Playing Cards in Italian: Key Vocabulary

Card games hold a special place in Italian culture. Walk into any bar from the Alps to Sicily, and you’ll likely spot a group of people gathered around a table, studying their cards with the seriousness of surgeons preparing for an operation. 

We play cards at Christmas, at the beach, at the park, on long train rides — basically anywhere there’s a flat surface and at least another willing player. Card games have even made their way into classic Italian movies (like Lo Scopone Scientifico), celebrated paintings (like Caravaggio’s I Bari), and unforgettable real-life scenes. One iconic image came after the 1982 FIFA World Cup, when Italy’s victory was followed by a now-legendary moment on the flight home, with President Sandro Pertini playing cards with the team captain.

All it takes is for someone to pull out a deck and ask Chi gioca? (Who wants to play?), and trust me, someone will always say Io! (Me!). So, if you ever want to join in, or just make sense of the cheerful chaos unfolding at the table, you’ll need to learn some specific vocabulary first.

The deck: il mazzo

A deck of cards is called il mazzo di carte, or simply il mazzo. It contains either 40 and 52 carte (cards), split into four suits. So far, it’s pretty standard.

But one of the most charming aspects of Italian card culture is the variety of regional deck designs, each with its own look and loyal fanbase. Such diversity is a direct result of Italy’s  long history of political fragmentation. For centuries, the country was divided into independent states and duchies, each influenced by different rulers who all left their mark, cards included.

In the north, for example, you’ll find French-style decks like the Piemontesi, Genovesi, and Milanesi cards. Head south, and Spanish-style decks take over, like the Napoletane, Siciliane, the Sarde. And then, up in Alto Adige/South Tyrol, there are even German-style decks. The core structure stays more or less the same. What really changes from one deck to another is the design of the suits (i semi), which brings us to the next section.

The suits: i semi

The Italian word for “suit” is il seme (plural: i semi), which literally means “seed.”

I semi are the symbols that sort the cards into groups, and, as you might have guessed by now, which symbols show up on your cards depends on which part of Italy your deck is from.

Spanish-style suits are the ones many picture when they think of Italian cards:

• Spade: Spades, swords
• Coppe: Cups
• Denari: Coins
• Bastoni: Clubs 

French-style suits will look familiar if you’ve ever played poker:

• Cuori: Hearts
• Quadri: Diamonds
• Fiori: Clubs
• Picche: Spades

And then there are German-style suits, which are a bit of a world of their own:

• Cuori: Hearts
• Campanelli: Bells
• Foglie: Leaves
• Ghiande: Acorns

The same suit can look different depending on the deck you’re using. Take spade (spades, swords), for instance: in Piacentine cards, they’re long and straight, while in Siciliane cards, they’re often curved, more like scimitars.

Card ranks in Italian 

Each suit contains a mix of carte numerate (numbered cards) and carte di corte(face cards, literally “court cards”). The exact lineup depends on whether you’re playing with a 40-card deck or a 52-card deck. 

The 52-card deck is what you’d use for games like poker or bridge. There are thirteen cards per suit:

• L’asso: Ace
• Il due: Two
• Il tre: Three
• Il quattro: Four
• Il cinque: Five
• Il sei: Six
• Il sette: Seven
• L’otto: Eight
• Il nove: Nine 
• Il dieci: Ten 
• Il Fante: Jack
• La Regina: Queen
• Il Re: King

This deck typically also includes a couple of Jolly (Jokers).

If you’re playing with a 40-card deck (typically with Spanish-style suits), the numbered cards stop at seven and the face cards are a bit different:

• L’asso: Ace
• Il due: Two
• Il tre: Three
• Il quattro: Four
• Il cinque: Five
• Il sei: Six
• Il sette: Seven
• Il Fante: Jack
• Il Cavallo: literally “the horse” — not a queen, but a knight on horseback
• Il Re: King

To name a card in Italian, just follow this simple formula:

card name + di + suit

For example:

• Il tre di coppe: The three of cups
• Il nove di fiori: The nine of clubs
• Il re di denari: The king of coins

Key vocabulary

Ok, now it’s time to learn the main words and expressions you’ll hear flying across the table during a game.

But first, the basics: how do you even say “to play cards” in Italian?

Giocare a carte: To play cards 

Fare una partita a carte: To play a game of cards 

People and setup

Before the cards are out, you need to know who’s who and what’s happening.

• Il giocatore / La giocatrice: The player (male/female) 

• Il mazziere: The dealer, the person in charge of shuffling and handing out the cards 

• Mescolare le carte: To shuffle the cards 

• Tagliare il mazzo: To cut the deck (you know, when the player next to the dealer splits the deck in two)

• Dare le carte: To deal the cards

• Carte a faccia in giù: Cards face down (so nobody can see them)

• Carte a faccia in su: Cards face up (visible to everyone)

The game itself

Use these phrases to keep the game moving:

• Tocca a te / Tocca a me: It’s your turn / It’s my turn. You can also ask A chi tocca?(Whose turn is it?). 

• Vedo / Passo / Rilancio (literally, “I see / I pass / I relaunch”): These are expressions that are generally used for games that involve betting. Vedo means you’re matching the bet (I’m in). Passo means you’re quitting (I’m out). Rilancio means you’re raising the bet.

• Una mano (literally, a hand): It can mean the set of cards you’re holding, like Ho una bella mano (I’ve got a good hand), or it can refer to a single round of play, such as Un’altra mano? (Another round?)

Taking action

When it’s your turn, these are some of the verbs you’ll need:

• Pescare una carta (literally “to fish for a card”): To draw a card

• Scartare una carta: To discard a card

• Calare le carte: To lay down the cards (usually when showing a winning hand)

Winning and losing

And now for the part that matters the most:

• Vincere / Perdere: To win / to lose 

• Pareggiare — To tie. You can say, Siamo pari (We are even).

• Fare cappotto (literally, “to make an overcoat”): This means winning all available points in a match, leaving the other players with nothing.

• Il punto / I punti: Point/Points. Card games are generally point-based, so you’ll hear these words constantly. Quanti punti hai? (How many points do you have?) is either a genuine question or a subtle way of gloating.

• La carta più alta / più bassa: The highest card / The lowest card

• Una coppia / Un tris: A pair / Three of a kind (these expressions are used in games like poker)

• La scala: A sequence of cards of the same suit in consecutive order. In poker, you might hear scala reale (royal flush).

• Una partita: A match, meaning the full game from start to finish.

• La bella: The tie-breaker, generally played to settle the score once and for all. A typical question is Facciamo la bella?

• La rivincita: The rematch. The classic cry from the loser is Voglio la rivincita (I want a rematch).

Common Italian card games 

Games like il poker (poker) and il solitario (solitaire) are common in Italy, but we also have a treasure trove of local card games. Each has its own specific terminology, and rules can vary slightly from region to region, so think of what follows as a brief overview of the most popular games, not a strict rulebook.

Scopa

Scopa (literally “broom,” “sweep”) is one of Italy’s most beloved card games. It’s typically played by two to four players using a 40-card deck. Each player receives three cards, and four cards are placed face up on the table. The goal is to grab cards from the table by matching them with cards of the same value from your hand. The real thrill is clearing the entire table with a single card. That’s called a scopa (I guess the name makes perfect sense now!).

This game has a few popular variants. The most famous is Scopone Scientifico (literally, “Scientific Scopa”), a more strategic version played by four players in two pairs. Each player gets ten cards, and no cards are placed face up on the table at the start, so the game begins “blind.” 

There’s also a rule you can add to any game of Scopa called Asso Pigliatutto (literally, “Ace takes everything”): play an Ace and you sweep the entire table clean, regardless of the cards’ value.

For a fun cultural reference, check out the famous scene in the movie Non ci resta che piangere, where Massimo Troisi tries to explain the rules of Scopa to Leonardo da Vinci (watch here, but fair warning: he speaks in thick dialect).

Briscola 

Briscola is another pillar of Italian card culture. Again, two or four players, a 40-card deck, three cards each. One card is placed face-up next to the deck and whatever suit it shows becomes the briscola (the trump suit). That means any card of that suit automatically beats cards from the other three suits. The goal is to win tricks and collect the most points out of 120 available.

Tressette 

Meaning “three sevens,” Tressette is played by four players divided into two teams, using a 40-card deck. Each round starts with one player putting down any card they like, and everyone else must follow suit: if cups are played, you play cups too. The trick goes to whoever played the highest-value card of the leading suit, and the winner starts the next round. And so on until one team hits the target score, which is usually 21 points but can vary depending on who’s making the rules.

Scala Quaranta 

Scala Quaranta (literally “Forty Ladder”) uses two 52-card decks, and the goal is to be the first to get rid of all your cards. But to do that, you can only lay cards down in valid combinations, like sequences of consecutive cards of the same suit or sets of cards of the same value. Plus, your first move has to be worth at least 40 points… that’s where the name comes from!

Rubamazzetto 

Rubamazzetto (literally “steal the little deck”) is a childhood classic for many Italians. The rules are super simple: if a card from your hand matches the value (or suit, depending on the variant) of one on the table, you take it. You can also steal another player’s entire pile if your card matches their top card (that’s ruba – steal in the name). Once all the cards have been played, the biggest pile wins.

Burraco

Burraco technically came from South America, but Italy has adopted it with open arms, with tournaments and festivals popping across the country. This game is played with two 52-card decks by four players split into two teams, and the goal is to form sets and sequences, aiming to complete a burraco (a run of at least seven cards) while scoring more points than the opponents.

Sette e Mezzo

Literally meaning “Seven and a Half,” Sette e Mezzo is the Italian version of Blackjack. You start with one card, then keep asking for more, trying to get as close to 7.5 as possible, without going over. It’s the game for that irresistible “just one more card” temptation!

And now a couple of useful phrases for when you want to propose a game. You can say:

Giocare a + game name: the straightforward way to say “to play” a game. 

Fare una partita a + game name: literally “to have a match of,” which is what you’ll hear more often in real life. 

Everyday Italian expressions with card terminology

We love card games so much that we’ve borrowed the language and made it part of daily conversation. You’ll hear these expressions a lot, even when there isn’t a single card in sight.

Dare / Ricevere il due di picche (literally “to give the two of spades”): To reject someone romantically. Dare il due di picche means you’re doing the rejecting — someone asks you out, you say no, you’ve handed them the lowest, most worthless card in the deck. Ricevere il due di picche means you’re the one getting rejected. 

Valere come il due di picche (literally, “to be worth as much as the two of spades”): Same worthless card as above, but this time it’s not about love, it’s about having zero weight in a situation.

Avere un asso nella manica (literally, “to have an ace in your sleeve”): You probably recognize this one, since English has it too. It means having a secret weapon, like a backup plan or a piece of information, that you’re keeping hidden until the moment is right. This expression comes from the classic image of sneaky card players who would physically hide an ace in their sleeve to play when they need it.

Scoprire le proprie carte (literally, “to show your cards”): Think of someone holding their cards close to their chest during a game: you can’t see what they have. When they finally flip them over, that’s scoprire le carte. In everyday Italian, it means revealing your true intentions.

Giocare a carte scoperte (literally, “to play with your cards face up”): Related to the expression above, but with a key difference. Instead of revealing your cards at some point, you’re playing with them visible the whole time. It means being completely honest and transparent.

Cambiare le carte in tavola (literally, “to change the cards on the table”: Imagine you’re playing a card game, you look away for a second, and when you look back the cards on the table are different because someone has clearly swapped them. In everyday Italian, this expression means changing the facts or twisting what was said.

Avere le carte in regola (literally, “to have your cards in order”): To have what it takes to succeed and get what you want… just like having a perfect hand at the table!

Fare carte false (literally, “to make fake cards”): To want something so badly that you’d go to any length. The image comes from someone so desperate to win a card game that they’d go as far as making counterfeit cards. That’s how strong the desire is in this expression.

Valentina Nicastro

Valentina Nicastro is a travel writer in love with her home country, Italy. Having travelled widely around the globe, she realised there was more to explore closer to home and decided to put the passport aside for a while. When she is not immersed in documenting Italy, you’ll find her donning her communication consultant hat, weaving words as a content writer and bridging linguistic divides as a translator.