итальянец
ital'yanets
In Russian, 'Italian' refers to a person from Italy, with the default form being итальянец (ital'yanets).
Meaning: language (name)
Which one should you use?
Use the masculine noun итальянец to refer to a male person from Italy and the feminine noun итальянка to refer to a female person from Italy. If you wish to describe something pertaining to Italy, such as the Italian language or Italian food, use the adjective италья́нский instead of the noun.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a woman from Italy, the noun changes from the masculine итальянец to the feminine итальянка.
How do you pronounce it?
ital'yanets
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the noun итальянец when you actually mean the adjective италья́нский. For example, do not say итальянец язык when you intend to say 'Italian language'. Instead, use the adjective италья́нский язык.
Did you know?
- Russian distinguishes between the person and the language so sharply that using итальянец to describe a book would be perceived as saying the book itself is a human man from Italy.
- When referring to the 'Italian style' of something, Russians use по-итальянски, a special adverbial form that describes the manner of an action rather than just a characteristic.
- While итальянец refers to a person, the Russian word for the Italian language, италья́нский язык, contains the word 'язык' which also means 'tongue'.
Examples in context
- Мой сосед – итальянец.My neighbour is Italian.This sentence is useful for identifying a neighbor using итальянец.Tatoeba #5242306 by marafon, translation #10738352 by Cabo
- Вы ведь итальянец, да?You're Italian, right?This sentence is useful for confirming someone's nationality using итальянец.Tatoeba #13876121 by Wezel, translation #13614705 by araneo
- Ты итальянец или немец?Are you Italian or German?This sentence is useful for asking a choice between nationalities using итальянец.Tatoeba #4901989 by odexed, translation #8437617 by King2E4
- У нас есть итальянец в нашей делегацииWe have an Italian in our delegation.
- Я изучаю итальянский языкI'm studying Italian
- Давай сходим в итальяшку!Let's go to that Italian place!
- Я обожаю итальянскийI adore Italian
- 28 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alexander and Maria are talking about a new colleague at work.
- Александр AleksandrКто этот новый сотрудник?Kto etot novyy sotrudnik?Who is this new employee?
- Мария MariaЕго зовут Марко, он итальянец.Yego zovut Marko, on italyanets.His name is Marco, he is Italian.
- Александр AleksandrОн говорит по-русски?On govorit po-russki?Does he speak Russian?
- Мария MariaДа, он немного говорит.Da, on nemnogo govorit.Yes, he speaks a little.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
