Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| gattino | /ɡatˈti.no/ | masculine |
| gattina | /ɡatˈti.na/ | feminine |
| micetto | masculine | |
| micetta | feminine |
The word is used to refer to a young cat. You can use the masculine form gattino or the feminine form gattina depending on the gender of the kitten. If you are addressing a female kitten directly, you should use gattina.
What does it mean word for word?
gattino is a diminutive of gatto (cat), created by adding the suffix -ino to mean "little cat".
Which one should you use?
gattino is the standard term for a male kitten, while gattina is used for a female kitten. For a more affectionate and cutesy way to say "kitty", you can use the informal term micetto for a male kitten.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine plural form of gattino is gattini, which can refer to a group of male kittens or a mixed group. The feminine plural form of gattina is gattine, used for a group of female kittens.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables, with the stress on the second syllable: /ɡatˈti.no/.
Did you know?
- One form of the word for a female kitten, gattina, was actually borrowed from the French language.
- In Italian culture, using the diminutive -ino or -etta is a common way to express affection rather than just describing the physical size of the kitten.
- The word 'micetto' comes from 'micia', which is an older, more poetic or colloquial term for a cat, rather than the standard 'gatto'.
Examples in context
- Questo è un gattino.This is a kitten.Tatoeba #13939588 by Guybrush88, translation #13938039 by rul
- Il gattino vuole dormire.The kitten wants to sleep.Tatoeba #4731773 by Guybrush88, translation #1432418 by CK
- Ho un gattino e una gattina.I have a male kitten and a female kitten.This sentence demonstrates the use of both gattino and gattina to distinguish between a male and female kitten.Tatoeba #799622 by Guybrush88, translation #13584627 by Native77
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Giulia are looking at a pet shop window.
- AlessandroGiulia, guarda quel gattino!Giulia, look at that kitten!
- GiuliaSì, è bellissimo, Alessandro.Yes, it is beautiful, Alessandro.
- AlessandroVuoi prenderlo con te?Do you want to take him with you?
- GiuliaForse, vorrei davvero un gattino.Maybe, I would really like a kitten.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “kitten” translations and entries gattino, gattina, micetto, micetta, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gattina, gattino, micetta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
