How exactly do you say fat in Italian?
In this lesson, we will take a look at the different words you can use to talk about being fat in Italian and you will even learn some expressions featuring this word. Read on to learn them all!
Fat
Grasso
Let’s get started! Iniziamo!
Fat in Italian
Grasso
Grasso is how you translate fat into Italian. Let’s hear how this adjective is pronounced.
Its pronunciation is similar to grah-ssoh and it comes from the Latin word grassum, “fat”. Make sure the final -o has a clean sound, because Italian vowel sounds are clean! If you have trouble pronouncing the rolled R, check out the Italian pronunciation guide.
Grasso
Fat
Like all other adjectives in Italian, grasso needs to match the gender and number of the noun.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Grasso | Grassi |
| Feminine | Grassa | Grasse |
If a man is fat, you will say grasso because man, uomo, is a masculine noun in Italian.
Likewise, if you’re talking about a woman, donna, which is a feminine noun, you will say grassa.
Plural nouns behave the same way: if you want to describe a group of fat cats (masculine plural), use grassi. If you’re talking about a few fat geese (feminine plural), use grasse instead.
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.
For example, you could say…
Quest’oca è molto grassa. Cosa le date da mangiare?
This goose is very fat. What do you feed her?
Non sono grasso… sono solo robusto!
I’m not fat… I’m just strong!
Nel cortile razzolavano tre grasse galline.
Three fat chickens were scratching about in the yard.
Nel porcile dormivano tre grassi maiali.
Three fat pigs were sleeping in the pigsty.
Other translations for fat in Italian
There are a number of synonyms that you can use instead of grasso (keep in mind, however, that these words are all very offensive to use; they are useful to know because you will often find them in movies, but don’t use them in real life!). The most common are…
Palla di lardo
Fat ball
Literally “ball of lard”
Ciccione
Fatso
(Derived from ciccia, a noun that means “slab”)
Grassone
Big fatso
(From grasso as a noun, meaning “big fat” because of the -one suffix)
For example, you could say…
Muoviti, palla di lardo! Sali quelle scale!
Move it, lardball! Get up those stairs!
Un ciccione mi ha appena tagliato la strada.
A fatso has just cut me off.
Mio fratello è un grassone. Sta sempre seduto sul divano.
My brother is a fatso. He always sits on the couch.
Fat as a noun
When you analyze a nutrition label on your favorite dairy product, you will see fat. As a noun on food labels, fat is translated into Italian as grassi, in its plural form.
Quanti grassi ci sono in un etto di burro?
How much fat is in 2 ounces of butter?
Literally: How many fats are there in 2 ounces of butter?
Grasso, as a singular noun, is used to translate grease, so it’s a synonym for “oily” and “greasy”.
Questo filtro è sporco di grasso. C’è qualcosa con cui pulirlo?
This filter is dirty with grease. Is there anything I can use to clean it?
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
Expressions featuring fat in Italian
There are a number of idiomatic expressions and collocations featuring the word for fat in Italian. Among them are…
- è grasso che cola (so much the better!)
- martedì grasso (Mardi Gras)
- formaggio grasso (fatty cheese)
- cucina grassa (fatty cuisine)
- pianta grassa (succulent plant)
For example, you could say…
Non mi piacciono i formaggi grassi. Preferisco i formaggi magri.
I don’t like fatty cheeses. I prefer low-fat cheeses.
Le piante grasse vanno innaffiate poco.
Succulents should be watered sparingly.
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to say fat in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say fat in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to say fat in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
