How to Say “Deceased” in Italian

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deceduto
The English phrase "deceased" translates to the Italian adjective deceduto.
The term deceduto is used to describe someone who is no longer alive. In Italian, when describing the act of having died, it is most common to use the verb decedere with the auxiliary essere (to be), resulting in the phrase è deceduto.
Meaning: no longer alive (adj)

Which one should you use?

While deceduto is formal and euphemistic, the word morto is the common, direct way to say "dead".

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

Deceduto is a formal and clinical term, often used in legal, medical or official contexts. For other formal ways to refer to the deceased, you might encounter defunto or defunta (deceased or departed). For a more gentle, euphemistic approach, you can use scomparso or scomparsa or the phrase persona venuta a mancare, which means "person who is no longer with us".

How does it change in a sentence?

The adjective must agree in gender with the subject, so use the feminine form deceduta for a woman. The plural form deceduti is used for a group of deceased men or a mixed-gender group and decedute for a group consisting only of deceased women.

Did you know?

  • In Italian legal documents, the term de cuius is often used instead of deceduto to refer to the person whose estate is being settled.
  • Italian has a specific word for the 'recently deceased' in funeral contexts, estinto, though it is also used to describe extinct species.
  • The euphemism scomparso literally means 'disappeared', reflecting a cultural tendency to describe death as a vanishing rather than an ending.

Examples in context

  • Tom ora è deceduto.
    Tom is now deceased.
    Tatoeba #5974733 by Guybrush88, translation #5756846 by CM
  • Lui è deceduto ieri.
    He deceased yesterday.
    Tatoeba #2461991 by Guybrush88, translation #571633 by MUIRIEL
  • Grazie. Mio padre è deceduto la scorsa settimana e sto cercando di farcela. Mi manca molto.
    Thank you. My father passed away last week, and I'm trying to cope. I miss him a lot.
  • Ho appena saputo che la nonna di Giulia è morta. Siamo vicine, dobbiamo offrirle il nostro supporto.
    I just heard that Giulia's grandmother has died. We're close, we should offer our support.
  • Il povero uomo è deceduto durante la notte.
    The poor man passed away during the night.
  • 2 more sentences on Tatoeba

Example conversation

Giulia and Francesco are talking about a mutual acquaintance.

  1. Giulia

    Hai saputo che il signor Bianchi è deceduto?
    Did you hear that Mr. Bianchi passed away?
  2. Francesco

    No, non lo sapevo, mi dispiace molto.
    No, I didn't know, I am very sorry.
  3. Giulia

    Era un uomo molto gentile.
    He was a very kind man.
  4. Francesco

    Sì, lo ricordiamo tutti con affetto.
    Yes, we all remember him fondly.

Sources

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Jasmine Alisha
Jasmine AlishaHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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