digerire
/di.d͡ʒeˈri.re/
To digest in Italian is digerire.
The verb digerire is used to describe the biological process of separating food in the alimentary canal. It is also used metaphorically to mean 'digesting' information or a situation. If you want to specifically describe the process of absorbing food and nutrients, you can use assimilare. To express that someone is having trouble digesting, you can use the idiom digerire a fatica.
Meaning: to separate food in the alimentary canal (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The first-person singular present indicative of digerire is digerisco (I digest), and the third-person singular present indicative is digerisce (he/she digests). The past participle is digerito (digested).
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 4 syllables, with the stress on the 3rd syllable: /di.dʒeˈri.re/.
Did you know?
- In Italy, it is a common cultural tradition to drink an ammazza caffe, meaning 'coffee killer', such as grappa or limoncello, to help digerire after a meal.
- An Italian person might say they 'cannot digest' a certain person, meaning they simply cannot stand being around them.
- The Latin root of digerire also meant 'to arrange' or 'to classify', implying that digestion is the way the body 'organizes' what we eat.
Examples in context
- Non riesco a digerire il latte.I can't digest milk.This sentence is useful for saying you cannot digest milk with digerire.Tatoeba #13121759 by Guybrush88, translation #7114122 by CM
- Il vino aiuta a digerire il cibo.Wine helps digest food.This sentence shows how wine helps to digest food with digerire.Tatoeba #893686 by Guybrush88, translation #29227 by CK
- Il formaggio non è facile da digerire.Cheese isn't easy to digest.This sentence shows that cheese is not easy to digest with digerire.Tatoeba #6215848 by Guybrush88, translation #4483862 by AlanF_US
- Spero che tu possa digerire bene il pranzoI hope you can digest lunch well.
- Ho mangiato molto, devo fare la digestioneI ate a lot, I need to digest.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Lorenzo are discussing a heavy meal.
- GiuliaHo mangiato troppo, non riesco a digerire.I ate too much, I can't digest.
- LorenzoVuoi fare una passeggiata per digerire meglio?Do you want to take a walk to digest better?
- GiuliaSì, Lorenzo, è un'ottima idea.Yes, Lorenzo, that is a great idea.
- LorenzoAndiamo, così Giulia si sentirà presto bene.Let's go, so Giulia will feel better soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “digest” translations and entries digerire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries digerire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
