maialino
masculine
The English phrase piglet is translated into Italian as maialino. Wiktionary also lists porcello.
Meaning: young pig (noun)
Ways to say it
| Italian | Note |
|---|---|
| maialino | masculine |
| porcello |
The term is a noun used to refer to a young pig.
Which one should you use?
While both maialino and porcello can mean piglet, maialino is the standard term for a young pig. In contrast, porcello often carries a derogatory connotation of being 'dirty' or 'nasty'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form maialino can be changed to the feminine maialina to refer to a female piglet. To refer to multiple piglets, use the plural form maialini.
Did you know?
- The word maiale is used in the common idiomatic expression fare il maiale to describe someone acting in a lewd or sexually inappropriate manner.
- In Italian, the word porco is far more likely to appear in swear words or strong insults than the word maiale.
- The word porcello traces its lineage back to the Late Latin porcellus, which acted as a diminutive for the Latin word porcus.
Examples in context
- Il maialino è così carino!The piglet is so cute!
- Guarda quanto è dolce il maialetto!Look how sweet the piglet is!
- Il maialino è molto piccolo.The piglet is very small.
- Abbiamo comprato un maialino rosa.We bought a pink piglet.
- Quel maialino mangia molto velocemente.That piglet eats very quickly.
Example conversation
Sofia and Matteo are visiting a small farm.
- SofiaGuarda quel maialino, Matteo!Look at that piglet, Matteo!
- MatteoÈ davvero carino.It is really cute.
- SofiaVuoi dare da mangiare al maialino?Do you want to feed the piglet?
- MatteoSì, lo faccio volentieri.Yes, I'll gladly do it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “piglet” translations and entries maialino, porcello, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries porcello, CC BY-SA 4.0.
