buon cibo
/ˈbwɔn ˈt͡ʃi.bo/word by word
The English phrase "nice food" is translated into Italian as buon cibo.
buon cibo is used to express that food is tasty or pleasant, much like an English speaker saying "nice food". However, in natural Italian conversation, speakers are more likely to use specific adjectives like buonissimo (very good) or ottimo (excellent) rather than the generic buon cibo to describe a meal. For instance, you might use delizioso/a for delicious, squisito/a for exquisite or excellent or gustoso/a for tasty or flavorful. For more enthusiasm, you can use buonissimo/a to say something is very good or extremely delicious, strepitoso/a for amazing or mind-blowing or divino/a to describe food that is divine.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase buon cibo, the adjective buon is the truncated form of buono, which is used before a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant.
Did you know?
- The Italian word cibo comes from the Latin cibus, whereas the Spanish word cebo evolved to mean 'bait'.
- In Italy, the concept of buon cibo is often linked to convivialità, a word describing the pleasure of eating and drinking together in good company.
- While buon cibo means 'nice food', Italians often use the phrase buon appetito as a social ritual before eating to wish others a good meal.
Examples in context
- Il cibo è deliziosoThe food is delicious
- Questo piatto è squisitoThis dish is exquisite
- La pasta è davvero gustosaThe pasta is truly tasty
- Il tiramisù è buonissimoThe tiramisu is extremely delicious
- La pizza è strepitosaThe pizza is amazing
- Questo gelato al cioccolato è divinoThis chocolate ice cream is divine
- Grazie per questa meravigliosa cenaThank you for this marvelous dinner
- In questo ristorante c'è sempre buon cibo.There is always nice food in this restaurant.
- Grazie per il buon cibo che hai preparato.Thank you for the nice food you prepared.
- Cerchiamo un posto con del buon cibo.Let's look for a place with some nice food.
Example conversation
Chiara and Alessandro are deciding where to go for dinner.
- ChiaraAlessandro, dove andiamo a cena?Alessandro, where are we going for dinner?
- AlessandroAndiamo in quella nuova trattoria.Let's go to that new trattoria.
- ChiaraSpero che offrano del buon cibo.I hope they offer some nice food.
- AlessandroSì, dicono che sia ottimo.Yes, they say it is excellent.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (buon, cibo) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cibo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
