Unit 78 Guidebook: describe your home
KEY PHRASES
Describe your home
Viviamo in un appartamento.
We live in an apartment.
We live in an apartment.
Metto il cibo in frigorifero.
I put the food in the refrigerator.
I put the food in the refrigerator.
La tenda della cucina è bianca.
The kitchen curtain is white.
The kitchen curtain is white.
I tappeti sono azzurri.
The rugs are light blue.
The rugs are light blue.
TIP
Rooms
Translating short words like in, at, or to can be tricky because there's no general rule for this in Italian. But here's something to make your life easier: usually you can use the word in before the name of a room.
Lei è in bagno.
She is in the bathroom.
She is in the bathroom.
Il cuoco è in cucina.
The cook is in the kitchen.
The cook is in the kitchen.
When talking about a specific room, you can also use in combined with il, la, etc.
Lei cucina nella cucina.
She cooks in the kitchen.
She cooks in the kitchen.
TIP
A tavola!
The word table is very special in Italian. When you're talking about a table as just a piece of furniture, you use the masculine noun tavolo.
Il tavolo è marrone.
The table is brown.
The table is brown.
Le chiavi non sono sul tavolo.
The keys are not on the table.
The keys are not on the table.
But things change if you are talking about a table that is set up for eating or if someone is eating at a table! In these cases, you'd use the feminine word tavola.
La cena è in tavola.
Dinner is on the table.
Dinner is on the table.
La tua famiglia è a tavola.
Your family is at the table.
Your family is at the table.