Italian Word of the Day: Sapientone/a (know-it-all)

We all know that one person who acts as if he or she knows everything and dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

In English, the best word to describe a person like this is know-it-all (or know-all) whereas in Italian, you’ll probably hear people using the terms sapientone (for a man) and sapientona (for a woman).

/sa·pien·tó·ne/
italian word for know it all

Here are the definite and indefinite articles that accompany this word in its masculine and feminine forms:

  • il sapientone = the know-it-all (m.)
  • i sapientoni = the know-it-alls (m.)
  • la sapientona = the know-it-all (f.)
  • le sapientone = the know-it-alls (f.)
  • un sapientone = a know-it-all (m.)
  • dei sapientoni = (some) know-it-alls (m.)
  • una sapientona = a know-it-all (f.)
  • delle sapientone = (some) know-it-alls (f.)

If you want to say “to be a know-it-all” or “to act/sound like a know it all”, you can use the expression fare il sapientone (lit. to do the know-it-all).

Non voglio fare il sapientone, ma secondo me…

I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all, but in my opinion…


Confident young man in glasses holding hand on chin and looking at camera while standing against grey background
Che sapientone che sei! = You’re such a know-it-all!

The word derives from sapiente, which as an adjective means wise or knowing, and as a noun means knowledgeable person. By adding the augmentative suffixes -one and -ona onto the end of the noun, you can confer the meaning “big” (literally “big knower”).

Some synonyms you can come across are:

  • saccente
  • saputello (mainly used for young people that think they know better than adults)
  • sputasentenze (lit. “sentences spitter”, it is less common but funny to mention because of how it is constructed)

Sign up for a free trial of LingQ (affiliate link), the app I use to improve my Italian vocabulary, and receive an additional 100 LingQs which can be used before needing to upgrade!

Read our full review of LingQ and find out why we love it so much!