Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| festa | /ˈfɛs.ta/ | feminine |
| party | /ˈpar.ti/ | masculine |
The most common way to say 'party' is festa, which refers to a social gathering or celebration. This word is also used to describe a public holiday or a religious feast day. You can also use the related verb festeggiare to mean celebrating at a party.
Which one should you use?
While festa is the standard native word for any social gathering, the loanword party is used in Italian to refer specifically to modern, trendy or casual social gatherings. In the plural, festa becomes feste, but the loanword party remains unchanged as party.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Sicily, the word festa is often replaced with maggio during the month of May to refer to a series of folk celebrations.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Festa is a feminine noun, and its plural form is feste. The masculine loanword party remains party in its plural form.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of festa is /ˈfɛs.ta/. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first syllable.
Did you know?
- While festa is general, the phrase fare festa can mean 'to party' but also 'to take a day off' from work or school.
- In certain regions of Italy, a festa may involve a processione, where a statue of a patron saint is carried through the streets to bless the town.
- The word festa originates from the Late Latin fēsta, which was the plural form of the Latin word fēstus.
Examples in context
- È a una festa.He's at a party.This sentence shows someone's location at a festa.Tatoeba #8492518 by Guybrush88, translation #8480065 by CH
- È la mia festa.It's my party.This sentence is useful for claiming ownership of a festa.Tatoeba #13315634 by Guybrush88, translation #11185131 by shekitten
- La festa è oggi.The party is today.This sentence demonstrates how to state when a festa occurs.Tatoeba #5900177 by Guybrush88, translation #5506418 by mailohilohi
- Domani sera ho una festa a casa mia.Tomorrow evening I'm having a party at my place.
- Stiamo organizzando un festeggiamento per la promozione di Marco.We are organizing a celebration for Marco's promotion.
- Domenica si fa una festicciola a casa di Luigi.On Sunday, we're having a small party at Luigi's place.
- Che serata fantastica! È stata proprio una bella festa!What a fantastic evening! It was really a great party!
- Andiamo alla sagra di Ferrara stasera! Ci sarà una festa incredibile!Let's go to the Ferrara festival tonight! There will be an incredible party!
- Ogni anno in maggio, facciamo una serie di feste tradizionali a Palermo.Every year in May, we have a series of traditional parties in Palermo.
- 2240 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Giulia are talking about a weekend plan.
- LorenzoVieni alla mia festa sabato?Are you coming to my party on Saturday?
- GiuliaSì, a che ora inizia la festa?Yes, what time does the party start?
- LorenzoInizia alle otto di sera.It starts at eight in the evening.
- GiuliaPerfetto, ci vediamo lì!Perfect, see you there!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “party” translations and entries festa, party, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries festa, party, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
