Animals

1. il cane

   Dog

   Usage

   "Mi ha morso un cane" — a dog bit me. Italian restaurants and hotels often welcome dogs; ask "si accettano cani?"

2. il gatto

   Cat

   Usage

   Rome's Torre Argentina ruins are famous for their cat colony. If you react, say "sono allergico/a ai gatti"

3. l'uccello

   Bird

   Usage

   The general word for a bird; birdwatching is just "il birdwatching". It also has a vulgar slang sense, so do not turn it into a joke about a person

4. il pesce

   Fish

   Usage

   Live fish and the dish share the word. "Sono allergico/a al pesce" for an allergy; a fish market is "il mercato del pesce"

5. il cavallo

   Horse

   Usage

   Riding stables abound in Tuscany and Umbria. Siena's historic horse race is "il Palio di Siena"

6. la mucca

   Cow

   Usage

   Common on Alpine and Dolomite summer pastures. Beef on a menu is "il manzo". Said of a person "mucca" is an insult, so keep it for the animal

7. il maiale

   Pig

   Usage

   Also the meat: "non mangio maiale" says you avoid pork. Roast suckling pig, "la porchetta", is a speciality around Rome

8. la gallina

   Hen

   Usage

   The live hen. On a menu the meat is "il pollo", a different word

9. l'anatra

   Duck

   Usage

   Seen on ponds and canals, and a common dish in the countryside of northern Italy

10. la capra

    Goat

    Usage

    Common on Apennine and Sardinian pastures. Goat cheese is "il caprino"

11. la pecora

    Sheep

    Usage

    Everywhere in Tuscany, Lazio and Sardinia — the cheese "pecorino" takes its name from this word. A flock will happily block a country road

12. l'asino

    Donkey

    Usage

    Still a working animal on southern islands and in the mountains. Said of a person "asino" means stupid, so keep it for the animal

13. la volpe

    Fox

    Usage

    Found in woods and farmland the length of Italy, usually glimpsed at dawn or dusk by the roadside, and increasingly on the edge of cities

14. il riccio

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    A nocturnal garden and park animal, also called "il porcospino". The same word means sea urchin — "il riccio di mare" — so on a menu it is the urchin

15. il cinghiale

    Wild boar

    Usage

    Thick in the woods of Tuscany and Umbria and now on Rome's outskirts too — a hazard on roads at night, and never to be approached. It is also a menu staple: "pappardelle al cinghiale" is boar ragù

16. il cervo

    Deer

    Usage

    The big red deer of the Alps and the Abruzzo national park. The smaller roe deer is "il capriolo", which you are more likely to see near farmland

17. lo stambecco

    Alpine ibex

    Usage

    The Alpine wild goat with the great curved horns. Gran Paradiso national park was created to save it, and it is still seen on the high rocks there and around Dolomite huts

18. la marmotta

    Marmot

    Usage

    Lives on the high meadows of the Alps and Dolomites. You usually hear the sharp warning whistle before you see one

19. il gabbiano

    Seagull

    Usage

    Not only in Venice and Naples but all over central Rome. They will go for food on an outdoor table, so watch your plate

20. il piccione

    Pigeon

    Usage

    A fixture of every piazza. In Venice, feeding them in Piazza San Marco is banned by city rules and carries a fine

21. lo scoiattolo

    Squirrel

    Usage

    In the conifer woods of the north and in city parks. The native red squirrel is losing ground to the introduced grey

22. il coniglio

    Rabbit

    Usage

    Wild rabbits live in the fields, and "coniglio" on a menu means the meat — Ischia's "coniglio all'ischitana" is the classic

23. il topo

    Mouse / Rat

    Usage

    "Il topo" for a mouse, "il ratto" for a big rat. In a hotel: "c'è un topo in camera"

24. il pipistrello

    Bat

    Usage

    Out around the street lights on summer evenings. They eat the mosquitoes, but never handle one

25. il serpente

    Snake

    Usage

    Italy's only venomous snake is the adder ("la vipera"), found on sunny mountain rocks. "Mi ha morso un serpente" — a snake bit me

26. la lucertola

    Lizard

    Usage

    The little lizard darting over sunlit walls and ruins all over Italy, and quite harmless. The gecko on a wall or ceiling is "il geco"

27. la rana

    Frog

    Usage

    Common in the rice paddies and wetlands of the Po valley. The squat toad is a separate word, "il rospo"

28. la zanzara

    Mosquito

    Usage

    "Ci sono le zanzare" — there are mosquitoes; repellent is "il repellente". Summer in Venice and the Po valley is bad, and the introduced tiger mosquito bites in daylight too

29. la mosca

    Fly

    Usage

    For flies landing on food at an outdoor table: "c'è una mosca"

30. l'ape

    Bee

    Usage

    If you are allergic, say "sono allergico/a alle punture d'ape". Honey is "il miele". The little three-wheeled Ape truck is named after this word

31. la vespa

    Wasp

    Usage

    They come for your drink or fruit on a summer terrace — never approach a nest. The Vespa scooter takes its name from this word, after the buzz of its engine

32. la formica

    Ant

    Usage

    "Ci sono le formiche in camera" if they get into your room

33. lo scarafaggio

    Cockroach

    Usage

    Tell reception "c'è uno scarafaggio in camera". In the warm south the summer ones get large

34. il ragno

    Spider

    Usage

    House spiders in Italy are essentially harmless. The southern grasslands have the rare "malmignatta" widow spider, but bites are very uncommon

35. la zecca

    Tick

    Usage

    Check yourself after walking through grass or woodland; the northeast — Trentino, Friuli — posts warnings about tick-borne encephalitis. If bitten, tell a doctor "mi ha morso una zecca"

36. la medusa

    Jellyfish

    Usage

    A regular problem on Mediterranean beaches in summer. If stung, say "mi ha punto una medusa" and ask the lifeguard at the beach club

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