Meaning
sailor, mariner, seaman
- sailor, seaman
In a sentence
Mio zio fa il marinaio da vent'anni.
My uncle has been a sailor for twenty years.
Hai visto il marinaio al porto stamattina?
Did you see the sailor at the port this morning?
I marinai hanno controllato le vele prima di partire.
The sailors checked the sails before leaving.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| marinaio | masculine · singular |
| marinai | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Usually means a person who works on ships. For a navy sailor, marinaio is common; marittimo is broader and more formal.
- The 'tarpaulin/tar' sense is rare or obsolete for most learners; avoid it unless reading older or specialized texts.
- Regular masculine noun: il marinaio, i marinai. Feminine forms like marinaia exist but are much less common in real usage.