Below are 60 Italian food and restaurant words, each with its article, in standard Italian. Start with five: il pane (bread), l'acqua (water), il caffè (coffee), il conto (the bill) and mangiare (to eat). Then see how il, lo, la and l' work, what to say at an Italian bar, and how real story sentences use the words.
- Words
- 60, nouns with il, lo, la or l'
- Variety
- Standard Italian
- Level
- A1–A2
- Read them in
- Contos stories (chapters 1–2 free)
60 Italian food words
Nouns come with their article, because in Italian the article tells you the gender and changes with the first sound of the word. This is the same word pack the Contos web app uses for flashcard review.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| il pane | bread |
| l'acqua | water |
| il caffè | coffee |
| il tè | tea |
| il latte | milk |
| il succo | juice |
| il vino | wine |
| la birra | beer |
| il riso | rice |
| la pasta | pasta |
| la carne | meat |
| il pollo | chicken |
| il pesce | fish |
| l'uovo | egg |
| il formaggio | cheese |
| il burro | butter |
| la mela | apple |
| la banana | banana |
| l'arancia | orange |
| il pomodoro | tomato |
| la patata | potato |
| la cipolla | onion |
| la carota | carrot |
| il limone | lemon |
| la fragola | strawberry |
| la frutta | fruit |
| l'insalata | salad |
| la zuppa | soup |
| lo zucchero | sugar |
| il sale | salt |
| il pepe | pepper |
| il miele | honey |
| la torta | cake |
| il cioccolato | chocolate |
| il gelato | ice cream |
| la colazione | breakfast |
| il pranzo | lunch |
| la cena | dinner |
| il menù | menu |
| il conto | bill |
| il cameriere | waiter |
| il ristorante | restaurant |
| la cucina | kitchen |
| il piatto | plate |
| il bicchiere | glass |
| la tazza | cup |
| la bottiglia | bottle |
| il coltello | knife |
| la forchetta | fork |
| il cucchiaio | spoon |
| il tovagliolo | napkin |
| il tavolo | table |
| mangiare | to eat |
| bere | to drink |
| cucinare | to cook |
| ordinare | to order |
| pagare | to pay |
| avere fame | hungry |
| delizioso | delicious |
| dolce | sweet |
Il, lo, la or l'? How the articles in this list work
Italian has more than one word for "the". The choice depends on the gender of the noun and on the sound it starts with, and the plural article changes too.
| Article | Used before | From the list | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| il | masculine nouns starting with most consonants | il pane, il vino, il formaggio, il pomodoro | i: i pomodori |
| lo | masculine nouns starting with z, s + consonant, gn, ps or y | lo zucchero (also lo spuntino, snack; lo yogurt) | gli: gli spuntini |
| l' | masculine nouns starting with a vowel | l'uovo (also l'antipasto, starter) | gli: gli antipasti |
| la | feminine nouns starting with a consonant | la mela, la pasta, la cena, la forchetta | le: le mele |
| l' | feminine nouns starting with a vowel | l'acqua, l'arancia, l'insalata | le: le arance |
L'uovo is the odd one out: masculine in the singular, but the plural is le uova, with a feminine article and an -a ending. Two eggs are due uova.
Nouns ending in -e, and words that never change
Words ending in -e can be either gender, so learn them with the article: il pane, il latte, il sale, il pepe, il miele and il cameriere are masculine, while la carne is feminine. Words stressed on the last vowel do not change in the plural: one coffee is un caffè, two are due caffè, and the same goes for il tè and il menù.
Nonna prepara la colazione: caffè, pane tostato, marmellata.Which food words mean more than one thing?
A word list gives one meaning per word. In real Italian, several of these words do double duty.
- la pasta is pasta, but at a bar or a pastry shop una pasta is a single pastry. A tray of paste on a Sunday is cakes, not spaghetti.
- dolce means sweet, and il dolce is dessert: the waiter may ask Prendete un dolce? (Will you have a dessert?).
- la cucina is the kitchen and also the cooking of a place: la cucina italiana, Italian food.
- il piatto is a plate and a course. Il primo (pasta, risotto or soup) comes before il secondo (meat or fish).
- il conto is the bill, and il conto in banca is a bank account.
Hungry is something you have
The list gives avere fame for hungry, because in conversation Italians say ho fame, "I have hunger", and ho sete for thirst. The adjective affamato is correct, but it sounds like "starving" or belongs in a book. In the same way buonissimo is the everyday word for delicious; delizioso is a little more formal. See how to say delicious in Italian for more.
Pina prepara il pesce per il pranzo.How do you order at an Italian bar or restaurant?
In Italy il bar is a café: you go there for breakfast, an espresso standing at the counter, or a sandwich at lunch. These phrases use words from the list.
Un caffè, per favore.
An espresso, please.
Un caffè is always an espresso. Ask for un cappuccino or un caffellatte if you want milk: un latte gets you a glass of milk.
Vorrei un bicchiere d'acqua.
I'd like a glass of water.
In a restaurant you will be asked naturale o frizzante? (still or sparkling?).
Per me, la pasta al pomodoro.
The pasta with tomato sauce for me.
Ci porta il conto, per favore?
Could you bring us the bill, please?
Buon appetito!
Enjoy your meal!
Said before eating, to the people at your table.
More on the last step: how to ask for the bill in Italian. In a Contos A2 mystery, a detective looks down on a market square, and the food words come with di, not an article, because they mean a kind of thing:
Lui guarda giù e vede il mercato: venditori di formaggio, di vino, di verdure.Meet these words in a story: tap any word in a Contos chapter to see what it means, then save it as a flashcard.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you say "the bill, please" in Italian?
Il conto, per favore, or more politely Ci porta il conto, per favore? Waiters in Italy rarely bring the bill before you ask. Many restaurants add il coperto, a cover charge per person, which is not a tip.
What is the plural of uovo?
Le uova. Uovo is masculine in the singular (l'uovo, un uovo) but its plural is feminine and ends in -a: due uova, le uova fresche.
Is it il latte or la latte?
Il latte. Latte is masculine, like il pane and il sale, even though it ends in -e. On its own it means milk, so order un caffellatte or un cappuccino if you want coffee with milk.
How do you say "I'm hungry" in Italian?
Ho fame, literally "I have hunger". Affamato exists but sounds like "starving". For thirst, say ho sete; for very hungry, ho molta fame or, casually, ho una fame da lupi ("I have a wolf's hunger").