Learn Italian vocabulary for everyday objects

In this video I'll explain 32 Italian words and phrases related to cats.

I'm Luca and this video is designed for those who are learning Italian as a foreign language.

Specifically, this video is for those wonderful people who understand Italian, but can't speak it as fluently as they wished. In particular, I have in mind those learners who, when speaking Italian, realize that they don't know certain Italian words.

As I said, in this video I'm going to explain 32 Italian words and phrases that aren't usually taught in Italian courses.

This video is my response to a request I received some time ago from one of my subcribers.

This person asked me to discuss Italian vocabulary related to cats, that is, to talk about Italian words and expressions that we can use when talking about cats. Specifically, this person asked me to talk about the words that are used in Italian to refer to items that are used with cats.

So in this video I will explain a number of Italian phrases and expressions related to cats in general and to items used with cats.

If you haven't subscribed yet (to my channel), I strongly suggest that you subscribe, because on this channel I regularly upload Italian language lessons for non-native speakers.

In my lessons I focus for the most part on things that aren't usually taught in Italian courses.

So, if you want to improve your level and speak Italian as a native speaker, you might wanna subscribe!

That being said, let's move on to Italian vocabulary related to cats.

First of all, let me say that a cat is called in Italian "animale domestico". In Italy, the most common "animali domestici" are undoubtedly dogs and cats.

This type of animals kept in the home are referred to in Italian with the phrase "animali domestici". So "animali domestici" is the name of this category, it's the plural form. The singular form would be "animale domestico".

You can say so, or you could also say "animale da compagnia". I'd say that the phrase "animale domestico" is definitely more common. Most people say "animali domestici", some people say "animali da compagnia".

The phrase "animali da compagnia" is very interesting because in this case the Italian preposition DA is used in a rather peculiar way.

In this case, in fact, the preposition DA is used to point to a purpose. That is, to point to the fact that something is suitable for a given function.

For instance, in this case "animali da compagnia" means that these animals are suited for keeping you company.

For example, if we talk about dogs, there are different types of dogs. You can use these Italian phrases: "cani da compagnia", "cani da caccia", "cani da pastore", "cani da combattimento" and "cani da guardia". As you see, in all these cases we use the Italian preposition DA.

What does "cane da caccia" mean? It's a dog used for hunting, it's a dog suited for hunting.

What does "cane da pastore" mean? It's a dog that originally was used for herding sheep, it was used by shepherds.

What does "cane da guardia" mean? It's a dog suited for guarding certain places.

Now I don't want to digress for too long talking about the Italian preposition DA used to refer to a function / purpose. Some time ago I made a video about this very topic. If you are interested, here you can find a card to it.

By the way, we normally say just "gatto". The proper name of this species would be "gatto domestico", though. So we also have the adjective "domestico". By contrast, the cat that doesn't live in flats or houses, but outside, is referred to with the phrase "gatto selvatico".

That in case of a scientific classification, so to speak, "Gatto domestico" vs. "gatto selvatico".

In case we want to say that there is a cat living in the streets, I mean a stray or unowned cat, we can call it "gatto randagio".

The same goes for dogs: in case of a dog living in the streets having no owner, we can use the Italian phrase "cane randagio".

Cats are part of a category of animals that in Italian are called "felini". The singular form is "felino", the plural is "felini". So we can say that the cat is a "felino".

Animals that are part of the category called "felini" are extremely interesting from a linguistic standpoint.

I have noticed that 95% of people learning Italian as a foreign language tend to get articles wrong. So let's take this chance to review Italian nouns referring to felids.

Alright, then. For instance, we have the Italian noun "il leone", which is a masculine noun. The female lion is called "leonessa", "la leonessa". So:"il leone, la leonessa. Nobody has issues with that.

But we also have the Italian noun "tigre". In Italian we say "la tigre". So this is a feminine noun. If we say "la tigre", that's a general reference. I want to stress this. "La tigre" has a general meaning, it does not mean a female tiger. If you want to refer to a female tiger, you should say: "la femmina della tigre" or "la tigre femmina".

Then we have, well, the noun "leopardo", which doesn't create too many issues. Il leopardo.

The same goes for the Italian noun "ghepardo", which is a masculine noun: "il ghepardo".

But then we also have another problematic word, which is "puma". In Italian, "il puma" is masculine. This word is rather peculiar because it ends with A, but it's masculine. So in Italian we say: "il puma", "i puma".

Another problematic word is "lince". This is a feminine noun. As a matter of fact, in italian we say: "la lince", "le linci".

Then we also have the noun "pantera", which usually doesn't create problems. "Pantera" is a feminine noun: "la pantera", "le pantere".

In the comments below please let me know if you had some issues with these nouns in the past. Because I noticed that many, many foreigners learning Italian make grammatical gender mistakes, when using nouns referring to felids.

By the way, I almost forgot! In the comments section, please let me know what you think about the new background! As you see, I have slightly changed the background. Please let me know down below what you think about that!

In any case, let's go back to cats!

An Italian noun that you may not know is the noun "artiglio". "Artiglio" is the singular, while "artigli" is the plural. Cats have "artigli". The noun "artigli" refers a type of nails. Humans have "unghie", while cats have "artigli".

What's the difference between the Italian words "artigli" and "unghie"? Well, "artigli", as cats' owners probably know, are sharper than "unghie". "Artigli" are piercing and are typically hook-shaped.

Keep in mind that many Italians use the words "unghie" and "artigli" interchangeably. Me personally, I think that humans have "unghie", while cats and birds such as eagles have "artigli". But many Italians say "le unghie del gatto" So, yeah, that's not a mistake. You can say "unghie", no prob. You can use the noun "unghie", or you can say "artigli".

One interesting feature of cat claws is that they are "retrattili". Chances are, you don't know this word. "Retrattili" means that they can be pulled back.

I don't know if you are familiar with Wolverine, you see? Wolverine also has, so to speak, what we'd call "artigli retrattili". He is not walking around with his claws out all the time. Whenever he needs them, he gets them out. And when he doesn't need them anymore, because he has already done what he wanted to do, what does he do? He retracts them.

Then, if you have a cat, you know that cats from time to time... What do they do? They start clawing with their "artigli", with their "unghie", some objects, a carpet, or a piece of furniture, ecc.

Why do they do this? To sharpen their "artigli". Or to sharpen their "unghie". What does the phrase "affilarsi le unghie" mean? It means to claw in such a way so that claws remain sharp and piercing.

Keep in mind that some Italians just say "farsi le unghie". So if they are talking about a cat, "farsi le unghie" means exactly this, that is: sharpening "unghie", sharpening claws.

You very likely know the Italian verb "miagolare". "Miagolare" is the verb that we use to refer to the sound cats make. Or, rather than "sound", I should say "noise". You know, that noise, meow-meow. Well, in Italian we use the verb "miagolare". Il gatto miagola.

At times, when cats are happy, pleased, or satisfied, they make a rather peculiar noise, that in Italian is referred to with the phrase "fare le fusa". You should learn this idiom just like that. For instance, one can say: "Il gatto fa le fusa", "il gatto sta facendo le fusa". You can't change this idiomatic phrase in the slightest. Let's say that this is a set phrase.

You see what I mean, right? When the cat is breathing in a rather peculiar way. Well, in Italian we say "il gatto fa le fusa".

Now let's talk about objects related to cats.

First of all, what Italian noun can we use to refer to the thing that cats eat? In italian we call that "cibo per gatti". So, to refer generally to the stuff that cats eat, we use the phrase "cibo per gatti".

Basically, there are 2 types of "cibo per gatti".

You have the most common type, that we call "cibo umido", because it contains sauce, so its partially liquid. It is typically some sort of meat with some sauce. So, this is what we call "cibo umido".

In addition to that, you have "cibo secco", that is some kind of biscuits or kibble. So it's food that doesn't contain sauce, it's indeed dry. To refer to this type of food, some people use the word "croccantini", other people say "crocchette", while other say "biscottini". Anyway, you see what type of food I have in mind.

So when you are in a grocery store, you can either buy some pouches "bustine di cibo per gatti", or some (metal) tins, that is: "scatolette di cibo per gatti".

Inside these pouches (or tins) there can be different types of cat food. Different brands use different names, depending on how the meat has been cut, how much sauce you have in the pouch, or in the tin.

For instance, some brands use the Italian word "dadini". What does "dadini" mean? It means small dice. Just to be clear, this is what we call "dado". The Italian word "dadino" refers to a small "dado". So "dadini" essentially means small cubes or "cubetti".

It's not that inside a pouch you will find this type of dice used for playing, right?

2. Great! 1 + 1.

Whatever, there are small dice.

So these are called "dadini", but they are small dice. Meat cut in small dice and you have some sauce all around.

Some brands use words such as "patè", "mousse", "bocconcini", "filetti". These words refer to the type of meat that's inside, to the type of cut.

Here you can find a card to a playlist that I made, in which I grouped all my videos which are similar to this one, that is, my videos about Italian vocabulary in which I discuss the Italian words and phrases that we can use to refer to everyday objects.

I have noticed that many people who learned Italian as a second language have multiple issues not with grammar, but rather with the lexicon. This is especially true when it comes to phrases and expressions used to refer to concrete objects.

Alright, then. Here you will find a card to this playlist. You might wanna check it out!

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