erba

grass, herb

noun EHR-bah Rare

Origin: From Latin herba (grass, plant).

Usage Note

Erba means both lawn grass (tagliare l'erba = to mow the grass) and culinary/medicinal herbs (erbe aromatiche). The plural erbe is used for a collection of herbs. The idiom fare d'ogni erba un fascio (to make one bundle of every herb) means to lump everything together.

Examples

"Il cane corre sull'erba del parco."

Natural Translation

The dog runs on the park grass.

Literal Translation

The dog runs on-the grass of-the park.

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

ItalianNow

C'è vs Ci Sono: There Is/Are in Italian

C'è for one thing, ci sono for many — that's the rule. Master Italian's there is/there are with c'era, ci sarà, è vs c'è, and non c'è nessuno.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Essential Italian Travel Phrases (With Vorrei)

Vorrei means I would like — the politest, most useful Italian travel phrase. Learn five reusable frames to order, ask prices, and find your way in Italy.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Avere Fame: Why Italians "Have" Hunger, Not "Are"

In Italian you say Ho fame (I have hunger), never sono fame. Learn the avere + noun rule for fame, freddo, paura, age, and the sono caldo trap to avoid.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Prepositions: A, In, Di, Da, Su Made Simple

Cities take a, countries take in, origin is di, agents are da. Master the five Italian prepositions a, in, di, da, su and their contractions fast.

June 5, 2026 6 min read