Triste

Italian word of the day

Origin	From the Latin word tristis, “sad”
Translation	Sad
IPA pronunciation	/ˈtriste/

Different forms of triste

Like all other adjectives in Italian, triste needs to match the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun.

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	Triste	Tristi
Feminine	Triste	Tristi

Examples

Laura è triste perché non potrà partecipare alla festa.
Laura is sad because she won’t be able to attend the party.

Oggi sono triste e non so nemmeno perché.
I’m sad today and I don’t even know why.

Giovanni ha un’espressione triste mentre legge la lettera.
Giovanni has a sad expression while reading the letter.

Gli studenti sono tristi perché non hanno passato l’esame.
The students are sad because they failed the exam.

Related words

There are a number of synonyms for sad in Italian that you can use instead of triste.

For example, you can say…

Il ragazzo fa un sorriso mesto e sospira.
The boy gives a sad smile and sighs.

Perché sei così depresso ultimamente?
Why have you been so depressed lately?

Sono parecchio abbattuta. Mi hanno ancora bocciata all’esame.
I am quite dejected. I still flunked the exam.

Tristo is a bit different from triste. It still means said, but it’s almost exclusively used in the expression Tristo Mietitore, which is the personification of Death.

From triste you get tristezza, meaning “sadness”. This is one of the emotions in the movie Inside Out!

Questa foto mi suscita grande tristezza.
This picture makes me very sad.
(lit. This picture evokes great sadness in me.)

Expressions

Sad is a very common word in Italian, so it’s not surprising that there are many expressions featuring triste:

• essere triste (to be sad)
• essere uno spettacolo triste (to be a sad sight)
• avere una faccia triste (to have a sad expression)
• avere un’aria triste (to have a sad expression)

For example, you can say…

Sono triste perché l’estate sta finendo.
I am sad because summer is ending.

Quel ragazzo ha un’aria molto triste.
That boy looks very sad.
(lit. He has a very sad air.)

Hai una faccia triste. È successo qualcosa?
You have a sad expression. Did something happen?
(lit. You have a sad face..)

There is another expression that features the verb vedere, to see, as vedere + [emotional state]. This can be used with triste and other emotions like happy, tired, etc.

It literally means “I see you + sad/happy/tired” and can be translated into English as “You look sad/happy/tired…”.

Ti vedo triste. Cos’è successo?
You look sad. What happened?

Ti vedo stanco. Da quante ore stai lavorando?
You look tired. How many hours have you been working?

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