il cibo era ottimo
/il ˈt͡ʃi.bo ˈɛ.ra ˈɔt.ti.mo/word by word
To say "the food was great" in Italian, use il cibo era ottimo.
This phrase is used to express that the quality of the food was very good. In restaurant settings, you may also hear people say era tutto ottimo (everything was great) to express that the entire dining experience was great.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase il cibo era ottimo breaks down into il (the), cibo (food), era (was) and ottimo (great/excellent).
Which one should you use?
While il cibo era ottimo is common, you can also use Il cibo è stato eccellente to say "The food was excellent" or La cucina era davvero fantastica to say "The cuisine was truly fantastic". The word davvero means "really".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase il cibo era ottimo uses the imperfect tense to describe a continuous state in the past.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /il ˈtʃi.bo ˈɛ.ra ˈɔt.ti.mo/. The word has 8 syllables, with the stress on the second syllable.
Did you know?
- While cibo means 'food', its linguistic relatives in Spanish and Portuguese, such as cebo and cevo, have changed meaning to refer to 'bait' used for fishing or hunting.
- While ottimo means 'great', it is the superlative form of buono (good), meaning it literally translates to 'the best' or 'most good'.
Examples in context
- Il cibo era ottimo in Italia.The food was great in Italy.This sentence uses il cibo era ottimo to show how to describe food quality in a specific location.Tatoeba #753280 by Guybrush88, translation #416555 by Scott
- La pasta era davvero squisitaThe pasta was really delicious
- Il cibo era ottimo ieri sera.The food was great last night.
- Grazie, il cibo era ottimo.Thank you, the food was great.
Example conversation
Francesco and Sofia are finishing a meal at a local restaurant.
- FrancescoTi è piaciuta la cena, Sofia?Did you like the dinner, Sofia?
- SofiaSì, il cibo era ottimo!Yes, the food was great!
- FrancescoSono felice che ti sia piaciuto.I am happy that you liked it.
- SofiaDobbiamo tornare qui presto.We must come back here soon.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (il, cibo, era, ottimo) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cibo, era, il, ottimo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
