trave

beam, rafter

noun TRAH-veh Rare

Origin: From Latin trabs/trabem, 'beam'.

Usage Note

Trave is feminine despite its ending — la trave. The plural is regular: le travi. It refers to a structural load-bearing beam in construction (le travi del soffitto — 'the ceiling beams'). In the Gospel proverb about seeing the splinter in another's eye but not the beam in one's own, Italian uses trave: non vedi la trave nel tuo occhio.

Examples

"Le travi del soffitto sono in legno antico."

Natural Translation

The ceiling beams are made of old wood.

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

Italian Dialects vs Standard Italian: A Guide

Standard Italian works everywhere, so relax: this three-layer guide to Italian dialects vs standard Italian shows what to ignore and what to notice.

June 9, 2026 6 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

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

You're Welcome in Italian: 8 Ways Beyond Prego

You're welcome in Italian is more than prego: say figurati to friends, si figuri to strangers, di niente, non c'è di che, or grazie a te. Pick the right one.

June 9, 2026 6 min read