When I first moved to Turin many years ago, I was surprised to discover that not only is Thanksgiving not celebrated in Italy, but also that many Italians have never even heard of the national American holiday. (Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have been so shocked since the celebration is based on the 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists and Native Americans!)
Despite this, we still think it is worth learning some Italian Thanksgiving vocabulary, especially if you are part of an Italian-American family that still uses the Italian language at home, or wish to describe the holiday to your Italian friends in Italy.
In this article, you’ll find forty Italian Thanksgiving words we feel are useful to learn if you celebrate this important American holiday. Each word is accompanied by an audio file to help you with the pronunciation. Buona Festa del Ringraziamento! (Happy Thanksgiving!)
L’americano / L’americana
Translation: American
Gli avanzi
Translation: leftovers
Il banchetto
Translation: feast
Benedetto / benedetta
Translation: blessed
Il centrotavola
Translation: centrepiece
La colonia
Translation: colony
Il colonizzatore
Translation: coloniser / settler
Il giovedì
Translation: Thursday
La gratitudine
Translation: thankfulness
Grato / grata
Translation: grateful
Il mais
Translation: corn
Mangiare troppo
Translation: to overeat
Il nativo americano
Translation: Native American
Novembre
Translation: November
Note: Novembre is a masculine noun, so it takes the article il in phrases such as “il novembre più caldo della storia” (the hottest November in history). In contrast to English, novembre and the other months of the year are always written in lower case unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
Il pellegrino
Translation: Pilgrim
Pieno / piena
Translation: full
Il ponte
Translation: long weekend
Note: Ponte literally means “bridge“; Italians often say “fare il ponte” = to take a long weekend
La preghiera
Translation: prayer
Il purè di patate
Translation: mashed potatoes
Il quarto giovedì di novembre
Translation: the fourth Thursday in November
Il raccolto
Translation: harvest
Il raduno di famiglia
Translation: family reunion
Ringraziare
Translation: to thank / to give thanks
La salsa ai mirtilli rossi
Translation: cranberry sauce
La salsa di carne
Translation: gravy
Lo spaventapasseri
Translation: scarecrow
La torta di mele
Translation: apple pie
La torta di zucca
Translation: pumpkin pie
La tradizione
Translation: tradition
Le verdure grigliate
Translation: roasted vegetables
La zucca
Translation: pumpkin / gourd / squash
Note: Italians don’t differentiate between pumpkins, gourds and squashes. All three are called zucca.
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.
