Today we’re talking about one of my all-time favourite Italian words: pigro (lazy)!
As with all adjectives with a word final o, you must change the ending according to the gender and number of the subject.
- pigro = masculine, singular
- pigra = feminine, singular
- pigri = masculine, plural
- pigre = feminine, plural
Sono troppo pigro per andare a correre tutti i giorni.
I’m too lazy to go running every day.
Pigro can also function as a noun when used in reference to a person who has a lazy temperament.
Di’ a quel pigro di spostarsi.
Tell that lazy guy to move.
Whenever I’m lazing about on the couch instead of working, my husband will jokingly call me pigrona which is the combination of pigro and the feminine suffix -ona meaning big. (For men, the correct term is pigrone.) A close translation in English would be lazy bones or couch potato.
Dai pigrone, alzati o farai tardi!
Come on lazy bones, get up or you’ll be late!
Pigro can be used in a figurative sense to describe something that moves slowly, or a day when you don’t feel like doing anything:
- camminare a passi pigri = to walk slowly (lazy walk)
- un pomeriggio pigro = a lazy afternoon
The word for laziness in Italian is pigrizia whereas the adverb lazily translates as pigramente.
Below are some close synonyms of the word pigro, just in case you want to impress your Italian friends with your growing vocabulary!
- letargico = lethargic
- indolente = indolent
- apatico = apathetic, listless
- svogliato = unenthusiastic
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.
