This list includes 64 Italian words that start with C, from “calcolare” to “curioso”. It brings together common verbs, nouns and adjectives you can use for study, translation, classroom materials, or quick reference.
[Italian words that start with C] are lemmas used in modern Italian, including verbs like “calcolare” and adjectives like “curioso”. Notably, C sounds like /k/ before a, o, u and like /tʃ/ before e, i, which shapes many word families.
Below you’ll find the table with Italian word, English translation, and Example usage.
Italian word: The headword shown in standard orthography you use to learn the base form and find related conjugations or derivatives.
English translation: A concise, one-phrase meaning that helps you grasp the word quickly and choose the right context.
Example usage: One clear Italian sentence plus an immediate English gloss so you see how the word functions in natural speech.
Italian words that start with C
| Word | Part of speech | English meaning | Example (IT — EN gloss) |
|---|---|---|---|
| che | conjunction | that / what | So che vieni — I know that you are coming. |
| chi | pronoun | who / whoever | Chi è alla porta? — Who is at the door? |
| ci | pronoun | us / there / reflexive clitic | Ci vediamo domani — We’ll see each other tomorrow. |
| con | preposition | with | Vengo con te — I come with you. |
| come | adverb | how / like / as | Come si fa? — How do you do it? |
| cosa | noun | thing / what (colloq.) | Che cosa vuoi? — What do you want? |
| casa | noun | house / home | Abito in una casa — I live in a house. |
| ciao | interjection | hello / bye | Ciao, a dopo — Bye, see you later. |
| cane | noun | dog | Il cane corre veloce — The dog runs fast. |
| cena | noun | dinner | Facciamo cena alle otto — We have dinner at eight. |
| colazione | noun | breakfast | La colazione è pronta — Breakfast is ready. |
| cibo | noun | food | Mi piace il cibo italiano — I like Italian food. |
| caldo | adjective | hot / warm | Oggi fa caldo — Today it’s hot. |
| caro | adjective | dear / expensive | È caro ma bello — It’s expensive but nice. |
| cattivo | adjective | bad / naughty | Ha un cattivo odore — It has a bad smell. |
| cuore | noun | heart | Il mio cuore batte — My heart is beating. |
| città | noun | city / town | Vivo in una città grande — I live in a big city. |
| cognome | noun | surname | Qual è il tuo cognome? — What’s your surname? |
| comprare | verb | to buy | Voglio comprare un libro — I want to buy a book. |
| conoscere | verb | to know (person/place) | Conosci Roma? — Do you know Rome? |
| capire | verb | to understand | Non capisco questa frase — I don’t understand this sentence. |
| cercare | verb | to look for / try | Cerco le chiavi — I’m looking for the keys. |
| chiedere | verb | to ask / request | Posso chiedere una cosa? — May I ask something? |
| chiaro | adjective | clear / bright | È tutto chiaro — It’s all clear. |
| chiave | noun | key | Dove è la chiave? — Where is the key? |
| chiesa | noun | church | La chiesa è antica — The church is ancient. |
| chilometro | noun | kilometer | È a cinque chilometri — It’s five kilometers away. |
| cucina | noun | kitchen / cuisine | La cucina è grande — The kitchen is big. |
| cucinare | verb | to cook | Mi piace cucinare la pasta — I like to cook pasta. |
| cuoco | noun | cook / chef | Il cuoco è bravo — The cook is good. |
| colore | noun | color | Questo colore è bello — This color is nice. |
| capo | noun | head / boss | Il capo decide tutto — The boss decides everything. |
| carta | noun | paper / card | Ho una carta nuova — I have a new card. |
| corso | noun | course / class / run | Prendo un corso serale — I take an evening course. |
| correre | verb | to run | Corro ogni mattina — I run every morning. |
| corretto | adjective | correct / proper | La risposta è corretta — The answer is correct. |
| crescere | verb | to grow / increase | I bambini crescono velocemente — Children grow quickly. |
| creare | verb | to create | Creo un disegno — I create a drawing. |
| cultura | noun | culture | La cultura locale è ricca — Local culture is rich. |
| curioso | adjective | curious / odd | Sono curioso di sapere — I’m curious to know. |
| classe | noun | class / classroom | La mia classe è grande — My class is big. |
| cliente | noun | client / customer | Il cliente paga alla cassa — The customer pays at checkout. |
| chiusura | noun | closure / closing | La chiusura è domani — The closing is tomorrow. |
| chiarire | verb | to clarify | Puoi chiarire il punto? — Can you clarify the point? |
| colpa | noun | fault / blame | È colpa mia — It’s my fault. |
| caso | noun | case / chance / incident | È un caso strano — It’s a strange case. |
| cinema | noun | cinema / movie theater | Andiamo al cinema stasera — Let’s go to the cinema tonight. |
| cellulare | noun | mobile phone | Ho perso il cellulare — I lost my phone. |
| centro | noun | center / downtown | Il centro è vicino — The center is nearby. |
| comunità | noun | community | La comunità aiuta molti — The community helps many. |
| compito | noun | task / homework | Ho finito il compito — I finished the homework. |
| completo | adjective | complete / full | Il pacco è completo — The package is complete. |
| corrente | noun/adjective | current / running / common | La corrente è saltata — The power went out. |
| collezione | noun | collection | Ho una collezione di francobolli — I have a stamp collection. |
| carne | noun | meat | Mangio poca carne — I eat little meat. |
| calcolare | verb | to calculate | Devo calcolare il totale — I must calculate the total. |
| campagna | noun | countryside / campaign | La campagna è verde — The countryside is green. |
| canzone | noun | song | Questa canzone mi piace — I like this song. |
| cantante | noun | singer | La cantante canta bene — The singer sings well. |
| carattere | noun | character / temperament / font | Il carattere è forte — He has a strong character. |
| codice | noun | code / password | Inserisci il codice — Enter the code. |
| conto | noun | bill / account | Porta il conto, per favore — Bring the bill, please. |
| contare | verb | to count / rely on | Conta fino a dieci — Count to ten. |
| costruire | verb | to build / construct | Stiamo per costruire una casa — We’re going to build a house. |
Descriptions
che
[A1] syllables:1 freq:high. Very common relative/interrogative conjunction; essential for sentences.
chi
[A1] syllables:1 freq:high. Interrogative pronoun; frequent in everyday questions.
ci
[A1] syllables:1 freq:high. Clitic pronoun with multiple uses (locative, reciprocal).
con
[A1] syllables:1 freq:high. Basic preposition; appears in many fixed phrases.
come
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Useful for questions and comparisons.
cosa
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Common noun/pronoun used in questions and informal speech.
casa
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Basic noun; plural case: case.
ciao
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Informal greeting; widely used in spoken Italian.
cane
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Common animal noun; plural: cani.
cena
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Everyday noun for evening meal.
colazione
[A1] syllables:4 freq:high. Daily routine vocabulary.
cibo
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. General noun for food.
caldo
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Weather adjective; common in speech.
caro
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Used for price or affectionate address.
cattivo
[A2] syllables:3 freq:medium. Common adjective for quality or behavior.
cuore
[A2] syllables:2 freq:high. Figurative and literal uses; plural: cuori.
città
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Irregular plural: città (invariant).
cognome
[A1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Formal/personal data vocabulary; plural: cognomi.
comprare
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Regular -are verb; essential for shopping situations.
conoscere
[A2] syllables:4 freq:high. Distinguish from sapere; used for familiarity.
capire
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Common irregular verb (capire); frequent in class.
cercare
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Useful for everyday actions.
chiedere
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Common verb for questions and requests.
chiaro
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Used for clarity or light.
chiave
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Everyday noun; plural: chiavi.
chiesa
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Religious/building vocabulary.
chilometro
[A2] syllables:4 freq:medium. Measurement term; plural: chilometri.
cucina
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Also refers to style of cooking.
cucinare
[A1] syllables:4 freq:high. Regular -are verb for food preparation.
cuoco
[A2] syllables:2 freq:medium. Profession noun; plural: cuochi.
colore
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Basic descriptive vocabulary; plural: colori.
capo
[A2] syllables:2 freq:medium. Can mean leader or top piece of clothing.
carta
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Wide uses (paper, card); plural: carte.
corso
[A2] syllables:2 freq:medium. Academic and street meanings.
correre
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Common action verb.
corretto
[A2] syllables:3 freq:high. Often used in tests and corrections.
crescere
[B1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Used for people, plants, trends.
creare
[A2] syllables:3 freq:medium. Artistic/production verb.
cultura
[B1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Broad social concept.
curioso
[B1] syllables:4 freq:medium. Both inquisitive and strange senses.
classe
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Education vocabulary; plural: classi.
cliente
[A2] syllables:3 freq:medium. Service-industry term; plural: clienti.
chiusura
[B2] syllables:4 freq:low. Formal/administrative contexts.
chiarire
[B2] syllables:4 freq:medium. Useful in discussions and edits.
colpa
[A2] syllables:2 freq:high. Common in apologies and explanations.
caso
[A2] syllables:2 freq:high. Wide semantic range.
cinema
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Leisure vocabulary.
cellulare
[A1] syllables:4 freq:high. Everyday modern term.
centro
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Town-center and organizational uses.
comunità
[B2] syllables:4 freq:medium. Often used in social contexts; plural: comunità.
compito
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. School and work vocabulary; plural: compiti.
completo
[B1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Used in formal and informal contexts.
corrente
[B1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Electric and figurative meanings.
collezione
[B2] syllables:4 freq:low. Hobby and museum contexts.
carne
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Food vocabulary; plural: carni.
calcolare
[B1] syllables:4 freq:medium. Finance/academic use.
campagna
[A2] syllables:3 freq:medium. Rural and political senses.
canzone
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Music vocabulary; plural: canzoni.
cantante
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Performer noun.
carattere
[B2] syllables:4 freq:medium. Literary and typographic uses.
codice
[B1] syllables:3 freq:medium. Tech and security vocabulary.
conto
[A1] syllables:2 freq:high. Restaurant and finance contexts.
contare
[A1] syllables:3 freq:high. Basic number verb; also “to matter”.
costruire
[B1] syllables:4 freq:medium. Regular -ire verb; used in architecture/projects.