How exactly do you say egg in Italian?
In this lesson, we will take a look at the different words you can use to talk about eggs in Italian. Read on to learn them all!
Uovo
Egg
Let’s get started! Iniziamo!
How do you say egg in Italian?
Uovo
Uovo is how you say egg in Italian.
Uovo
Egg
It is a masculine noun and it begins with a vowel, so it uses the articles l’ (definite, the egg), and un (indefinite, an egg).
Un uovo
An egg
Delle uova
Some eggs
L’uovo
The egg
Le uova
The eggs
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
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Uovo has an irregular plural form: uova instead of uovi. In the plural, it also becomes a feminine noun! This is why we say le uova (le is a feminine plural article).
Its pronunciation is similar to oo-aw-woh and it comes from the Latin word ovum, egg. Make sure the final -o has a pure sound, because Italian vowel sounds are clean.
For example, you could say…
Mangerò un uovo per cena.
I will have an egg for dinner.
Le galline hanno deposto molte uova.
The hens have laid many eggs.
Puoi andare al supermercato a comprare le uova?
Can you go to the supermarket to buy eggs?
Mi manca un solo uovo per preparare la torta.
I need only one more egg to make the cake.
Types of eggs in Italian
There are many types of eggs in Italian. Some of them are:
Uovo di gallina
Chicken egg
Uovo di struzzo
Ostrich egg
Uovo di serpente
Snake egg
Uovo di Pasqua
Easter egg
For example, you could say…
Quanto è grande un uovo di struzzo?
How big is an ostrich egg?
Le uova di Pasqua sono fatte di cioccolato.
Easter eggs are made of chocolate.
Fresh eggs are called either uova fresche (from fresco, fresh) or di giornata, which literally means “of the day”.
Il fattore mi ha regalato 10 uova fresche.
The farmer gave me 10 fresh eggs.
Parts of an egg in Italian
The outer part, the shell, is called guscio. The white of the egg is called albume, from the Latin word albus, which means “white”. Then we have the yolk, which is translated as tuorlo in Italian.
| il guscio | l’albume | il tuorlo |
| eggshell | egg white | egg yolk |
For example, you could say…
Il pulcino rompe il guscio dell’uovo.
The chick breaks the egg shell.
La parte bianca dell’uovo si chiama albume.
The white part of the egg is called the albumen.
È vero che il tuorlo d’uovo contiene molto colesterolo?
Is it true that the egg yolk contains a lot of cholesterol?
Eggs in the Italian kitchen
When you cook eggs, you can make a delicious frittata, an omelet!
Quante uova servono per preparare una frittata?
How many eggs are needed to make an omelet?
You can also fry an egg (uovo all’occhio di bue or al tegamino) or beat it to make some tasty uova strapazzate, scrambled eggs. If you like boiled food, you can make a uovo alla coque, a soft-boiled egg.
Le uova strapazzate sono uno dei miei piatti preferiti.
Scrambled eggs are one of my favorite dishes.
Come si fanno le uova al tegamino?
How do you make fried eggs?
Eggs are also used in many other dishes, such as the pasta all’uovo, egg pasta, and maionese, mayonnaise.
Non mi piace la maionese. Preferisco il ketchup.
I don’t like mayonnaise. I prefer ketchup.
Idiomatic expressions with egg in Italian
There are a number of idiomatic expressions featuring the word for egg in Italian. Some of these are:
- meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)
- cercare il pelo nell’uovo (to nitpick, to be fussy)
- rompere le uova nel paniere (to upset the apple cart)
- la prima gallina che canta è quella che ha fatto l’uovo (the guilty dog barks the loudest)
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to say egg in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say egg in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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