Meaning
to stain, spot
- to leave a mark or dirty spot on something
- to add a small dash of milk to coffee or coffee to milk
- reflexive (macchiarsi): to get dirty, stained
In a sentence
Attento a non macchiare la camicia bianca con il vino.
Be careful not to stain your white shirt with wine.
Mi macchi il caffè con un goccio di latte freddo?
Could you add a dash of cold milk to my coffee?
Non si è macchiato i pantaloni mentre mangiava.
He didn't stain his pants while eating.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| macchiare | infinitive |
| macchio | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| macchi | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| macchia | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| macchiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| macchiate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| macchiano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| macchiavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| macchiavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| macchiava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| macchiavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| macchiavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| macchiavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| macchiai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| macchiasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| macchiò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| macchiammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| macchiaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| macchiarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| macchierò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| macchierai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| macchierà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| macchieremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| macchierete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| macchieranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| macchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| macchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| macchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| macchiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| macchiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| macchino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| macchiassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| macchiassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| macchiasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| macchiassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| macchiaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| macchiassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| macchierei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| macchieresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| macchierebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| macchieremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| macchiereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| macchierebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| macchia | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| macchiamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| macchiate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| macchiando | gerund |
| macchiato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- In coffee culture, 'macchiare' means adding a dash of hot or cold milk to espresso ('caffè macchiato').
- Takes 'avere' transitively; the reflexive form 'macchiarsi' uses 'essere'.