How to Say "Irregular Verb" in Italian

verbo irregolare

/ˈvɛr.bo ir.re.ɡoˈla.re/word by word

The English phrase "irregular verb" is translated into Italian as verbo irregolare.

This phrase is used to describe a verb that does not follow the standard rules for conjugation.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of the noun verbo (verb) and the adjective irregolare (irregular).

The plural form is verbi irregolari, where both the noun and the adjective change to the plural.

The phrase consists of 6 syllables with the stress on the first syllable. It is pronounced /ˈvɛr.bo ir.re.ɡoˈla.re/.

While verbo irregolare is a linguistic term, the word verbo is also used in Italian religious contexts to refer to 'The Word' (the Logos) in the Gospel of John.
The Italian word for 'verb', verbo, shares its distant ancestor with the English word 'word'. Both stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *werh₁, meaning 'to speak'.
When discussing verbi irregolari, you might encounter 'suppletive' verbs, which are verbs that use entirely different roots for different tenses, such as 'essere' (to be).

Lorenzo is helping Martina study Italian grammar.

Martina

Lorenzo, questo è un verbo irregolare?
Lorenzo, is this an irregular verb?
Lorenzo

Sì, Martina, è un verbo irregolare molto comune.
Yes, Martina, it is a very common irregular verb.
Martina

È difficile studiare ogni verbo irregolare.
It is difficult to study every irregular verb.
Lorenzo

Non preoccuparti, vedrai che diventerà facile.
Don't worry, you'll see that it will become easy.

Sources

IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (verbo, irregolare) and can differ in connected speech.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries irregolare, verbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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