An extremely useful word in Italian is tutto which translates as everything in English.
Learn with this video: Tutto
Hai finito tutto? Allora puoi andare fuori a giocare.
Have you finished everything? Well, you can go out and play then.
It may be followed by the pronouns ciò or quello if the speaker elaborates on tutto with an explanation. For example:
Voglio vedere tutto. = I want to see everything.
versus
Voglio vedere tutto ciò / quello [che c’è da vedere a Firenze]! = I want to see everything [there is to see in Florence]!
Voglio vedere tutto ciò / quello [che hai trovato]. = I want to see everything [you’ve found].
Tutto can also mean all or whole when it precedes a noun. Depending on the gender of the noun and whether it is singular or plural, tutto may change to tutta (fem, sing), tutti (masc, plur) or tutte (fem, plur).
Tutte le persone erano molto contente di vedere lo spettacolo.
All the people were very happy to see the performance.
Ho passato tutto il weekend a pulire la casa.
I spent the whole weekend cleaning the house.
It can also appear in front of adjectives, once again with the meaning all.
Dopo la corsa, sono tutto sudato!
After the run, I’m all sweaty!
Tutti and tutte can also mean everyone. Note that in English, the word everyone is singular whereas in Italian, it is plural.
Tutti ti vogliono bene!
Everybody loves you!
When tutto is preceded by the preposition del, it takes on the meaning of completely or entirely.
Non sono ancora guarito del tutto.
I still haven’t completely recovered.
Useful phrases featuring ‘tutto’
Tutto is a ubiquitous word that appears in many set phrases and expressions. Here are a few that will definitely come in handy when chatting with your new Italian friends!
- nonostante tutto = despite everything
- prima di tutto = first of all, most of all
- tutto a posto = all is well, all sorted
- tutto compreso = all-inclusive
- tutto qua = that’s it, that’s all
- tutto torna = it all adds up
- innanzitutto (can also be two words, innanzi tutto) = first and foremost
- tutto sommato = all things considered
Tutti frutti
Even without knowing the Italian language, you’ve probably heard or come across the expression tutti frutti, sometimes written with a hyphen between the two words: tutti-frutti.
Curiously, this expression was born outside of Italy. It originates from the ice cream containing pieces of mixed candied fruit. It can also refer to a salad or compote of mixed fruit, or even a cocktail of fruit soaked in brandy.
But there might be another reason tutti frutti sounds familiar. It is also a famous rock and roll song written by Little Richard in 1955. Elvis Presley and The Beatles recorded popular covers of the song as well.
Idioms featuring ‘tutto’
There are numerous idioms that feature the word tutto. Here are a few of the most famous ones!
Tutto fa brodo!
literal : everything makes broth
meaning : every little bit helps
Essere tutto casa e chiesa / Essere tutto casa e famiglia
literal : to be all house and church / to be all house and family
meaning : to be pious, or to be a family person
Mettere bocca su tutto
literal : to put one’s mouth on everything
meaning : to have an opinion about everything
Non è tutto oro quel che luccica
literal : not all that glitters is gold
meaning : not all that glitters is gold
Non tutto il male viene per nuocere
literal : not all evil comes to harm
meaning : every cloud has a silver lining
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
