build things
13. we burn it in the fireplace
14. one a day keeps the doctor away
15. where someone lives
Down
1. a letter or package
2. place
3. It can end up in the courtroom
5. a type of fruit tree
6. it supports the electrical or telephone lines
7. there's often one at the checkout counter
8. you close it when you leave the house
9. you use it to dig a hole
10. it falls from a tree in the fall
Here are the solutions:
In English, it's common to say, "No problem." Some of us even use it in place of "You're welcome." But when we want to say this in Italian, it's slightly more complex.
Stai tranquilla, non c'è problema.
Take it easy, no problem.
Caption 80, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 14
Play Caption
Non c'è problema (the Italian equivalent of "no problem") might be easy to memorize, but some might want to know what each word means, and why it is there, so let's take a quick look.
Actually, the only problematic word in non c'è problema is c'è. This contraction is made up of the particle ci (a particle meaning too many things to list here*), which in this case means "in that place" or "there," and è (the third person singular of the irregular verb essere — to be).
Otherwise, we understand non c'è problema pretty well, and it's fairly easy to repeat.
Non c'è problema is a negative sentence, and we cover this particular aspect of it in a lesson about everyday negatives. (Let's remember that double negatives are, in many cases, totally OK in Italian!).
But there's another way to say the same thing, and pose it as a question.
Eh, che problema c'è? Dai.
Huh, what's the problem? Come on.
Caption 14, Il Commissario Manara S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva - Part 12
Play Caption
Che problema c'è? — "What's the problem?" or, literally, "What problem is there?"
This is a very common thing to say, but it is nuanced. Sometimes it just states the obvious in question form and is a rhetorical question. It's clear there is no problem at all. But sometimes, it has a touch of irony and implies there's more to it.
In a recent episode of Provaci ancora Prof, the segment ends with this question: Che problema c'è? All the members of the family keep repeating it so we can guess there's more to it.
E certo! Che problema c'è? -Che problema c'è? -Che problema c'è? -Duecento euro di multa, ecco che problema c'è.
Of course! What's the problem? -What's the problem? -What's the problem? -A two hundred euro ticket, that's what the problem is.
Captions 97-100, Provaci Ancora Prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 1
Play Caption
The last response to the question, Che problema c'è? is that there's going to be an expensive parking ticket to pay. That's the problem. There might be other problems down the line, too.
Che problema c'è, uttered with the right inflection, can also be a mild version of "What could possibly go wrong?".
It's also common to use the plural of problema. Let's just remind ourselves that problema ends in a but is a masculine noun and gets a masculine plural with i.
Non ci sono problemi (there are no problems).
or, as a question:
Ci sono problemi (are there problems)?
When we want to zero in on what the problem is, specifically, we can ask (although it can also be intended as general):
Qual è il problema (what's the problem)?
C'è qualche problema (is there some problem)?
Have you heard other ways to say, "What's the problem?" in Italian? Let us know!
* There are several lessons about this particle, so if, once in the "lessons" tab, you do a search of ci, you'll find plenty of information about it, with examples from Yabla videos.
Spanish
French
German
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
