Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA |
|---|---|
| significativo | /siɲ.ɲi.fi.kaˈti.vo/ |
| principale | /prin.t͡ʃiˈpa.le/ |
| notevole | /noˈte.vo.le/ |
If you mean 'major' as in the primary or most important item in a hierarchy, use principale. If you are describing something that is 'major' in the sense of being remarkable or noteworthy in scale or degree, use notevole.
Which one should you use?
Use principale when 'major' means the main or principal one in a sequence or hierarchy. Use notevole when 'major' implies a remarkable amount, degree or size, such as a major improvement.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective significativo must agree in gender with the noun it modifies, changing to significativa for feminine nouns. The adjective principale changes to principali when modifying plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word significativo is pronounced /siɲ.ɲi.fi.kaˈti.vo/. It has 6 syllables, with the stress on the 5th syllable.
Did you know?
- In a university context, an English 'major' is not translated as principale, but is instead referred to as a corso di laurea or specializzazione.
- To describe a 'major' in the military, Italian uses maggiore, which is a distinct word from principale or notevole despite sharing the same English translation.
- While principale means 'major' or 'main', it shares a root with principe, meaning 'prince'. This reflects the Latin idea of the 'first' or 'highest' person in a hierarchy.
Examples in context
- È il tuo problema principale.That is your major problem.This sentence shows how to describe a major problem using principale.Tatoeba #1943812 by Guybrush88, translation #43133 by CK
- Qual è il tuo campo principale?What's your major field?This sentence uses principale to ask about a major field.Tatoeba #2777664 by Guybrush88, translation #17010 by Dejo
- L'Islam è una religione principale.Islam is a major religion.This sentence demonstrates the use of principale to describe a major religion.Tatoeba #13136683 by Guybrush88, translation #8246610 by Amastan
- Corso di laurea in EconomiaMajor in Economics
- Sono iscritto al corso di laurea in Ingegneria Meccanica.I am enrolled in the major of Mechanical Engineering.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Martina are discussing a project at work.
- FrancescoAbbiamo un problema significativo con questo progetto.We have a major problem with this project.
- MartinaCosa è successo esattamente, Francesco?What happened exactly, Francesco?
- FrancescoIl cliente vuole cambiare tutto il design.The client wants to change the entire design.
- MartinaQuesto sarà un cambiamento significativo per noi.This will be a major change for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “major” translations and entries significativo, principale, notevole, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries notevole, principale, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
