When I first moved to Turin many years ago, I was surprised to find that not only did Thanksgiving not be celebrated in Italy, but many Italians had never even heard of American National Day. (In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have been so shocked, since the celebration was based on a 1621 harvest feast shared by British colonists and Native Americans!)
Still, we think it’s worth learning some Italian Thanksgiving vocabulary, especially if you’re part of an Italian-American family that still uses Italian at home, or looking to describe the holiday to your Italian friends in Italy.
In this article, you’ll find forty Thanksgiving words in Italian that we find useful if you’re celebrating this important American holiday. Audio files are attached to each word to help you with pronunciation. happy Thanksgiving! (happy Thanksgiving!)
American/American
translate: American
love
translate: Love
autumn
translate: autumn/autumn
leftovers
translate: leftovers
banquet
translate: feast
Benedict/Blessing
translate: bless
Candle
translate: Candle
core
translate: core
colony
translate: colony
colonizer
translate: colonization/settlement
attend parties
translate: celebrate
leaf
translate: leaf
Thanksgiving
translate: Thanksgiving
Thursday
translate: Thursday
gratitude
translate: grateful
grateful / grateful
translate: grateful
thanks
translate: Thank you
he doesn’t
translate: corn
eat too much
translate: overeating
apple
translate: apple
native american
translate: native american
November
translate: November
notes: November is a masculine noun, so it needs an article I in something like “The hottest November in history” (The hottest November in history). Compared with English, November Other months of the year are always lowercase unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
Pilgrims
translate: pilgrimage
full/full
translate: full
bridge
translate: long weekend
notes: Ponte Literally means “bridge“; Italians often say”bridge“= spend a long weekend
prayer
translate: prayer
Mashed potatoes
translate: Mashed potatoes
Fourth Thursday in November
translate: Fourth Thursday in November
good harvest
translate: harvest
family gathering
translate: family gathering
grateful
translate: thanks/thanks
Cranberry Sauce
translate: Cranberry Jam
Bolognese
translate: gravy
scarecrow
translate: scarecrow
turkey
translate: turkey
apple pie
translate: apple pie
pumpkin pie
translate: pumpkin pie
Tradition
translate: Tradition
roasted vegetables
translate: roasted vegetables
pumpkin
translate: Pumpkin / Gourd / Pumpkin
notes: Italians don’t differentiate pumpkin, gourd and pumpkin. All three are called pumpkin.
