How exactly do you say spoon in Italian?
As you will see in this lesson, there are many kinds of Italian spoons. Read on to learn them all!
Cucchiaio
Spoon
Let’s start! Iniziamo!
How do you say spoon in Italian?
Cucchiaio
Cucchiaio is how you translate spoon into Italian.
Cucchiaio
Spoon
Un cucchiaio
A spoon
Dei cucchiai
Some spoons
Il cucchiaio
The spoon
I cucchiai
The spoons
Its pronunciation is similar to cook-key-ah-yoh and it comes from the Latin cochlearium, “snail”, as it was a tool used to eat snails. Make sure your final -o is clean, without any -w quality at the end.
Di solito mangiamo con coltello, forchetta e cucchiaio.
We usually eat with a knife, fork and spoon.
Adele immerge il cucchiaio nella zuppa.
Adele dips her spoon into the soup.
Ho comprato una dozzina di cucchiai e due dozzine di forchette.
I bought a dozen spoons and two dozen forks.
Other translations for spoon in Italian
Cucchiaino
Cucchiaino is the diminutive form of cucchiaio (the -ino suffix in Italian makes things smaller).
Cucchiaino
Small spoon
While you would normally use a cucchiaio to eat soup, you will use a cucchiaino to eat ice cream or stirring tea.
Quali sono i cibi che si mangiano di solito con un cucchiaino?
What are some foods you usually eat with a little spoon?
Dove hai messo tutti i cucchiaini?
Where have you put all the spoons?
Another translation for small spoon you can use is cucchiaietto, but it is not as common as cucchiaino which is the standard form.
Cucchiaione
Cucchiaione is the opposite of cucchiaino, since it means big spoon. It can also be used to translate big spoonful in colloquial language.
It is also a synonym for ladle, which is more commonly translated as mestolo.
Cucchiaione
Big spoon
Si può inghiottire un cucchiaione di cannella senza tossire?
Can one gulp down a big spoonful of cinnamon without coughing?
(Nope. Don’t even try.)
Parts of a spoon in Italian
The handle of the spoon where you place your fingers is called manico or less commonly impugnatura. Historically this part was called codolo, but you don’t need to learn that!
Manico
Handle, grip
Impugnatura
Handle, grip
An Italian spoon for every occasion
Cucchiaio da minestra
Soup spoon
Mary distribuì l’impasto con un grosso cucchiaio da minestra.
Mary doled out the batter with a large soup spoon.
Cucchiaino da tè
Tea spoon
Colleziono cucchiai da tè.
I collect tea spoons.
Cucchiaino da caffè
Coffee spoon
Dove sono i cucchiaini da te?
Where are the coffee spoons?
Materials of a spoon in Italian
Spoons are made of many materials and these will be introduced in Italian by the preposition di, of. You can have…
Wooden spoons, i cucchiai di legno, are commonly used to stir pasta cooking in the boiling pot!
Cucchiaio di legno
Wooden spoon
La mamma mescola la zuppa con un cucchiaio di legno.
Mom stirs the soup with a wooden spoon.
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
Spoons you eat soup with are usually made of acciaio, steel.
Cucchiaio d’acciaio
Steel spoon
I cucchiai d’acciaio sono molto resistenti.
Steel spoons are very durable.
Wealthier spoons are made of argento, silver.
Cucchiaio d’argento
Silver spoon
Ho una collezione di cucchiaini da tè d’argento provenienti da tutto il mondo.
I have a collection of silver tea spoons from all over the world.
Cheaper and disposable spoons are made of plastica, plastic.
Cucchiaio di plastica
Plastic spoon
I cucchiai di plastica inquinano l’ambiente.
Plastic spoons pollute the environment.
Other words for describing a spoon in Italian
Cucchiaiata literally translates spoonful into Italian, even if we will still use cucchiaio or cucchiaino in our sentences (see the examples), even in recipes.
Cucchiaiata
Spoonful
Aggiungo sempre un cucchiaio di miele al mio tè.
I always add a spoonful of honey to my tea.
Ogni mattina aggiungo un cucchiaino di zucchero al mio caffè.
I add a small spoonful of sugar to my coffee every morning.
Aggiungere 3 cucchiai di vino bianco.
Add 3 spoonfuls of white wine.
Creamy sweets and desserts like pudding that are meant to be eaten with a spoon are called dolci al cucchiaio, literally “desserts at the spoon”.
Dolce al cucchiaio
Creamy dessert meant to be eaten with a spoon
Finally, the expression raccattare col cucchiaino, literally “to scoop up with a spoon”, is used when somebody is so tired they can barely stand on their feet. They basically melted.
Raccattare col cucchiaino
To scoop up with a spoon
Luca è così stanco che lo dovranno raccattare col cucchiaino.
Luca is so tired that they will have to scoop him up with a spoon.
And that’s it, now you know how to say spoon in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say spoon in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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