The word for a hairdryer in Italian is asciugacapelli. Just like the English term, it is the combination of the verb asciugare (to dry) and capelli (hair).
Asciugacapelli is a masculine noun and is invariable, which means that its plural form is the same as its singular form.
l’asciugacapelli
un asciugacapelli
gli asciugacapelli
degli asciugacapelli
L’asciugacapelli ha cominciato a emanare uno strano odore di bruciato.
The hairdryer has started to give off a strange burning smell.
What’s interesting to note is that the hairdryer commonly goes by another name in colloquial Italian: fon (frequently spelled incorrectly as phon). It derives from the German Föhn, a warm wind that forms in the Alps. In Piemonte, you will hear the German term used to refer to this particular kind of wind.
Non trovo più il fon. L’hai visto da qualche parte?
I can’t find the hairdryer. Have you seen it anywhere?
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.
