Usage Note
Ape is feminine: l'ape (the bee), le api (the bees). The Italian three-wheeled light vehicle Ape (made by Piaggio) is named after this insect. The compound ape regina = 'queen bee'. Note that l'ape uses the elided article l' because the noun begins with a vowel.
Examples
"L'ape raccoglie il nettare dai fiori."
Natural Translation
The bee collects nectar from the flowers.
Literal Translation
The bee collects the nectar from-the flowers.

Free starter pack
Building your Italian vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Italian by topic