Italian word of the day
| Origin | From the Latin word fluĕre, “to flow” |
| Translation | River |
| IPA pronunciation | /fjˈuːme/ |
Il fiume
The river
Different forms of fiume
Like most nouns in Italian, fiume has two articles (definite or indefinite articles) and two numbers (singular or plural).
Un fiume
A river
Dei fiumi
Some rivers
Il fiume
The river
I fiumi
The rivers
Examples
Qual è il fiume più lungo del mondo?
What is the longest river in the world?
Il Nilo è lungo più di 6.000 chilometri.
The Nile is more than 6,000 kilometers long.
La foce del fiume si estende per 2.000 chilometri quadrati.
The mouth of the river extends over 2,000 square kilometers.
Domenica siamo andati a pescare al fiume.
On Sunday we went fishing on the river.
Related words
Depending on its size, a river is not always translate as fiume.
Torrente and ruscello translate as “creek” or “stream” and are used to describe small rivers. Both are masculine words.
Il torrente
The creek, the stream
Il ruscello
The creek, the stream
The difference between the two is that a torrente depends on the seasonal rains. It is very steep and it can dry up completely during the summer months. A ruscello, on the other hand, is a small river with calm waters.
There are two types of river estuaries in Italian:
- foce a delta (delta mouth)
- foce a estuario (mouth of the estuary)
Foce a delta
Delta mouth
Foce a estuario
Mouth of the estuary
You have a foce a delta when the mouth has a triangular shape, with several small streams dividing the main flow of water. The Po river, the longest river in Italy, has a delta. You have a foce a estuario when the river flows directly into the sea.
Expressions
There are a number of popular idiomatic expressions featuring the word for river in Italian. Among them are:
- versare un fiume di lacrime (to shed a river of tears)
- scorrere a fiumi (to flow freely)
- un fiume / una fiumana di gente (a flood of people)
For example, you can say…
La birra scorreva a fiumi alla festa.
The beer flowed freely at the party.
Quando il semaforo diventa verde, un fiume di gente attraversa la strada.
When the traffic light turns green, a flood of people crosses the street.
More free Italian resources
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