Adjective Order in Italian

Female designer using laptop next to color swatches in office
Hero Images/Getty Images
By
Michael San Filippo
Michael San Filippo
Italian Expert
  • M.A., Italian Studies, Middlebury College
  • B.A., Biology, Northeastern University
Michael San Filippo co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. He is a tutor of Italian language and culture.
Learn about our Editorial Process
Updated on January 30, 2019

In general Italian adjectives follow the noun:

È una lingua difficile. (It is a difficult language.)
Marina è una ragazza generosa. (Marina is a generous girl.)

Certain common adjectives, however, generally come before the noun:

Young woman in Italy with scooter
Read More
Italian Adjectives
By Cher Hale

Anna è una cara amica. (Anna is a dear friend.)
Gino è un bravo dottore. (Gino is a good doctor.)
È un brutt'affare. (It's a bad situation.)

The most common adjectives that come before the noun are listed in the table below.

Italian Adjectives That Precede Nouns

bello beautiful
bravo good, able
brutto ugly
buono good
caro dear
cattivo bad
giovane young
grande large; great
lungo long
nuovo new
piccolo small, little
stesso same
vecchio old
vero true

But even these adjectives must follow the noun for emphasis or contrast, and when modified by an adverb:

Oggi non porta l'abito vecchio, porta un abito nuovo. (Today he is not wearing the old suit, he is wearing a new suit.)
Abitano in una casa molto piccola. (They live in a very small house.)

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Filippo, Michael San. "Adjective Order in Italian." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/italian-adjective-order-4098168. Filippo, Michael San. (2023, April 5). Adjective Order in Italian. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-adjective-order-4098168 Filippo, Michael San. "Adjective Order in Italian." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-adjective-order-4098168 (accessed April 26, 2024).