French word

italien

Pronunciation

IPA/italjɛ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounitalian

Example

Je parle italien.

I speak Italian.

Illustration for italien (italian)

More examples

Elle écrit en italien.

She writes in Italian.

Core concept

A Romance language spoken in Italy, carried in a flowing stream of distinct syllables.

Common phrases

  • parler italien

    speak Italian

  • comprendre l'italien

    understand Italian

  • lire en italien

    read in Italian

Similar words

langue: A system of spoken or written communication used to convey meaning.
Italie: The country in southern Europe known as Italy.

Definition in French

Langue parlée en Italie, appartenant au groupe des langues romanes.

Word origin

Italien comes through Old French forms related to Italian, ultimately from Latin Italia with the suffix -anus.

Usage tips

  • As a language name, italien is masculine, and parler takes it without an article in Je parle italien, while l'italien names the language generally.

Word lists with this word