Ragazzone

Meaning of ragazzone in Italian

Ragazzone is the Italian translation for big boy.

Origin	From the Italian word ragazzo, “boy”, + suffix -one meaning “big”
Pronunciation	/raɡatˈtsoːne/

Whenever you want to convey the message that you think something or someone is bigger than normal, you can either go the old school route and use an adjective (grosso, alto, grande?) or you can play creatively with the language and use a suffix in Italian.

Big boy can be literally translated as grande ragazzo, but this combination of words is never used.

There are suffixes that describe smaller things, like -ino, and others that are used to refer to people or things that are bigger than normal, like -one.

Ragazzo → Ragazzone
Boy → Big, tall boy

Ragazzone can be used to describe an adult man who’s still as naïve as a child.

Ragazzone, however, is most often used as an affectionate term to refer to boys with a strong constitution who almost look like men. For example, you could say…

Non ti vedo da tantissimo, Mattia. Sei diventato un ragazzone!
I haven’t seen you for a long time, Mattia. You have become a big boy!

Paolo è un ragazzone. È forte come un toro.
Paul is a big boy. He is as strong as a bull.

---

Ragazzone or ragazzino?

Careful with the vowels. Ragazzone means big boy, but ragazzino translates to little boy! This is because the suffix -ino, which makes things smaller, not bigger.

Ragazzino is sometimes used as a pejorative term to describe particularly loud and nasty children.

Dei ragazzini mi hanno rotto una finestra giocando a pallone.
Some kids broke one of my windows playing soccer.

More often, however, you will hear ragazzaccio, which translates as scoundrel or rascal. The suffix -accio takes the place of a pejorative adjective.

Quei ragazzacci hanno tirato la coda al gatto.
Those bad boys pulled the cat’s tail.

---

More free Italian resources

❤️ If you liked this lesson on the meaning and pronunciation of ragazzone in Italian, share it with your friends!