Verde

Italian word of the day

OriginFrom the Italian verb virĭdis, “to be green”
TranslationGreen
IPA pronunciation/ˈverde/

Verde
Green

green clover - how do you say green in italian

Green is a color, un colore. Its pronunciation is similar to vehr-deh and it comes from the Latin virĭdem, “green”. Make sure your final -e is clean, without any -y quality at the end, because Italian vowel sounds are clean.

Perché hai dipinto la tua casa di verde?
Why did you paint your house green?

Tom indossava una giacca verde.
Tom wore a green jacket.

L’esterno di questa scatola è verde, ma l’interno è rosso.
The outside of this box is green, but the inside is red.

Different shades of green in Italian

Verdino is the diminutive form of verde (the -ino suffix in Italian makes things smaller). It’s used to describe a desaturated shade of green, which can also be translated as verde chiaro, literally “light green”.

Verdino
Light green

Verde chiaro
Light green

Le persiane sono di un verdino molto chiaro. Non mi piacciono.
The shutters are of a very light greenish color. I don’t like them.

greenish tapioca bubble tea

Verdognolo translates as greenish, so it’s used to mean something green, but not quiet.

Verdognolo
Greenish

Il muro della cucina è verdognolo con un motivo di fiori.
The kitchen wall is greenish with a floral motif.

Smeraldino comes from smeraldo, which means emerald. Although the most direct translation for “emerald green” is verde smeraldo, the adjective smeraldino is often used to describe seawater that is particularly clean.

Smeraldino
Emerald green

La Sardegna è rinomata per le sue acque smeraldine.
Sardinia is famous for its emerald-green waters.

Verde smeraldo
Emerald green

Ricordi il nome di quell’insetto color verde smeraldo?
Do you remember the name of that emerald green-colored insect?

(That’s the green rose chafer, the cetonia aurata, often incorrectly called the maggiolino (cockhafer) in Italy. Beetle is translated as scarabeo).

how do you say green in italian - two people flying a helicopter over smeraldine waters

Olivastro comes from oliva, which means olive. You most often translate olive green as verde oliva, but you will use olivastro when you’re talking about, say, the particular shade of someone’s skin.

Olivastro
Olive green

L’uomo ha una pelle olivastra e grandi occhi marroni.
The man has olive skin and big brown eyes.

Verde oliva
Olive green

Hai visto in giro i miei pantaloncini verde oliva?
Have you seen my olive green shorts around [the house]?

Other shades of green are…

Verde scuro
Dark green

Verde acqua
Aqua green

Verde pistacchio
Pistachio green

Verde pastello
Pastel green

Verde menta
Mint green

Verde militare
Army green

Verde bottiglia
Bottle green

Le foglie di questo albero sono verde scuro.
The leaves of this tree are dark green.

Fra tutte le tonalità di verde, il verde menta è la sfumatura che preferisco.
Of all the shades of green, mint green is my favorite.

mint green - mint leaf

Verbs featuring green in Italian

When something turns green, you can use the verb inverdire, “to turn green”.

Inverdire
To turn green

You can use rinverdire to say “to turn green again”.

Rinverdire
To turn green again

Con la stagione invernale ormai alla fine, gli alberi si stanno rinverdendo.
With the winter season now at an end, the trees are turning green again.

Did you know that verdura, the Italian word for vegetables, comes from verde? No wonder, since so many vegetables are green! Unlike English, verdura is a feminine singular noun.

La verdura
Vegetables

Mio figlio mangia pochissima verdura.
My son eats very few vegetables.

Toll-free numbers are called “green numbers” in Italy, numeri verdi.

Numero verde
Toll-free number

C’è un numero verde che posso chiamare per avere informazioni?
Is there a toll-free number I can call for information?

Expressions

Farsi verde dall’invidia
To turn green because of envy

Farsi verde dalla rabbia
To turn green because of anger

Far vedere i sorci verdi
To cause big trouble
To make someone see stars out of pain

Essere al verde
To be broke
Literally: To be at green

Sono al verde. Ho finito tutti i miei risparmi.
I am broke. I have used up all my savings.

essere al verde - to be broke - how do you say green in italian

Albero sempreverde
Evergreen tree

L’erba del vicino è sempre più verde
The grass is always greener on the other side
Literally: Your neighbor’s grass is always greener

Chi di verde si veste della sua beltà troppo si fida
Literally: He who wears green trusts their beauty too much


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