grato
/ˈɡra.to/
The English word 'grateful' is translated into Italian as grato.
grato is an adjective used to describe a person or their actions when expressing gratitude or appreciation.
Meaning: of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation (adj)
Which one should you use?
While grato is an adjective used to describe a state of being (grateful), grazie is the standard interjection used to say 'thank you'.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, grato must agree in gender and number with the person who is feeling grateful. Use grata for a female subject, grati for a group of males or a mixed group and grate for a group of females. To express gratitude toward someone, the adjective is used with the preposition a (for example, Sono grato a lei means 'I am grateful to her').
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈɡra.to/. It has 2 syllables, and the stress is on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- Italian distinguishes between grato for appreciation and riconoscente for a deeper sense of being indebted to someone, though they are often interchangeable.
- While grato means 'grateful', it can also describe a pleasant or agreeable feeling, such as a sorpresa grata meaning a 'welcome surprise'.
- If you want to say 'I am grateful' in a very formal letter, you might use the expression EsserLe grato, where the 'L' is capitalized to show high respect to the recipient.
Examples in context
- Ti sono molto grato.I am very grateful to you.This sentence is useful for expressing how much you are grateful to someone using grato.Tatoeba #4261313 by bailujia, translation #13727375 by Orange
- Ne sono molto grato.I'm very grateful for that.This sentence is useful for expressing how much you are grateful for a specific thing using grato.Tatoeba #4984588 by Guybrush88, translation #4980982 by CK
- Tom era molto grato.Tom was very grateful.This sentence is useful for describing someone else's state of being using grato.Tatoeba #5112261 by Guybrush88, translation #4494548 by CK
- 90 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo thanks Martina for helping him study.
- LorenzoGrazie per l'aiuto, Martina.Thanks for the help, Martina.
- MartinaDi nulla, Lorenzo. È stato un piacere.You're welcome, Lorenzo. It was a pleasure.
- LorenzoSono davvero grato per il tuo tempo.I am truly grateful for your time.
- MartinaNon c'è problema, in bocca al lupo!No problem, good luck!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grateful” translations and entries grato, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
