Italian word of the day
| Pronunciation | |
| English translation | Expensive, dear |
| Origin | From the Latin word carus, “precious, loved” |
Different forms of caro
Like all other adjectives in Italian, caro needs to match the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Caro | Cari |
| Feminine | Cara | Care |
For example, you can say…
| Ho comprato un vaso molto caro. | I bought a very expensive vase. |
| I negozi sul Corso vendono abiti molto cari. | The stores on the Corso sell very expensive clothes. |
| Queste sedie sono molto care. | These shoes are very expensive. |
| Trovo questa collana troppo cara. | I find this necklace too expensive. |
Costoso is another way to say expensive in Italian. It literally means “that, which costs”.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Costoso | Costosi |
| Feminine | Costosa | Costose |
For example, you can say…
| Luca sorprende Marta con un regalo costoso. | Luca surprises Marta with an expensive gift. | |
| Le verdure fresche sono molto costose in inverno. | Fresh vegetables are very expensive in the winter. |
An informal translation for expensive in Italian is also salato, which literally means “salty”.
| Ho pagato una multa salata per eccesso di velocità. | I paid a hefty fine for speeding. |
As we’ve already said, caro also translates “dear”.
| Caro Alessandro, è da molto che non ci sentiamo. Come stai? | Dear Alessandro, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard from you. How are you doing? |
Common expressions featuring caro in Italian
There are some common idiomatic expressions featuring the word caro in Italian. Among them, you can find…
| Pagare a caro prezzo | To pay a high price for sth |
| Tenersi caro | To hold sth or sb dear |
| Vendere cara la pelle | To fight tooth and nail, to fight for your life |
| Pagarla cara | To pay for it |
| Perdere una persona cara | To lose a dear one |
For example, you can say…
| Questa la pagherai cara! | You will pay dearly for this one! | |
| Paolo ha pagato a caro prezzo la sua arroganza. | Paul paid dearly for his arrogance. |
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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