generale
/d͡ʒe.neˈra.le/
The Italian word for general is generale.
As an adjective, generale means involving every part or member, not specific or particular. It can also be used as a noun to refer to the military rank of general.
Meaning: involving every part or member, not specific or particular (adj)
Which one should you use?
When used as an adjective, generale means 'general' or 'universal', but when used as a noun, it refers to the military rank of 'general'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective generale is invariable in gender, meaning it stays the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. The plural form of the adjective generale is generali for both masculine and feminine nouns. If you are using the word as a noun for the military rank, the plural forms are I generali for masculine and Le generali for feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/dʒe.neˈra.le/. The word has 4 syllables, and the stress is on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- Italian uses generale in the term pulizie generali, which refers to a 'deep clean' or 'spring cleaning' of a whole house.
- The phrase in linea generale is a common Italian idiom used to mean 'broadly speaking' or 'on the whole'.
- In certain historical Italian contexts, the word 'generale' can imply a sense of 'of a kind' or 'of a genus', relating back to the concept of 'genere' or 'gender'.
Examples in context
- Fu promosso a generale.He was promoted to general.This sentence shows how to use the noun form for a military promotion.Tatoeba #13096459 by Guybrush88, translation #304638 by CK
- Quella è l'idea generale.That's the general idea.This sentence uses the adjective to describe an idea.Tatoeba #3739123 by Guybrush88, translation #3721307 by CM
- La chiamiamo il generale.We call her the general.This sentence uses the noun form to refer to a person with the rank.Tatoeba #11722458 by Guybrush88, translation #5828600 by OsoHombre
- Studiamo l'arte della guerra in modo generale.We study the art of war in a general way.
- È una domanda generale, non specifica.It's a general question, not specific.
- Parliamo in modo generale della situazione.Let's talk generally about the situation.
- In generale, sono d'accordo con te.In general, I agree with you.
- In generale, la pizza italiana è deliziosa!Generally, Italian pizza is delicious!
- 65 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Martina and Alessandro are discussing a project plan.
- MartinaHai un'idea generale per il progetto?Do you have a general idea for the project?
- AlessandroSì, ma mancano i dettagli specifici.Yes, but the specific details are missing.
- MartinaPossiamo discuterne in un senso generale.We can discuss it in a general sense.
- AlessandroVa bene, cominciamo subito.All right, let's start now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “general” translations and entries generale, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
