Italian word of the day
| Origin | From the Latin word calamarium because of its black ink |
| Translation | Squid |
| IPA pronunciation | /kalaˈmaːro/ |
Il calamaro
The squid
Different forms of calamaro
Like most nouns in Italian, calamaro has two articles (definite or indefinite articles) and two numbers (singular or plural).
Un calamaro
A squid
Dei calamari
Some squids
Il calamaro
The squid
I calamari
The squids
Examples
Quante braccia ha un calamaro?
How many arms does a squid have?
Both squids and chameleons can change color.
Sia i calamari che i camaleonti possono cambiare colore.
Qual è il nome scientifico del calamaro gigante?
What is the scientific name of the giant squid?
Polpo, seppia, piovra
Polpo is the Italian translation for octopus. It’s a masculine word.
Il polpo
The octopus
Il polpo si avvolse intorno alla sua preda.
The octopus wrapped itself around its prey.
The Italian translation for cuttlefish is seppia, a feminine word. This is the word you will need to use to say squid ink: nero di seppia, “cuttlefish black”. We don’t actually say nero di calamaro.
La seppia
The cuttlefish
Il nero di seppia
The squid ink
Le seppie si possono acquistare al mercato del pesce.
Cuttlefish can be bought at the fish market.
Then there’s piovra, which is the translation for giant squid. Sometimes you will see piovra gigante, which is the same animal. This is a feminine word.
La piovra gigante
The giant squid
Il kraken è un tipo di piovra gigante.
The Kraken is a kind of giant squid.
Dishes with “molluschi”
Cuttlefish, octopuses and squids are called molluschi in Italian, mollusks.
Il mollusco
The mollusk
The risotto al nero di seppia, the squid ink risotto, is a very famous dish in Italy.
Il risotto al nero di seppia
The squid ink risotto
Hai mai mangiato il risotto al nero di seppia?
Have you ever tasted squid ink risotto?
Another very common dish with cuttlefish is the fritto misto, also known as frittura di paranza (page in Italian): crunchy, savory, fried pieces of flying squid (totano), cuttlefish and shrimps (gamberetti). It’s simply delicious and makes my mouth water just writing about it!
Fritto misto literally translates to “mixed fried”.
Il fritto misto
The fritto misto
La frittura di paranza
The frittura di paranza
Non ho mai mangiato un fritto misto così buono!
I’ve never had such a good stir-fry!
More free Italian resources
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