Meaning
cafeteria
- cafeteria, canteen
In a sentence
Oggi mangio in mensa con i colleghi.
Today I'm eating in the cafeteria with my coworkers.
A scuola mangio sempre in mensa.
At school I always eat in the cafeteria.
La mensa oggi è chiusa.
The cafeteria is closed today.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| mensa | feminine · singular |
| mense | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- In modern Italian, mensa usually means a cafeteria, especially school or workplace canteens; tavola is the normal word for a dining table.
- For university or company dining halls, mensa is standard. Ristorante or bar refer to commercial places, not institutional meal services.
- The senses 'table' and 'altar' are literary or ecclesiastical; learners will rarely need them in everyday conversation.