How exactly do you say open in Italian?
In this lesson, we will take a look at the different words you can use to talk about being open in Italian. Read on to learn all you need to know!
Aperto
Open
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Open in Italian
Aperto
Aperto is how you translate open into Italian. Let’s listen to how this adjective is pronounced.
Its pronunciation is similar to ah-pehr-toh and it comes from the Latin word apertus, which is the past participle of aperire, meaning “to open”. Make sure the final -o has a clean sound, because Italian vowel sounds are clean!
Aperto
Open
Like all other adjectives in Italian, aperto needs to match the gender and number of the noun.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Aperto | Aperti |
| Feminine | Aperta | Aperte |
If a drawer is open, you would say aperto because drawer, cassetto, is a masculine noun in Italian.
Likewise, you will say aperta, if you’re talking about a door, porta, which is a feminine noun.
Plural nouns behave the same way: if you want to describe a group of open cupboards (armadietti, masculine plural), use aperti. If you’re talking about some open boxes (scatole, feminine plural), use aperte instead.
Aperto can also be used as a past participle in compound tenses like the passato prossimo, translating into English as “opened”.
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Language: English / Italian
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For example, you could say…
Il libro è aperto sul tavolo.
The book is open on the table.
Sarete aperti oggi pomeriggio?
Will you be open this afternoon?
Ci sono due confezioni aperte di spaghetti.
There are two open packages of spaghetti.
La porta è aperta. Entra pure!
The door is open. Come on in!
To translate “to open” as a verb, use aprire. Its past participle is aperto.
Riesci ad aprire questa bottiglia?
Can you open this bottle?
Chi ha aperto tutti i cassetti dell’armadio?
Who opened all the drawers in the closet?
Other words related to aperto in Italian
Another less common word you can use to translate open in Italian is the adjective spalancato. Spalancato has a stronger meaning than open, so use to describe something that is wide open.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Spalancato | Spalancati |
| Feminine | Spalancata | Spalancate |
La porta d’ingresso era spalancata.
The front door was wide open.
L’uomo aveva gli occhi spalancati dalla paura.
The man’s eyes were wide (open) with fear.
Spalancato is also the past participle of the verb spalancare, “to open wide”.
Spalancare
To open wide
La mamma spalanca tutte le finestre.
Mom opens all the windows wide.
Common expressions featuring open in Italian
There are some common idiomatic expressions featuring the word for open in Italian. Among them you can find…
- non aprire bocca (not open your mouth)
- dormire con un occhio aperto (to sleep with one eye open)
- essere come un libro aperto (to be an open book)
- all’aria aperta (outside)
- in mare aperto (at open sea)
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to say open in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say open in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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