Italian Word of the Day: Dentifricio (toothpaste)

The word for toothpaste in Italian is dentifricio. It comes from the Latin dentifricium, the compilation of dens dentis “tooth” and the verb fricare “to rub”.

/den·ti·frì·cio/
the word "dentifricio" with a tube of toothpaste and brush in the background

Dentifricio is a masculine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:

il dentifricio
the toothpaste

un dentifricio
a toothpaste

i dentifrici
the toothpastes

dei dentifrici
(some) toothpastes

Some different kinds of toothpaste include:

  • dentifricio al fluoro = fluoride toothpaste
  • dentifricio alla menta = spearmint-flavoured toothpaste
  • dentifricio alle erbe = herbal-flavoured toothpaste
  • dentifricio in polvere = tooth-powder

Questo dentifricio sa di menta!

This toothpaste tastes like mint!


Young woman with toothbrush and toothpaste in hand.
Sta mettendo il dentifricio sullo spazzolino da denti. = She’s putting toothpaste on the toothbrush.

When used as an adjective instead of a noun, it translates as “for cleaning teeth” or “tooth-cleaning”. In fact, an alternative name for toothpaste is pasta dentifricia (quite literally “tooth-cleaning paste”).

A tube of toothpaste is known as un tubetto di dentifricio, with tubetto meaning “little tube”.


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