umido
/ˈu.mi.do/
The English word "humid" is translated into Italian as umido.
umido is the most general and commonly used term for "humid". While it can describe the weather in a meteorological sense, it is also the standard word for "damp" or "moist" when describing surfaces or objects.
Meaning: slightly wet (adj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the center and south of Italy, the word afa refers to a particularly heavy and stifling humidity.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective umido changes its ending to agree with the nouns it describes: use umida for feminine singular nouns, umidi for masculine plural nouns and umide for feminine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables, with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈu.mi.do/.
When do people say it?
Depending on the specific type of humidity, you might use other terms: afoso can emphasize an oppressive or stifling level of humidity, appiccicoso is an informal way to describe a sticky and muggy type of humidity and piovigginoso is used when humidity is accompanied by drizzle or light rain.
Did you know?
- In Italy, l'umido is the common noun used to refer to organic waste or 'wet' trash for composting.
- If an Italian describes a room as umido, they are often referring to a structural problem like rising damp or mold rather than the weather.
- In a culinary context, if you find a piece of bread is umido, it implies it has become soggy rather than just 'moist'.
Examples in context
- Era caldo e umido.It was hot and humid.This sentence shows how to use umido to describe weather conditions.Tatoeba #10143439 by Guybrush88, translation #10129928 by ddnktr
- È molto umido, vero?It's very humid, isn't it?This sentence uses umido to ask for confirmation about the humidity.Tatoeba #5412068 by Guybrush88, translation #3368809 by AlanF_US
- C'è troppo umido fuori.It's too humid out.This sentence uses umido to describe the conditions outside.Tatoeba #8641990 by Guybrush88, translation #8636793 by Eccles17
- La giornata è molto umida oggi.The day is very humid today.
- In questi giorni fa davvero caldo e afoso.It's really hot and humid these days.
- È terribilmente appiccicoso oggi, non si riesce a stare bene.It's terribly humid today, it's hard to feel comfortable.
- Fuori c'è un'atmosfera piovigginosa e umida.Outside, there's a damp and humid atmosphere.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Sofia are checking the clothes in the laundry room.
- FrancescoSofia, il tuo maglione è ancora umido.Sofia, your sweater is still damp.
- SofiaSì, è troppo umido in questa stanza.Yes, it is too humid in this room.
- FrancescoDobbiamo lasciarlo fuori un altro po'.We need to leave it out a bit longer.
- SofiaHai ragione, Francesco.You are right, Francesco.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “humid” translations and entries umido, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
