By Katrina Phillips Last updated:
If you’re visiting Italy, you’ll have many reasons to use the word “beautiful” and its synonyms.
From the landscapes and buildings to the food and the people, la bellezza (beauty) is everywhere.
In this post, you’ll learn 41 different ways to say “beautiful” in Italian, along with some phrases and expressions about beauty.
With plenty of examples, we’ll show you exactly how these words and phrases are used so you can start appreciating all the beautiful things in Italian!
Contents
- How to Say “Beautiful” in Italian
- Bello (Beautiful)
- Bellissimo (Very beautiful)
- Molto bello (Very beautiful)
- Other Ways to Say “Beautiful” in Italian
- Beautiful Expressions in Italian
- How to Practice “Beautiful” in Italian
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How to Say “Beautiful” in Italian
Bello, bellissimo and molto bello are three of the most common ways Italians say “beautiful.” We’ll go over each one below.
Bello (Beautiful)
The most straightforward way to say “beautiful” in Italian is bello. You’ve surely heard this word before in the phrase “Ciao, bello!” (Hi/Bye, handsome!) or, when directed toward a female, “Ciao, bella!” (Hi/Bye, beautiful!).
As you can see, the ending of this Italian adjective changes depending on the gender and number of the noun it describes:
| Adjective | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bello | masculine singular | un uomo bello (a handsome man) |
| bella | feminine singular | una donna bella (a beautiful woman) |
| belli | masculine plural | uomini belli (handsome men) |
| belle | feminine plural | donne belle (beautiful women) |
This adjective can come before or after the noun. When it comes before the noun, it follows the rules of the definite articles.
For example, to describe a singular masculine noun starting with a vowel, you would change belloto bell’: un bell’amico (a beautiful [male] friend). Check out this article to learn more about how to use bello before nouns.
We also use bello to mean “nice,” “good” and “fine,” among other things.
Bellissimo (Very beautiful)
Sometimes, using bello alone just doesn’t cut it. When you need something a little stronger, you can add the suffix -issimo to create the superlative of the adjective. For example:
un tramonto bellissimo (a very beautiful sunset)
una giornata bellissima (a very beautiful day)
bellissimi sorrisi (very beautiful smiles)
bellissime scarpe (very beautiful shoes)
Molto bello (Very beautiful)
You can also use the adverb molto (very) before bello to say “very beautiful.”This phrase always follows the noun:
un vestito molto bello (a very beautiful dress)
una serata molto bella (a very beautiful evening)
paesaggi molto belli (very beautiful landscapes)
rose molto belle (very beautiful roses)
Other Ways to Say “Beautiful” in Italian
If you really want to sound like a local, you can’t just go around calling everything you see bello or bellissimo.
To help you expand your descriptive vocabulary, I’ve compiled a list of 18 other ways to describe things that are beautiful or pleasing:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| attraente | attractive |
| belloccio | good-looking |
| stupendo | stunning |
| incantevole | lovely |
| grazioso | pretty/lovely |
| carino | cute |
| raggiante | radiant |
| meraviglioso | marvelous |
| magnifico | magnificent |
| divino | divine |
| elegante | elegant |
| indescrivibile | indescribable |
| luminoso | luminous |
| scintillante | sparkling |
| celestiale | heavenly |
| avvenente | appealing |
| incantevole | enchanting |
| eccezionale | exceptional |
Don’t forget to adjust the endings of these adjectives as needed. For example:
La vista dal balcone è stupenda. (The view from the balcony is stunning.)
Hanno due bambine carine. (They have two cute little girls.)
Le donne alla festa indossavano abiti molto eleganti. (The women wore very elegant dresses to the party.)
Beautiful Expressions in Italian
To go along with your new vocabulary words for describing beautiful things, here are some Italian phrases and expressions about beauty:
- Che bello! (How beautiful!)
- Tu sei bello / Tu sei bella (You’re beautiful)
- Tu sei bellissimo / Tu sei bellissima (You’re very beautiful)
- Tu seimolto bello / Tu seimolto bella (You’re very beautiful)
- Il bello della vita (The beauty of life)
- Essere belli fuori e dentro (To be beautiful inside and out)
- Avere una bellezza disarmante (To have a disarming beauty)
- Essere un quadro di bellezza (To be a picture of beauty)
- La vita è bella (Life is beautiful)
- La bellezza è eterna (Beauty is eternal)
- La bellezza è negli occhi di chi guarda (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder)
- La vera bellezza risiede nella semplicità (True beauty lies in simplicity)
- La bellezza sta nella diversità (Beauty lies in diversity)
- L’amore è il fiore più bello del giardino della vita (Love is the most beautiful flower in the garden of life)
- La bellezza interiore conta di più (Inner beauty matters more)
- La bellezza è la somma di tutte le tue parti che ti fanno brillare da dentro (Beauty is the sum of all your parts that make you shine from within)
- Le cose più belle non sono perfette, sono speciali (The most beautiful things are not perfect, they are special)
- La cosa più bella che una persona possa possedere è il cuore gentile (The most beautiful thing a person can possess is a kind heart)
- Essere se stessi è la cosa più bella che una persona possa essere (Being yourself is the prettiest thing a person can be)
- La felicità è la più grande bellezza che tu possa possedere (Happiness is the greatest beauty you can possess)
If you can slip some of these into your daily conversations, your Italian friends or acquaintances will surely be impressed!
How to Practice “Beautiful” in Italian
Aside from studying the vocabulary, the best way to learn how to say “beautiful” and talk about beautiful things in Italian is by consuming authentic content made by and for native speakers.
This will show you exactly how Italians use words like belloand bellissimo in the context of a conversation.
Italian TV showsand movies are great for hearing these words and phrases in context. Italian music is also a fun way to practice. A virtual immersion platform like FluentU is another option.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
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I also find that using a good flashcard app is a super easy and effective way to practice new vocabulary wherever you are.
If you’re looking for more beauty, check out these 200+ beautiful Italian words to add to your vocabulary.
With some practice, you’ll be able to appreciate all things attractive and appealing with confidence and ease!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you're as busy as most of us, you don't always have time for lengthy language lessons. The solution? FluentU!
Learn Italian with funny commericals, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU helps you get comfortable with everyday Italian by combining all the benefits of complete immersion and native-level conversations with interactive subtitles. Tap on any word to instantly see an image, in-context definition, example sentences and other videos in which the word is used.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and review words and phrases with convenient audio clips under Vocab.
Once you've watched a video, you can use FluentU's quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in that video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
FluentU will even keep track of all the Italian words you’re learning, and give you extra practice with difficult words. Plus, it'll tell you exactly when it's time for review. Now that's a 100% personalized experience!
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Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
