bella città
/ˈbɛl.la t͡ʃitˈta/word by word
The English phrase 'beautiful town' is translated into Italian as bella città.
Use this phrase to describe a town or city that is visually pleasing or attractive. Note that in Italian, the word città is used for both 'town' and 'city', whereas English distinguishes between the two based on size.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective bella (beautiful) and the noun città (city/town).
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'a beautiful town', use the indefinite article una before the phrase to get una bella città. If you wish to express that a town is 'very beautiful', you can use the superlative adjective form bellissima to say bellissima città.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈbɛl.la tʃitˈta/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- The word città is an invariable noun, meaning it does not change its ending whether you are talking about one 'beautiful town' or many 'beautiful towns'.
- The word città is a linguistic doublet of the English word 'city', as both descended from the same Late Latin root cīvitātem.
- To describe a town as 'picturesque', Italians use pittoresca, which literally translates to 'like a painting'.
Examples in context
- Damasco è una bella città.Damascus is a beautiful town.This sentence uses bella città to identify Damascus as a beautiful town.Tatoeba #2555347 by Guybrush88, translation #2555346 by CN
- Che bella città!What a beautiful town!This sentence uses bella città as an exclamation.Tatoeba #1066727 by elgranjuego, translation #36135 by CK
- Mi piacerebbe visitare una città magnifica come Firenze!I would love to visit a magnificent town like Florence!
- Che bella città! Non vedo l'ora di tornarci!What a beautiful town! I can't wait to go back!
- Vivere in una bella città è un sogno.Living in a beautiful city is a dream.
Example conversation
Martina and Lorenzo are visiting a new place.
- MartinaGuarda che bella città, Lorenzo!Look what a beautiful town, Lorenzo!
- LorenzoSì, i palazzi sono stupendi.Yes, the buildings are stunning.
- MartinaMi piace molto l'atmosfera.I really like the atmosphere.
- LorenzoHai ragione, è davvero accogliente.You are right, it is really welcoming.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (bella, città) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bella, città, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
