When I’m feeling overwhelmed, one of the best remedies is simply finding a quiet spot outdoors and lying down on the grass—even if only for a few minutes. There’s something calming about reconnecting with nature. In Italian, the word for grass is erba.
erba
grass
Erba is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
- l’erba = the grass
- un’erba = a grass
- le erbe = the grasses
- delle erbe = some grasses
If you thought erba sounds a lot like the English word herb, you’re absolutely right—they share the same origin. Both words trace back to the Latin herba, which referred to grass, green plants, or herbs.
In fact, erba can also refer to herbs in Italian. Some common examples include erba cipollina (chives), erba medica (alfalfa), and the one I used to plant to drive my cats crazy, erba gatta (catnip). When talking specifically about culinary or medicinal herbs, Italians often use the phrase erbe aromatiche—literally “aromatic herbs.” And if you’re winding down with a cup of infuso d’erbe, you’re enjoying a soothing herbal tea.
And although I’ve personally never tried it, my university dorm always seemed to smell distinctly of a certain type of erba—marijuana. Just like in English, where we might say grass or pot, erba can be used informally in Italian to refer to the drug.
When spring rolls around, one chore many people dread is cutting the grass—fare l’erba or tagliare l’erba in Italian. However, there’s a growing trend to let the grass grow—lasciare crescere l’erba—so that insects have the chance to breed and pollinate the flowers. To cut the grass, you might use a lawnmower—un tagliaerba or tosaerba—or, if you’re focusing on the edges, a strimmer, known in Italian as a tagliabordi.
Ho deciso di non tagliare l’erba quest’anno.
I’ve decided to not cut the grass this year.
The expression in erba is used to describe something that is still growing or not yet mature. While it can refer literally to a budding plant, it’s often used figuratively to describe someone new to an activity and still learning the ropes. In English, we might say a budding X or, in a slightly more critical tone, describe someone as green.
Mario è un avvocato in erba con tanto potenziale.
Mario is a budding lawyer with lots of potential.
An important sign you might see posted in parks and public spaces is vietato calpestare l’erba which means please keep off the grass, or literally, stepping on the grass is prohibited.
Idiomatic expressions and proverbs using ‘erba’
Fare d’ogni erba un fascio
Literal translation: to make a bundle of every herb
English meaning: to generalise, to lump everything together
Vedere l’erba dalla parte delle radici
Literal translation: see the grass from the roots side
English meaning: to be pushing up daisies
L’erba del vicino è sempre più verde
Literal translation: the neighbour’s grass is always greener
English meaning: the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
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.
