Weekly words · November 11, 2026 · Everyday objects
Things, stuff and the car: five handy Italian nouns
This week's words are the ones Italians reach for when talking about the things around them, and about things in the wider sense too. A few are less objects than handy all-purpose nouns, which is exactly why you'll hear them so often. Read each example aloud once or twice and they'll start to feel familiar.
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la cosa
f nounthing · plural le cose
Questa cosa non mi piace.I don't like this thing.
Cosa is one of the most common nouns in Italian, used much like English 'thing' for almost anything you can't or don't want to name. On its own, Cosa? is also an everyday way of asking 'What?'
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il fatto
m nounfact · plural i fatti
Il fatto è che non ho tempo.The fact is that I don't have time.
Il fatto è che is a handy way to start explaining yourself, just like 'The fact is that' in English. The same form fatto also turns up constantly as the word for 'done' or 'made', so context tells you which you're hearing.
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la macchina
f nouncar, machine · plural le macchine
Prendiamo la macchina o andiamo a piedi?Shall we take the car or walk?
It looks like English 'machine', but in everyday speech macchina usually means a car. If the context is a road, a trip or parking, assume car.
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il punto
m nounpoint · plural i punti
Questo è un punto importante.This is an important point.
Punto covers 'point' in the sense of an idea or a moment in a discussion, as in the example. It is also the name of the full stop at the end of a sentence, which makes a good memory hook.
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la roba
f nounstuff · plural le robe
Metti la tua roba in macchina.Put your stuff in the car.
Roba is the casual catch-all for 'stuff': belongings, things you're carrying, things you can't be bothered to list. Like English 'stuff', it stays singular even when it means a pile of items, as in la tua roba.
See you next week, and happy practising.