How to say RAVENCLAW in Italian

If you are a Potterhead like me, you will certainly know that there are four Houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. These are:

In this lesson, we will take a look at the translation of Ravenclaw in Italian, and we will even talk about its founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, its main personality traits, and its resident ghost.

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!

kid greeting from hogwarts express

How do you say Ravenclaw in Italian?

Corvonero is how you say Ravenclaw in Italian.

Corvonero
Ravenclaw

The pronunciation is close to cohr-voh-neh-roh. If you have trouble pronouncing Italian sounds, check the the Italian pronunciation guide.

Now, let’s see some example sentences with Ravenclaw in Italian to learn how to use this word.

Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672

Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.

I colori di Corvonero sono blu e argento.
Ravenclaw’s colors are blue and silver.

Luna Lovegood è una Corvonero.
Luna Lovegood is a Ravenclaw.

Unlike the English word Ravenclaw, it’s interesting to note that Corvonero in Italian doesn’t have a plural form. The plural remains unchanged.

Tre Corvonero vanno a lezione di Pozioni.
Three Ravenclaws go to Potion class.

books, candles, cauldron and two students working on a potion

Corvonero is a compound word

Corvonero is a compound noun. This means that it’s made up of two words. In this case, it’s made up of corvo (raven) and nero (black).

Il corvo
The raven

Nero
Black

Corvonero literally means black raven in Italian.

black raven
three blackberries

For example, you could say…

I corvi hanno delle bellissime piume nere.
Crows have beautiful black feathers.

If we were to literally translate Ravenclaw in Italian, we’d have to use a combination of corvo, which we already know means raven, and artiglio, which means claw.

It’s easy to see why it starts with corvo, because the symbol of Ravenclaw House is, in fact, a raven. Black is also one of Ravenclaw’s official colors along with silver, and that’s why it was used in the translation. All translations of the 4 Hogwarts Houses in Italian feature a different color.

A change of name
In the earlier editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale in Italian), Ravenclaw was translated as Pecoranera, “black sheep”. This was later changed to Corvonero to better fit the House stem. As you can imagine, Pecoranera wasn’t the most accurate translation…


Who founded Ravenclaw in Italian?

As you may have noticed, all the Hogwarts founders’ names use alliteration:

  • Godric Gryffindor
  • Salazar Slytherin
  • Rowena Ravenclaw
  • Helga Hufflepuff

This too has been rendered in the Italian translations of the Harry Potter books and movies, but there’s a story behind it.

As we’ve seen in the previous paragraphs, the previous translation of Ravenclaw in Italian was Pecoranera, which begins with a P. Rowena’s name was then translated as Priscilla to match that letter.

However, when the name was later changed to Corvonero, Rowena’s name wasn’t changed to match the initial C letter and remained Priscilla in the books. For years, the founder’s name was actually Priscilla Corvonero, and it clashed with all the other founders’ names because it was the only one without a wordplay.

When the movies came out, her name was changed in the dubbing to Cosetta Corvonero, as you can hear in the next clip at 1:18. This was only in the movies!

In later years, Salani, the Italian publisher of the Harry Potter books, commissioned a new translation that eventually changed Rowena’s name to Corinna Corvonero once and for all.

We basically have four different translations in chronological order:

  • Priscilla Pecoranera
  • Priscilla Corvonero
  • Cosetta Corvonero
  • Corinna Corvonero

What’s your favorite? I think the latest translation leaves a lot to be desired, but I just love the name Corinna! 🙂

Corinna Corvonero
Rowena Ravenclaw

For example, you could say…

Corinna Corvonero è la fondatrice della Casa di Corvonero.
Rowena Ravenclaw is the founder of the Ravenclaw House.

Fondatrice comes from the verb fondare, to found, and literally means female founder. If you’re talking about a male founder, use fondatore instead.

Helena Corvonero, Corinna‘s daughter, is famous for being the owner of a very precious diadema (diadem) that could grant the power of intelligenza (intelligence) to those who wore it.

Il diadema
The diadem

ravenclaw's diadem

Who is the resident ghost of Ravenclaw in Italian?

The Grey Lady (Helena Ravenclaw) is Ravenclaw’s resident ghost in the original English versions of the Harry Potter books. This was translated into Italian as Dama grigia, literally “grey lady”!

La Dama Grigia
The Grey Lady

For example, you could say…

La Dama Grigia è il fantasma di Corvonero.
The Grey Lady is the ghost of Ravenclaw.

gentleman opening the door for a woman

Ravenclaw’s main traits in Italian

Each Hogwarts House values a different set of personality traits. Ravenclaw especially values:

  • Arguzia (wit)
  • Apprendimento (learning)
  • Saggezza (wisdom)
  • Tolleranza (acceptance)
  • Intelligenza (intelligence)
  • Creatività (creativity)

For example, you could say…

Servono arguzia e creatività per entrare nella Torre di Corvonero.
It takes wit and creativity to enter the Ravenclaw Tower.

Si dice che gli studenti di Corvonero siano scelti per la loro intelligenza.
Ravenclaw students are said to be chosen for their intelligence.

And that’s it, now you know how to say Ravenclaw in Italian!


What next?

Read more info about Corvonero here (in Italian).

Now that you’ve seen how to say Ravenclaw in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:

Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!

❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to say Ravenclaw in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.

Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling

Leave a Comment