Tall

How do you say tall in Italian?

Alto

Use alto to say tall in Italian when you talk about buildings, numbers, people, and heights in general.

OriginFrom the Latin word altum, “high”
Pronunciation/aˈpɛrto/

Alto
Tall


Tall in Italian: Different forms

Like all other adjectives in Italian, alto needs to match the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun.

SingularPlural
MasculineAltoAlti
FeminineAltaAlte
man placing a package on top of a wardrobe

Tall in Italian: Examples

Il cavallo bianco è più alto di quello nero.
The white horse is taller than the black one.

Non ci sono molti edifici alti in questa zona.
There aren’t many tall buildings in this area.

Quanto è alta la Torre Eiffel?
How tall is the Eiffel Tower?

the eiffel tower

Elevato
High, elevated

Grande
Big

Lungo
Long

For example, you can say…

La fibra ottica permette velocità di navigazione molto elevate.
Fiber optics allow very high surfing speeds.

Il mio studio si trova in quel grande edificio laggiù.
My studio is in that big building over there.


High or tall?

There’s no difference between high and tall in Italian since both adjectives are translated as alto.

You would never think of a number or a price tag as being tall, and you would never think of a man as being high. However, there’s no such distinction in Italian.

L’auto della polizia viaggiava ad alta velocità.
The police car was driving at a very high speed.

Sto assumendo un farmaco contro la pressione alta.
I am taking medication for high blood pressure.

Il prezzo di questa maglietta è troppo alto.
The price of this T-shirt is too high.

worried woman looking at the price of an item

More free Italian resources

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