Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| gusto | /ˈɡus.to/ | masculine |
| sapore | /saˈpo.re/ | masculine |
The term describes the sensations produced by the tongue. When you want to say something 'tastes like' something else, use the construction avere il sapore di. You can describe specific sensations using words such as dolce (sweet), piccante (spicy), aspro (sour), salato (salty), aromatico (aromatic), agrumato (citrusy) or delizioso (delicious).
Which one should you use?
Use gusto when referring to a person's aesthetic sense or judgment, such as having good taste in art or clothing. Use sapore when referring to the actual sensory flavor or quality of food and drink.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Both gusto and sapore are masculine nouns. If you wish to use verbs related to taste, provare means to experience, while sapere is used to mean to have a taste.
How do you pronounce it?
The word gusto is pronounced /ˈɡus.to/. It has two syllables, and the stress is on the first syllable.
Did you know?
- The verb sapere means both 'to know' and 'to taste'. This creates a linguistic link between the act of knowing a fact and the act of tasting a flavor.
- The word gusto shares a root with the English word 'disgust', as both originate from the Latin gustus meaning 'taste'.
- In Italian, the word gusto can be used as an adverb to mean 'with pleasure' or 'with zest' in the phrase mangiare con gusto.
Examples in context
- Ha un buon sapore?Does it taste okay?This sentence is useful for asking if a food has a good flavor using sapore.Tatoeba #3357987 by Guybrush88, translation #594702 by CK
- Tom ha buon gusto.Tom has good taste.This sentence illustrates using gusto to describe someone's aesthetic preference.Tatoeba #5105782 by Guybrush88, translation #5105764 by CK
- L'acqua non ha sapore.Water has no taste.This sentence shows how to state that water lacks flavor using sapore.Tatoeba #10149071 by Guybrush88, translation #9960768 by ddnktr
- Mi piace molto il sapore del gelato italiano.I really like the taste of Italian gelato.
- Il gusto di questo vino è squisito.The taste of this wine is exquisite.
- Gustiamo insieme queste deliziose paste.Let's taste these delicious pastries together.
- 160 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofia and Lorenzo are tasting a new dessert.
- SofiaChe gusto ha questo dolce?What taste does this dessert have?
- LorenzoHa un gusto di fragola.It has a strawberry taste.
- SofiaNon sento bene il gusto.I can't taste it well.
- LorenzoForse è troppo dolce per te, Sofia.Maybe it is too sweet for you, Sofia.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “taste” translations and entries gusto, sapore, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gusto, sapore, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
