Meaning
insect, bug
In a sentence
C'è un insetto sulla finestra della cucina.
There’s an insect on the kitchen window.
Hai visto che strano insetto nel giardino?
Did you see that strange insect in the garden?
Non toccare quell'insetto, potrebbe pungere.
Don’t touch that insect, it might sting.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| insetto | masculine · singular |
| insetti | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Use insetto for the biological category. For creepy-crawlies in general, people may say baco, verme, or bestiola depending on the animal.
- Ragno is not an insetto in scientific Italian; it is an aracnide. Native speakers may blur this casually, but textbooks will not.
- Often used after prepositions with the article: un insetto, l'insetto, gli insetti. Watch the plural masculine form insetti.