What’s the difference between giorno and giornata in Italian? Why are there two different words for saying “day”?
In this lesson, we will look at the difference between these words along with many examples and audio recordings. Read on to learn everything you need to know!
Iniziamo! Let’s get started!
The difference between giorno and giornata in Italian
Giorno
Giorno refers to the 24-hour day as seen on a calendar. When referring to the days of the week, you say giorni della settimana, literally “days of the week”. You never use giornata to refer to a general 24-hour period. Let’s hear how it is pronounced.
Giorno
Day
Its pronunciation is close to johr-no. If you have trouble pronouncing Italian sounds, check out the Italian pronunciation guide.
Now, let’s see some example sentences with giorno in Italian.
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.
Ci sono sette giorni in una settimana.
A week has seven days.
Un dipendente ha almeno 20 giorni di ferie all’anno.
An employee has at least 20 days off per year.
Faccio colazione alle 8 ogni giorno.
I eat breakfast at 8 a.m. every day.
Mio figlio è a casa ammalato da tre giorni.
My son has been home sick for three days.
Now let’s see what the use of giornata is to better understand the difference between giorno and giornata.
Giornata
Giornata is the time of day when you do your errands. The sun is visible in the sky and people are awake.
Another difference between giorno and giornata in Italian is that you use giornata to talk about the weather and about a particular day.
Giornata
Day
Buongiorno is a greeting. Good day!
Buona giornata is a wish. Have a nice day!
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
For example, you could say…
Oggi è una bellissima giornata.
Today is a beautiful day.
Che giornata! Lavoro da stamattina e non ho ancora finito.
What a day! I’ve been working since this morning and haven’t finished yet.
Le giornate di sole sono ideali per andare a passeggiare.
Sunny days are ideal for walking.
Famous holidays such as Mother’s day or Valentine’s day, however, are not translated as giornata in Italian. They use festa, feast, or party, such as…
La festa della mamma
Mother’s day
La festa della donna
Women’s day
La festa della Repubblica
Republic Day
La festa di San Valentino (also called il giorno di San Valentino)
Saint Valentine’s day
You use giornata for smaller holidays, such as…
La giornata della Terra
Earth day
La giornata internazionale della pace
International day of peace
Common idioms with giorno and giornata in Italian
There are a number of common idiomatic expressions featuring the words giorno and giornata in Italian. Some of these are…
- tutto il santo giorno (the whole darn day)
- da un giorno all’altro (from one day to the next)
- il buon giorno si vede dal mattino (a good beginning bodes well)
- vivere alla giornata (to live day to day)
And that’s the end of our lesson on the difference between giorno and giornata in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen the difference between giorno and giornata in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
❤️ If you liked this lesson on the difference between giorno and giornata in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
