gocciolina
/ɡot.t͡ʃoˈli.na/feminine
The English word "droplet" is translated into Italian as gocciolina.
gocciolina refers to a very small drop.
Meaning: very small drop (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a diminutive of goccia (drop), formed by adding the suffix -ina to create the meaning "little drop".
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of gocciolina is goccioline. Both gocciolina and its related form goccia are feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /ɡot.tʃoˈli.na/. It has four syllables, with the stress on the third syllable.
Did you know?
- The term goccia is used in the phrase sudare gocce di sangue (to sweat drops of blood) to describe extreme effort or anxiety.
- The word gocciolona exists as a counterpart to gocciolina, using the suffix -ona to describe an unusually large or heavy drop.
- In Italian, the term goccia is used to describe the shape of a specific style of earring known as orecchino a goccia.
Examples in context
- Mi è caduta una goccia d'acqua sulla mano.A droplet of water fell on my hand.
- Dopo la pioggia, ho notato delle piccole palline d'acqua sui fiori.After the rain, I noticed small water droplets on the flowers.
- C'è una gocciolina di rugiada sulla foglia.There is a tiny droplet of dew on the leaf.
- Una piccola gocciolina d'olio è caduta sul tavolo.A small droplet of oil fell on the table.
- Vedo una gocciolina di sudore sulla sua fronte.I see a droplet of sweat on his forehead.
Example conversation
Sofia and Alessandro are looking at a flower after the rain.
- SofiaGuarda questa gocciolina sulla foglia!Look at this droplet on the leaf!
- AlessandroÈ davvero minuscola, Sofia.It is really tiny, Sofia.
- SofiaSembra un piccolo diamante.It looks like a little diamond.
- AlessandroSì, è molto bella.Yes, it is very beautiful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “droplet” translations and entries gocciolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
