piegato
The English word bent translates to Italian as piegato.
The word piegato is an adjective used to describe something that is bent or folded.
Meaning: folded (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
piegato is the past participle of the verb piegare, which means to bend or to fold.
Which one should you use?
In English, there is often a distinction between bent (used for metal or limbs) and folded (used for paper or clothes). However, the Italian word piegato covers both of these meanings.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective piegato must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. The forms include piegata for feminine singular, piegati for masculine plural and piegate for feminine plural.
Did you know?
- The noun form of the word, piega, is the standard term used in Italian hair salons to describe a 'perm' or a professional blowout.
- While English uses 'bent' for roads, Italians use curvo or tortuoso. Using piegato for a road would sound as if the asphalt had been physically folded over like a piece of paper.
- The phrase piegare il collo, meaning 'to bend the neck', is a common idiom for submitting or yielding to another person's will.
Examples in context
- Si è piegato in avanti.He bent forward.This sentence is useful for seeing how the word describes a physical movement forward.Tatoeba #7034408 by Guybrush88, translation #2571038 by Hybrid
- Il cucchiaio è piegato.The spoon is bent.This sentence shows how the word describes a bent object like a spoon.Tatoeba #13898750 by Guybrush88, translation #9123719 by Missy_Hissy
- Il mio manubrio è piegato.My handlebars are bent.This sentence demonstrates the use of the word for bent handlebars.Tatoeba #9460977 by Guybrush88, translation #9457976 by CK
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chiara and Francesco are unpacking a suitcase in a bedroom.
- ChiaraFrancesco, guarda, questo maglione è tutto piegato male.Francesco, look, this sweater is all badly folded.
- FrancescoÈ colpa del modo in cui l'hai riposto.It is the fault of the way you packed it.
- ChiaraForse avrei dovuto usare un sacchetto per tenerlo piegato bene.Maybe I should have used a bag to keep it folded well.
- FrancescoNon preoccuparti, lo rimetteremo subito a posto.Don't worry, we will put it right immediately.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry piegato, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
