re
/ˈre/masculine
The English word king is translated into Italian as re.
re refers to a male of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of his nation. You may also use monarca to mean monarch.
Meaning: a male of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of his nation (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word re is a masculine noun. While the spelling of re does not change in the plural, you will see it used in phrases like dei re to mean 'of the kings'. The feminine form of re is regina, which means queen.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈre/
Did you know?
- The phrase fare il re literally means 'to act the king' and is used to describe someone behaving in an arrogant or entitled manner.
- The Italian word re shares an unexpected history with the musical term 're' used in solfège. This musical 're' comes from the Latin word resonāre, meaning 'to resound', rather than from the word for a monarch.
- Italian uses the word re in the common idiom re della festa to describe someone who is the center of attention, rather than a literal royal.
Examples in context
- È il mio re.He is my king.This example shows how to use re to identify a king.Tatoeba #8247928 by Guybrush88, translation #6121121 by mailohilohi
- Il re è nudo!The king is naked!Tatoeba #2687012 by Guybrush88, translation #2627012 by AlanF_US
- Era un buon re.He was a good king.This example uses re to describe a king in the past tense.Tatoeba #3139216 by Guybrush88, translation #1356323 by CK
- Il sovrano ha preso decisioni importanti per il suo regno.The king has made important decisions for his kingdom.
- Ciao, come stai, reuccio?Hi, how are you, little king?
- Hai vinto la partita! Sei proprio il re, o meglio, la regina!You won the game! You're truly the king, or rather, the queen!
- 223 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofia and Francesco are visiting a museum of history.
- SofiaChi è questo uomo nel quadro?Who is this man in the painting?
- FrancescoLui era il re di questo paese.He was the king of this country.
- SofiaIl re sembra molto severo.The king looks very stern.
- FrancescoSì, era un uomo molto rigido.Yes, he was a very rigid man.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “king” translations and entries re, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries re, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
