Italian word of the day
| Origin | From the Latin word carus, “precious, loved” |
| Translation | Nuisanse, pain in the butt |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈrɔmpi ˈskatole/ |
Caro is also used to translate “dear”.
Caro
Expensive, dear
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
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