The word for spoon in Italian is cucchiaio. Its origin can be traced back to the Latin cochlearium, a derivative of cochlea, which was the tool originally used to eat snails!
Here are the definite and indefinite articles that accompany this masculine noun:
il cucchiaio
the spoon
un cucchiaio
a spoon
i cucchiai
the spoons
dei cucchiai
(some) spoons
A few different kinds of cucchiai with which you may be familiar include:
- cucchiaio di plastica = plastic spoon
- cucchiaio da tavola = dinner spoon
- cucchiaio d’argento = silver spoon
- cucchiaio da brodo / minestra = soup spoon
- cucchiaio di legno = wooden spoon
Tua figlia riesce già a mangiare con il cucchiaio?
Can your daughter already eat with a spoon?
From cucchiaio, we get the diminutive cucchiaino and the augmentative cucchiaione. The former refers to any small spoon such as a teaspoon or dessert spoon, whereas the latter means large spoon or ladle.
In order to say spoonful, you can use either cucchiaio (e.g. un cucchiaio di zucchero = a spoonful of sugar) or cucchiaiata (e.g. una cucchiaiata di minestra = a spoonful of soup). Cucchiaiata can also mean ‘a blow given (to someone/something) with a spoon’.
La ricetta richiede due cucchiai di zucchero e un cucchiaio di latte.
The recipe calls for two spoonfuls of sugar and one spoonful of milk.
A dolce al cucchiaio is any kind of dessert with a soft and creamy consistency that must be eaten with a spoon, such as milk pudding or custard.
A barella a cucchiaio is a scoop stretcher, a type of stretcher that can be split into two parts and then brought together underneath a patient without the need to roll him or her over.
Finally, cucchiaio is the name given to Italian footballer Francesco Totti’s special way of kicking the ball, known as a chip shot in English. It is called as such because the ball forms an arch as it travels through the air toward the goal. Here is a quick video showing ten of Totti’s most impressive “cucchiai“:
Idioms featuring the word ‘cucchiaio’
Essere da raccogliere / da raccattare col cucchiaio / cucchiaino
Literal translation: to be picked up with a spoon / small spoon
English meaning: to be unable to stand up due to fatigue or because you’re in a bad way
Vuotare / Svuotare il mare con il cucchiaio
Literal translation: to empty the sea with the spoon
English meaning: to work long and hard on something without obtaining any relevant results
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.
