How exactly do you say slow in Italian?
In this lesson, we will take a look at how you can translate slow in Italian and you will even learn some expressions featuring this word. Read on to learn them all!
Lento
Slow
Let’s get started! Iniziamo!
Slow in Italian
Lento
Lento is how you translate slow into Italian. Let’s hear how this adjective is pronounced.
Its pronunciation is similar to lehn-toh and it comes from the Latin word lentus, “slow, foldable”. Make sure the final -o has a clean sound, because Italian vowel sounds are clean!
Lento
Slow
Like all other adjectives in Italian, lento needs to match the noun in both gender and number.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Lento | Lenti |
| Feminine | Lenta | Lente |
If a cat is slow, you would say lento because cat, gatto, is a masculine noun in Italian.
Likewise, if you’re talking about a hyena, iena, which is a feminine noun, you would say lenta.
Plural nouns behave the same way: if you want to describe a group of slow workers (masculine plural), use lenti. If you’re talking about some slow monkeys (feminine plural), use lente instead.
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.
For example, you could say…
La connessione a Internet è molto lenta.
The Internet connection is very slow.
La tartaruga è un animale lento.
A turtle is a slow animal.
Questo libro è troppo lento. Non succede mai niente!
This book is too slow. Nothing ever happens!
I progressi sono lenti, ma l’importante è andare avanti.
Progress is slow, but the important thing is to move forward.
Expressions featuring slow in Italian
There are many idioms featuring the word for slow in Italian. Let’s see a few:
- essere lento come una lumaca (to be as slow as a snail)
- cuocere a fuoco lento (to cook on low heat)
- a passo lento (at a slow/leisurely pace)
- essere lento di comprendonio (to be slow at grasping things)
For example, you could say…
La carne va cotta a fuoco lento per almeno venti minuti.
The meat should be cooked on low heat for at least 20 minutes.
Camminavamo a passo lento lungo la spiaggia.
We walked at a leisurely pace along the beach.
Luigi è lento come una lumaca.
Luigi is as slow as a snail.
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to say slow in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say slow 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 slow in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
