heypolyglot
Italian

abile

/ˈa.bi.le/adjective · masculineB2
Less common · Top 5,000

Meaning

skilled

  • skilful
  • clever
  • able, fit

In a sentence

Mia sorella è molto abile con il computer.

My sister is very skilful with computers.

Sei abile a risolvere questi problemi?

Are you good at solving these problems?

Non sono abile nei lavori di casa.

I'm not good at housework.

Word forms (4)
WordWord forms
abilemasculine · singular
abilefeminine · singular
abilimasculine · plural
abilifeminine · plural

Usage notes

  • Use abile mostly for skill in doing something: abile a cucinare sounds odd; prefer abile nel cucinare or bravo a cucinare.
  • Before a noun, it often means tactically clever: un abile politico can imply strategic skill, not moral approval.
  • For general capability, capace or in grado di are often more natural than abile in everyday speech.

Related words

Opposites

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