An Italian adjective that means fond or attached is affezionato, which is the past participle of the verb affezionare (to grow fond).
The feminine form is affezionata, whereas the respective plurals are affezionati (masculine) and affezionate (feminine).
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Whereas in English, we would say fond of (something) or attached to (something), Italians say affezionato a (qualcosa / qualcuno).
Tutta la famiglia è molto affezionata al nostro cane Achille.
The entire family is very fond of our dog Achilles.
When affezionato directly modifies a noun, the meaning becomes affectionate or loving. For example:
If you are talking specifically about clients or customers who regularly support a shop or company, the best translation is loyal or faithful.
Bisogna trattare molto bene i clienti più affezionati.
The most loyal customers must be treated very well.
When finishing a letter or email, you can sign off with the following:
- il tuo affezionato figlio / padre / amico = your loving son / father / friend
- la tua affezionata figlia / madre / amica = your loving daughter / mother / friend
Even more common is the superlative affezionatissimo/a.
A related verb is affezionarsi which means to grow fond (of something).
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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.
