colibrì
/ko.liˈbri/masculine
The English word hummingbird is colibrì in Italian.
The word colibrì is a masculine noun used to refer to any of the various small American birds belonging to the family Trochilidae.
Meaning: any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word colibrì is invariable in the plural. The form remains the same whether you are referring to one hummingbird or multiple hummingbirds.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables and the stress is on the third syllable: /ko.liˈbri/.
Did you know?
- The Italian word colibrì is a direct loan from the Spanish word colibrí, which likely stems from a native American language of the Americas.
- While colibrì refers to the bird, if you want to describe the rapid, vibrating movement of a hummingbird's wings, you might use the verb frullare.
- The word colibrì ends with an accented vowel, which is relatively rare for native Italian words and usually indicates a word borrowed from another language.
Examples in context
- Un colibrì è non più grande di una farfalla.A hummingbird is no larger than a butterfly.This sentence is useful for comparing the size of a colibrì to a butterfly.Tatoeba #2380762 by Guybrush88, translation #35187 by CM
- Il colibrì è l'uccello più piccolo del mondo.The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world.This sentence is useful for stating that the colibrì is the smallest bird in the world.Tatoeba #2380701 by Guybrush88, translation #878041 by papabear
- Riesci a vedere il colibrì in quel cespuglio?Can you make out the hummingbird by that bush?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can see a colibrì in a bush.Tatoeba #2380782 by Guybrush88, translation #772780 by marloncori
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Chiara are sitting on a balcony watching the garden.
- LorenzoGuarda, un colibrì!Look, a hummingbird!
- ChiaraChe bello, è bellissimo.How lovely, it is beautiful.
- LorenzoÈ molto piccolo, vero?It is very small, right?
- ChiaraSì, Lorenzo, è minuscolo.Yes, Lorenzo, it is tiny.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hummingbird” translations and entries colibrì, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries colibrì, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
