Grasso

Italian word of the day

OriginFrom the Latin word grassum, “fat”
TranslationFat
IPA pronunciation/ˈgrasso/

Grasso
Fat

Different forms of grasso

Like most adjectives in Italian, grasso has two articles (definite or indefinite articles) and two numbers (singular or plural).

SingularPlural
MasculineGrassoGrassi
FeminineGrassaGrasse
boy feeling his belly for fat

Examples

Quest’oca è molto grassa. Cosa le date da mangiare?
This goose is very fat. What do you feed her?

Non sono grasso… sono solo robusto!
I’m not fat… I’m just strong!

Nel cortile razzolavano tre grasse galline.
Three fat chickens were scratching about in the yard.

Nel porcile dormivano tre grassi maiali.
Three fat pigs were sleeping in the pigsty.

farmer with a pig and a cow

There are a number of synonyms that you can use instead of grasso (keep in mind, however, that these words are all very offensive to use; they are useful to know because you will often find them in movies, but don’t use them in real life!). The most common are…

Palla di lardo
Fat ball
Literally “ball of lard”

Ciccione
Fatso
(Derived from ciccia, a noun that means “slab”)

Grassone
Big fatso
(From grasso as a noun, meaning “big fat” because of the -one suffix)

For example, you can say…

Muoviti, palla di lardo! Sali quelle scale!
Move it, lardball! Get up those stairs!

Un ciccione mi ha appena tagliato la strada.
A fatso has just cut me off.

Mio fratello è un grassone. Sta sempre seduto sul divano.
My brother is a fatso. He always sits on the couch.

man lying on the sofa

When you analyze a nutrition label on your favorite dairy product, you will see fat. As a noun on food labels, fat is translated into Italian as grassi, in its plural form.

Quanti grassi ci sono in un etto di burro?
How much fat is in 2 ounces of butter?
Literally: How many fats are there in 2 ounces of butter?

Grasso, as a singular noun, is used to translate grease, so it’s a synonym for “oily” and “greasy”.

Questo filtro è sporco di grasso. C’è qualcosa con cui pulirlo?
This filter is dirty with grease. Is there anything I can use to clean it?

Expressions

There are a number of idiomatic expressions and collocations featuring the word for fat in Italian. Among them are…

  • è grasso che cola (so much the better!)
  • martedì grasso (Mardi Gras)
  • formaggio grasso (fatty cheese)
  • cucina grassa (fatty cuisine)
  • pianta grassa (succulent plant)

For example, you can say…

Non mi piacciono i formaggi grassi. Preferisco i formaggi magri.
I don’t like fatty cheeses. I prefer low-fat cheeses.

Le piante grasse vanno innaffiate poco.
Succulents should be watered sparingly.

a succulent plant in a vase

More free Italian resources

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