Meaning
bank, shore
In a sentence
Ci siamo seduti sulla riva del lago.
We sat on the shore of the lake.
La tua barca è ancora vicino alla riva?
Is your boat still near the shore?
Non andare troppo vicino alla riva del fiume.
Don't go too close to the riverbank.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| riva | feminine · singular |
| rive | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Use riva mainly for the edge of a river, lake, or sea. For a generic coast, costa or litorale is often better.
- With rivers, Italians often say sulla riva del fiume. For beaches, spiaggia is the sandy area, not the edge itself.
- Common in literary or descriptive language; everyday speech may prefer spiaggia, lungomare, or bordo depending on the place.