Skip to content

penna

pen

noun PEN-nah Rare
Communication Writing

Also means

feather

Usage Note

Penna covers both a writing pen and a bird's feather — context makes the meaning clear. It is also the name of the tubular pasta shape (penne), whose ridged quill-like form gave it the name. The plural penne is the same for both 'pens' and the pasta, which can occasionally amuse Italian learners.

Examples

"Ho perso la mia penna rossa."

Natural Translation

I lost my red pen.

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