carne
/ˈkar.ne/feminine
Meat in Italian is carne.
The most common and widely used word for "meat" in Italian is carne. You can use carne di manzo to specifically refer to beef, carne di maiale to specify pork and carni miste can be used when looking for a variety of meats. Cacciagione refers to game meat. Bistecca alla Fiorentina refers to a Florentine-style T-bone steak.
Meaning: animal flesh used as food (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /ˈkar.ne/. It has two syllables, and the stress is on the first syllable.
Did you know?
- The word carne is used in the phrase Carnevale, which literally means 'farewell to meat'. This marks the final period of eating meat before the fasting of Lent.
- The phrase essere carne da cannone is used in Italian to describe people who are 'cannon fodder', meaning they are expendable in a conflict.
- The root of carne shares an ancestry with the English word 'score', which originally meant a notch or a cut made into a surface.
Examples in context
- La carne è cara.Meat is expensive.This example shows how to use carne to talk about its cost.Tatoeba #2488219 by Guybrush88, translation #2486742 by Hybrid
- La carne è dura.The meat is tough.This example shows how to use carne to describe its texture.Tatoeba #3534911 by Guybrush88, translation #57553 by CK
- Tu ami la carne.You love meat.This example shows how to use carne to express a preference.Tatoeba #13297266 by Guybrush88, translation #13117346 by frpzzd
- Il ristorante offre una selezione di carni pregiate.The restaurant offers a selection of fine meats.
- Mi piace la carne di manzo alla griglia.I like grilled beef.
- Vorrei ordinare le carni miste, per favore.I would like to order the mixed meats, please.
- Mi piacciono molto gli spaghetti alla carne macinata.I really like spaghetti with ground beef sauce.
- Voglio provare la pizza con la carne di maiale.I want to try the pizza with pork.
- Vorrei un taglio di carne ben cotto.I would like a well-done cut of meat.
- Il tuo arrosto di carne è delizioso.Your roast meat is delicious.
- Mi piace provare la carne degli animali tipici della zona.I like to try the meat of the local animals.
- 1051 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Chiara are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- AlessandroVuoi mangiare della carne stasera?Do you want to eat some meat tonight?
- ChiaraNo, preferisco un piatto vegetariano.No, I prefer a vegetarian dish.
- AlessandroVa bene, prepariamo delle verdure.Alright, let's prepare some vegetables.
- ChiaraOttima idea, Alessandro.Great idea, Alessandro.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “meat” translations and entries carne, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries carne, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
