The Italian word for truth is verità and it is feminine. Like all nouns ending in an accented à in Italian, the ending of the word does not change in its plural form (i.e. truths = verità).
It derives from the Latin veritas and is related to English words such as verity and verify.
Learn about ‘verità’ with our video
Some common verbs you’ll frequently see used with verità include:
- dire la verità = to tell the truth
- sapere / conoscere la verità = to know the truth
- scoprire la verità = to discover the truth
- rivelare / svelare la verità = to reveal the truth
- negare la verità = to deny the truth
- nascondere la verità = to hide the truth
- affrontare la verità = to face the truth
I ragazzini non dicono sempre la verità ai genitori.
Kids don’t always tell their parents the truth.
Verità also appears in a number of idiomatic expressions whose purpose is to show that you are giving your honest opinion about something. For example:
In verità…
Actually…
Per la verità…
In truth…
A / per dire la verità…
To tell the truth…
Diciamoci la verità…
Let’s face it…
Pensavo fosse un film ma in verità si tratta di una serie televisiva composta da dieci episodi.
I thought it was a film but in truth it is a series divided into ten episodes.
Truths can come in various forms including:
- pura / semplice verità = simple truth
- amara verità = bitter truth
- verità indiscutibile = indisputable truth
- brutta verità = unpleasant truth
One of the most famous attractions in Rome is an ancient marble carving called La Bocca della Verità in Italian, which translates as The Mouth of Truth in English. Fashioned in the shape of a human face, it is said to bite the hands off the untruthful – a legend that has attracted visitors from around the globe for years. It was made famous by the 1953 film Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. You can watch a scene from the film below.
Expressions with the word ‘verità’
Avere la verità in tasca
Literal translation: To have the truth in one’s pocket
English meaning: To know everything about something
Essere la voce / la bocca della verità
Literal translation: to be the voice / the mouth of truth
English meaning: to be completely sincere
La verità alla fine viene sempre a galla
Literal translation: The truth always comes out in the end
English meaning: The truth will out
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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.
This is my first Word of the Day and I really enjoyed it. It would help me if there was a literal translation of the Italian into English, even if it isn’t correct English. This helps to understand both sentence structure and the meaning of the individual words.
I, also, really like that you include the Latin word . It makes remembering the Italian word easier when it can be associated with a word I already know.