mia moglie
The Italian phrase for "my wife" is mia moglie.
The woman to whom a person is married.
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike in English, the possessive adjective mia (my) is used without a definite article when referring to a single family member in the singular. When referring to multiple wives, the possessive adjective must agree in gender and number, requiring the article: le mie mogli.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Including the article la before mia moglie is a common mistake for English speakers. In standard Italian, the article is omitted for singular, unmodified family members.
Did you know?
- To describe a 'wife' in a humorous or slightly derogatory way, Italians might use la vecchia ('the old woman'), regardless of the wife's actual age.
- The Italian word moglie is a direct descendant of the Latin mulier, which originally meant 'woman' in a general sense before specializing to mean 'wife'.
- While mia moglie is standard, a husband might affectionately refer to his wife as la mia metà, which translates to 'my half'.
Examples in context
- Lei è mia moglie.She's my wife.This sentence is useful for introducing someone as mia moglie.Tatoeba #2238069 by Guybrush88, translation #1325177 by Scott
- Non è mia moglie.That's not my wife.This sentence is useful for clarifying that someone is not mia moglie.Tatoeba #12853235 by Guybrush88, translation #1879781 by Asma
- Mary è mia moglie.Mary is my wife.This sentence is useful for stating a specific name followed by mia moglie.Tatoeba #4420243 by Guybrush88, translation #4419624 by Hybrid
- 382 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Matteo is introducing Sofia to a colleague.
- SofiaChi è lei?Who is she?
- MatteoLei è mia moglie, Sofia.This is my wife, Sofia.
- SofiaPiacere di conoscerti, Sofia.Nice to meet you, Sofia.
- MatteoSofia è molto simpatica.Sofia is very nice.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries moglie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
