How to Say "Whale" in Italian

balena

/baˈle.na/feminine

The English word whale is translated into Italian as balena.

The word balena refers to a large sea mammal.

Meaning: large sea mammal (noun)

How does it change in a sentence?

The plural form of balena is balene. To express the sense of 'some whales' using a partitive, you can use delle balene.

The word is pronounced /baˈle.na/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable.

In Italian, calling someone a balena is a common, though rude, way to describe a person who is overweight.
Italian distinguishes between balena and capodoglio for 'sperm whale', and the latter literally means 'big head'.
In Italian astronomy, the constellation Cetus is often referred to in older texts as a balena, even though it represents a sea monster.

Hai mai visto una balena?
Have you ever seen a whale?
This sentence is useful for asking if someone has ever seen a balena.
Tatoeba #653847 by Guybrush88, translation #69421 by CK
La balena è un mammifero.
A whale is a mammal.
This sentence is useful for stating that a balena is a mammal.
Tatoeba #945977 by Guybrush88, translation #238461 by CK
Ho visto una balena viva.
I've seen a live whale.
This sentence is useful for describing seeing a live balena.
Tatoeba #10278918 by Guybrush88, translation #7646797 by CK
Il Museo di Storia Naturale ha una mostra dedicata alle balene.
The Natural History Museum has an exhibition dedicated to whales.
Gli studenti hanno studiato i vari cetacei nel corso di biologia marina.
The students studied the various cetaceans in the marine biology course.
Le balene migrano lungo la costa ogni anno.
Whales migrate along the coast every year.
La balena è davvero un mostro marino gentile e affascinante.
The whale truly is a gentle and fascinating sea monster.
23 more sentences on Tatoeba

Alessandro and Chiara are looking at a nature documentary on TV.

Sources

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