These four little words starting with b- are known to most students of Italian from the very beginning of their learning process, and sometimes even before that. At the same time bene, buono, bravo and bello are very easy to confuse and their correct usage, especially during a spontaneous conversation, can take a long time to master. Don’t feel frustrated, though; patience is the key, and sometimes, even if you make a mistake, context can help you.
However, it’s a virtuous thing to aim for accuracy, and this article is intended to be a reference to clarify the meanings of these words. So save it as a bookmark and buona lettura (happy reading)!
Niccolò Curini, the author of this article, has graciously offered a video rendition of this article for those who prefer an oral explanation over a written one. You can view his video below!
1. BENE
I’d like to start with bene because it is the only one in this group of four words that never changes. This is because bene doesn’t refer to a person, an object or a situation, but rather describes the way an action is carried out.
Technically, a word that describes or modifies a verb is called an adverb and in this case the English equivalent of bene is well (and not good).
In the following examples bene refers to the verbs parlare / to speak, lavorare / to work, andare / to go and stare as in to be or to feel.
Parli bene l’italiano. Lo studi da molto?
You speak Italian well. Have you been studying it for a long time?
Luigi sta lavorando bene e probabilmente avrà una promozione.
Luigi is working well and will probably get a promotion.
Ciao Carlo, come va? – Va bene, grazie.
Hi Carlo, how is it going? – (It’s going) well, thanks.
Scusa, non sto bene¹ stasera. Preferisco rimanere a casa
Sorry, I’m not well tonight. I prefer to stay at home.
¹ In Italian, the verb stare / to stay is used instead of essere / to be in order to express physical and psychological conditions. Therefore a literal translation of this example could be I don’t stay well. Although in English it is common to say good instead of well, in Italian you can not replace bene with buono.
Antonym of BENE – MALE
The opposite of bene is male which in English is badly, poorly or bad. So we can reformulate the example seen above in this way:
Luigi sta lavorando male e probabilmente verrà licenziato.
Luigi is working poorly and will probably be fired.
Ciao Carlo, come va? – Va male, ultimamente.
Hi Carlo, how is it going? – (It’s going) bad, lately.
Scusa, sto male stasera. Preferisco rimanere a casa.
Sorry, I’m feeling bad tonight. I prefer to stay at home.
2. BUONO
a) BUONO means good and is therefore the right word to express your appreciation for a taste, a smell, and the good quality of a material. Buono is an adjective, so it has to be in accordance with the gender and number of the noun it refers to.
Questo pane è molto buono!
This bread is very good!
Bisogna avere scarpe buone per camminare in montagna.
You need good shoes to walk in the mountains.
Buono can also be found before the element it refers to. In this case, but only if masculine and singular², it has to be shortened to buon (losing the last -o).
Che buon profumo!
What a nice smell!
² Originally, this rule only applied to masculine singular words that did not have lo as a definite article, but nowadays it is extended to all masculine singular words.
b) Buono is the right word to describe good behaviour and a positive attitude towards others.
Luca è un buon amico.
Luca is a good friend.
La mia vicina di casa è una persona buona e generosa.
My neighbour is a good and generous person.
c) Buono is used to say that someone is very competent in their profession or role.
Conosci un buon architetto?
Do you know a good architect?
La nostra squadra ha un buon allenatore.
Our team has a good coach.
d) Buono is also used in expressions such as greetings or good wishes.
Buongiorno!³
Good day!
Buona notte!
Good night!
Buon appetito!
Enjoy your meal!
Buone vacanze!
Have a good holiday!
Buon compleanno!
Happy birthday!
³ It’s possible to write both buongiorno and buon giorno, but the first unified version is more popular.
Antonym of BUONO – CATTIVO
The opposite of buono is cattivo, which in English is translated again as bad.
Questo yogurt è cattivo. Forse è scaduto.
This yoghurt is bad. Maybe it’s expired.
Che cattivo odore!
What a bad smell!
Il mio capo è una persona cattiva.
My boss is a bad person.
3. BRAVO
Bravo means good as well, but more specifically, bravo is used for:
a) People who are skilled at something.
Marco è bravo in matematica.
Marco is good at mathematics.
Congratulazioni, sei arrivata prima: bravissima!⁴
Congratulations, you came first: very good!
Il nostro meccanico è bravo e veloce a fare le riparazioni.
Our mechanic is good and quick at making repairs.
⁴ The superlative suffix -issimo/a corresponds to the English very or extremely.
b) Kind, honest and reliable people (and animals too) or professionals.
Sono sempre stati dei bravi ragazzi, ci fidiamo di loro.
They have always been good guys, we trust them.
Il cane di mio zio è bravo e tranquillo.
My uncle’s dog is good and calm.
Conosci un idraulico bravo?
Do you know a good plumber?
Bravo also appears in the classic piece of advice parents give their children:
Fai il bravo!
Behave! / Be a good boy!
Antonym of BRAVO
There is more than one translation to express the opposite of bravo:
a) Scarso / poor at something, incapace / incapable, incompetente / incompetent
Abbiamo i giocatori più scarsi del torneo!
We have the worst players in the tournament!
b) Cattivo / bad, disonesto / dishonest, disobbediente / disobedient
Martino è un bambino disobbediente.
Martino is a disobedient child.
4. BELLO
The word bello, meaning beautiful, is primarily connected to a positive visual perception, although in Italian its use is extended to other situations that can have different translations in English. We will see this shortly, but first I’d like to mention a peculiar feature of this word.
It’s extremely common to use bello before the word it refers to, but as you can see below when this happens bello is influenced by the appropriate determinative article. Keep this list in mind in order to “decrypt” the word bello in the following paragraphs.
- Be + il = bel
- Be + lo = bello
- Be + la = bella
- Be + i = bei
- Be + gli = begli
- Be + le = belle
- Be + l’ = bell’
How to use BELLO
a) Bello is used to describe how people, animals or things look.
Oggi il tempo è bello.
Today the weather is beautiful.
Ho visto delle vecchie foto di famiglia: i miei nonni da giovani erano molto belli.
I’ve seen some old family photos: my grandparents were very attractive when they were young.
Un giorno vorrei vivere in una casa più grande e bella di questa.
One day I would like to live in a bigger and more beautiful house than this.
b) Bello is also used for something that is well-prepared, organised, or that gives a sense of gratification. In this case bello is always before the word it refers to.
Stasera ci facciamo una bella cenetta.
We’ll have a nice dinner tonight.
Abbiamo fatto un bel lavoro, ora possiamo andare a casa.
We did a good job, we can go home now.
Ho bisogno di una bella vacanza.
I need a nice vacation.
c) Bello can be also used to denote a quantity, much as in English you would use considerable or quite. Once again, bello is before the word it refers to.
Hanno avuto un bel guadagno da quell’investimento.
They made a nice profit from that investment.
Per fare la torta ci vuole un bel po’ ⁵ di burro.
To make a cake you need a lot of butter.
⁵literally “quite a bit“
d) Closely linked to points b) and c), bello can also be used sarcastically or emphatically in order to add a personal judgement on a certain matter.
Hai fatto una bella confusione.
You made quite a mess.
È un bel problema!
That’s quite a problem!
Antonym of BELLO
The opposite of bello is brutto, which in Italian means both bad and ugly.
Oggi il tempo è brutto.
Today the weather is bad.
Perché ascolti sempre quella brutta canzone?
Why do you always listen to that ugly song?
Che brutto lavoro, forse è meglio rifare tutto da capo.
What a bad job, maybe it’s better to do it all over again.
Niccolò Curini has been teaching Italian since February 2016, primarily at the Language Center of the University of Goettingen in Germany. In this role, he led courses ranging from level A1 to B2. To qualify for this position, he obtained the DITALS certification, enabling him to teach Italian as a Foreign Language to university students. Social media: Instagram – Facebook – Twitter
