Do you know someone who is a voracious eater, gobbling up everything in sight? If so, you might have a mangione on your hands!
Mangione is a playful Italian word that means “big eater” or “glutton“. It is the combination of the verb mangiare (to eat) and the suffix -one which is used to describe things that are big.
Mangione is a masculine noun, but it also has a feminine form: mangiona. Below are the definite and indefinite articles you should use with them. Note that the singular masculine form and the plural feminine form are the same.
- il mangione = the big eater
- i mangioni = the big eaters
- un mangione = a big eater
- dei mangioni = (some) big eaters
- la mangiona = the big eater
- le mangione = the big eaters
- una mangiona = a big eater
- delle mangione = (some) big eaters
Mio figlio è un gran mangione.
My son is a big eater.
When used literally, mangione carries a neutral connotation. However, figuratively, it refers to an individual who consistently prioritises personal gain, even at the expense of others.
Here are some different synonyms for mangione in Italian:
- buona forchetta – literally “good fork”
- crapulone – an uncommon translation for glutton
- buongustaio – gourmet or foodie
- ghiottone – uncommon, literally “wolverine”
- leccapiatti – uncommon, literally “plate licker”
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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.
