How exactly do you say big sister in Italian?
Let’s say you have an Italian friend who asks you if you have any siblings. You do! So how do you say I have a big sister in Italian?
Sorella
Sister
This lesson will be useful to learn all the different ways you can translate this word into Italian. (Yes, there’s more than one way!)
Let’s get started! Iniziamo!
How do you say big sister in Italian
Sorella maggiore
The direct translation for big sister in Italian is sorella maggiore.
Maggiore is a comparative adjective that translates into English as bigger.
Sorella maggiore
Big sister
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
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So in order to say “I have a big sister in Italian”, you would simply say…
Ho una sorella maggiore.
I have a big sister.
But wait! What if you have more than one big sister? Here’s what you have to say:
Ho … sorelle maggiori.
I have … big sisters.
Just replace the … with how many big sisters you have.
Other ways to say big sister in Italian
Sorellona
Sorellona is an affectionate way you can refer to your older sister. Literally, this would be translated as “big sister”, with the suffix -ona meaning “big”.
This is commonly used by children to refer to their big sisters, so don’t use this in casual conversation with other adults unless you want to use humor!
Don’t say: Ho una sorellona.
Sorellona
Big sister (affectionate)
La mia sorellona va alle scuole medie.
My big sister goes to middle school.
Sorella più grande
This is yet another synonym for big sister in Italian, and it would literally translate as “older sister”. It’s a neutral term and you can use it instead of sorella maggiore.
Sorella più grande
Big sister
Ho una sorella più grande di nome Alessandra.
I have an older sister named Alessandra.
Do you have any siblings?
Now that we’ve seen all the possible translations for big sister in Italian, let’s see how to ask people if they have any siblings.
These sentences literally translate as “do you have any brothers or sisters?”. There is no direct translation for “sibling” in Italian.
Hai fratelli o sorelle?
Do you have any siblings? (informal)
Ha fratelli o sorelle?
Do you have any siblings? (polite)
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
Use the first sentence if you are talking to a friend. Use the second sentence if you are talking to your boss, a stranger, etc.
That’s the end of our lesson! Now you know how to pronounce all the different ways to say big sister in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say big sister in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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