nuotare

to swim

verb nwoh-TAH-reh Rare

Usage Note

Nuotare uses avere as its auxiliary in compound tenses when used without a destination, following the general rule for verbs of manner of motion: ho nuotato per un'ora ('I swam for an hour'). However, essere is used with a directional complement: sono nuotato fino alla riva ('I swam to the shore'). The related noun is nuoto ('swimming').

Examples

"I bambini nuotano nel lago ogni estate."

Natural Translation

The children swim in the lake every summer.

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

Days & Months in Italian: A Beginner's Guide

Days of the week in Italian are lowercase, all masculine except la domenica, and il lunedì means every Monday. Learn the days, months, dates, and seasons.

June 5, 2026 4 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

ItalianNow

Buongiorno, Ciao or Salve? Italian Greetings Made Easy

When in doubt, say salve and mirror the reply. Here's how to pick between buongiorno, buonasera, ciao and salve so your Italian greetings never sound rude.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Present Tense: -are, -ere, -ire Verbs

Conjugate Italian present-tense verbs fast: one color-coded chart for -are, -ere, and -ire endings, plus the sneaky -isc- group most guides bury.

June 5, 2026 6 min read