città
/t͡ʃitˈta/feminine
The Italian word for city is città.
città is a feminine noun used to refer to a large settlement. When used in the specific phrase in città without an article, it often refers to the central or downtown area of a city rather than a specific geographic location.
Meaning: large settlement (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word città is invariant in number, meaning the singular and plural forms are identical. To form the plural, you must change the definite article to the feminine plural le (e.g., le città) because the noun itself does not change.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃitˈta/
Did you know?
- In Italian administrative terms, a 'città' is often a title bestowed upon a town by a decree, turning a common noun into a formal honorific.
- The phrase città dormitrice literally means 'sleeping city' and describes a bedroom community where people live but do not work.
- The word città is derived from a root that originally referred to the 'body of citizens' rather than the physical buildings of a settlement.
Examples in context
- In che città è?In which city are you?This sentence is useful for asking which city someone is in using città.Tatoeba #2728355 by Guybrush88, translation #2728352 by MTC
- Non è in città.He is not in the city.This sentence is useful for stating that someone is not in the city using città.Tatoeba #8483054 by Guybrush88, translation #3651726 by furoraceltica
- La città è bella.The city is beautiful.This sentence is useful for describing a city as beautiful using città.Tatoeba #1166690 by Guybrush88, translation #4889851 by warrenbisch
- Ho visitato la città di Milano.I visited the city of Milan.
- La città eterna è Roma.The eternal city is Rome.
- Sogno di vedere la città di Firenze.I dream of seeing the city of Florence.
- Mi piace visitare piccole cittadine italiane.I enjoy visiting small Italian towns.
- Questa cittadina è davvero affascinante.This town is truly fascinating.
- Le cittadine toscane sono bellissime.Tuscan towns are beautiful.
- 1126 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Martina and Francesco are discussing travel plans in a café.
- MartinaQuale città vuoi visitare?Which city do you want to visit?
- FrancescoMi piacerebbe vedere una città italiana.I would like to see an Italian city.
- MartinaFrancesco, la città di Roma è perfetta.Francesco, the city of Rome is perfect.
- FrancescoSì, è un'ottima idea.Yes, it is a great idea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “city” translations and entries città, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
