Skip to content

affogare

to drown

verb ahf-foh-GAH-reh Rare

Also means

to flood

Usage Note

Affogare can be intransitive (to drown, takes essere: è affogato) or transitive (to drown something/someone, takes avere). The phrase affogare nel lavoro means to be swamped with work. In cuisine, uova affogate are poached eggs — a distinct culinary meaning that surprises learners.

Examples

"Il bambino rischiò di affogare nel fiume."

Natural Translation

The child risked drowning in the river.

Literal Translation

The child risked to-drown in-the river.

Free starter pack

Building your Italian vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Italian by topic