The word moquette in Italian comes from the French of the same spelling. It refers to the type of wall-to-wall carpeting found in the most important living spaces of the home, as well as the material from which it is made.
Moquette is an invariable feminine noun. Invariable simply means that its form does not change in the plural.
- la moquette = the carpet
- le moquette = the carpets
- una moquette = a carpet
- delle moquette = (some) carpets
Now, it needs to be said that the average Italian abode does not benefit from fitted carpeting. Even in the bedrooms and living spaces, you are much more likely to find a parquet (another French loanword meaning “hard wood floor”) covered in a tappeto (rug) or two than a moquette. In fact, Italians tend to be shocked when they discover that many houses in the UK have a moquette in every room, sometimes even the bathroom!
Il 98% delle case inglesi ha la moquette, mentre in Italia la percentuale è del 2%.
98% of British homes have carpet, while in Italy the percentage is 2%.
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.
