Looking for information on hats in Italian? You’re in the right place. Learn about the word for hat (cappello) and how to pronounce it, as well as other common Italian names for hats, like beretto.
You’ll find out about famous Italian hats like the borsalino and the coppola; Italian names for plenty of different types of hats, like top hat (cilindro) and beret (basco); Italian verbs to use with cappello (hat), and how to say hat trick in Italian (tripletta). We’ll also explain what a CAP is in Italian.
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Table of Contents
CAPPELLO: HAT IN ITALIAN
The Italian word for hat is cappello. Just like hat in English, a cappello is something worn to cover your head.
Mamma ho bisogno di un cappello nuovo. Mom, I need a new hat.
The pronunciation of cappello is: kahp-PEHL-loh
Listen to how to pronounce cappello here:
CAPPELLI: HATS IN ITALIAN
Cappelli means hats in Italian. Cappelli is the plural form of cappello.
I miei cappelli sono nel guardaroba. My hats are in the wardrobe.
Babbo ho i tuoi cappelli nella mia valigia. Dad, I have your hats in my suitcase.
The pronunciation of cappelli is: kahp-PEHL-lee
Listen to how to pronounce cappelli here:
Take out one of the p’s in cappello and it becomes a completely different word with a different meaning! A capello in Italian is a hair, and capelli in Italian means hair. At first it can be difficult for Italian learners to hear the difference between a double p and a single p, so listen here to cappello, capello, cappelli and capelli to start practicing!
cappello:
capello:
cappelli:
capelli:
CAPPELLINO
Cappellino means little hat in Italian. It can also mean baseball hat.
The pronunciation of cappellino is: kahp-pehl-LEE-noh
Listen to how to pronounce cappellino here:
BERRETTO
Berretto is another word that refers to hat in Italian. Often, Italians use berretto to refer to a baseball hat, a beret, or a cap in general.
The pronunciation of berretto is: behr-REHT-toh
Listen to how to pronounce berretto here:
Un berretto russo is a Russian beret.
Un berretto basco, or un basco, is a beret, the flat hat made of wool or felt. In Italy, this type of hat is widely associated with the military, because un basco is the headgear worn by most members of the Italian Armed Forces.
Un berretto da baseball is a baseball hat.
FAMOUS ITALIAN HATS
PAGLIETTA
The paglietta, or capello di paglia, is a straw hat. Some of the most famous paglietta hats are the straw boater hats worn by the iconic gondoliers of Venice. A gondolier’s uniform includes dark pants, a striped shirt, and an optional paglietta.
The pronunciation of paglietta is: pahl-yee-EHT-tah
Listen to how to pronounce paglietta here:
BORSALINO
Borsalino, founded in 1857, is Italy’s oldest hat manufacturer. The Alessandria-based company is known for its iconic luxury hats, including those worn by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the final scene of Casablanca.
Borsalino is the brand of hat, as well as the name of a type of hat similar to a fedora. The borsalino brim is slightly slimmer than the fedora, and the hat is more rigid.
The pronunciation of borsalino is: bohr-sah-LEE-noh
Listen to how to pronounce borsalino here:
COPPOLA
The coppola is a flat cap traditionally worn in Sicily and Calabria (though it was brought there from England). Al Pacino wore a coppola in The Godfather film, when his character Michael Corleone lives in Sicily. And by coincidence, the director of the Godfather films is named Francis Ford Coppola.
The pronunciation of coppola is: KOHP-poh-lah
Listen to how to pronounce coppola here:
HAT TRICK
Italians are crazy about soccer, or calcio, their national sport. When the same player scores three goals in a game, it is called una tripletta (from the Italian word for triple): a hat trick.
Non era la prima volta che Roberto Baggio ha segnato una tripletta. It wasn’t the first time that Roberto Baggio scored a hat trick.
The pronunciation of tripletta is: tree-PLEHT-tah
Listen to how to pronounce tripletta here:
DIFFERENT KINDS OF HATS IN ITALIAN
A beret is un basco, or un berretto basco:
A straw hat is una paglietta, or un cappello di paglia:
A top hat is un cilindro, or un cappello a cilindro:
A bowler hat is una bombetta:
A hard hat is un casco, un caschetto or un elmetto:
A bucket hat is un cappello da pescatore:
A cowboy hat is un cappello da cowboy:
A wool hat is un cappello di lana:
A chef’s hat is un cappello da cuoco:
A sun hat is un cappello da sole:
A beach hat is un cappello da spiaggia:
A baseball hat is un berretto da baseball, un capellino, or un cappello da baseball:
TALKING ABOUT HATS IN ITALIAN
Here are some verbs to use with cappello, the word for hat in Italian:
metter(si) il cappello means to put on (one’s) hat
levar(si) il cappello means to take off (one’s) hat
toglier(si) il cappello means to take off (one’s) hat, to show respect (for someone)
portare un cappello means to wear a hat
tenere il cappello in testa means to keep a hat on
C’è troppo vento, non riesco a tenere il cappello in testa! There’s too much wind, I can’t keep my hat on!
HATS OFF TO YOU!
To congratulate someone in Italian for a job well done, you can use the expression Tanto di cappello! It is similar to the English phrase Hats off to you!
Hai scritto tu questa lettera? Tanto di cappello! You wrote this letter? Hats off to you!
WHEN DO ITALIANS WEAR HATS?
Italians generally care quite a bit about their appearance and how they are dressed. If they dress casually, it is usually on purpose and with attention to detail, and their hat choice is no exception.
Therefore, in general, if an Italian is wearing a casual hat like a baseball cap, they are not wearing it casually: they are wearing that specific hat because it completes their outfit and is trendy, or a fashion statement.
Exceptions to this are of course when Italians wear a hard hat on the job, or a sun hat in the fields.
It is generally considered rude to wear a hat in school, in a restaurant, in church, or anywhere inside.
WHAT IS A CAP IN ITALIAN?
A CAP is an Italian zip code, or postal code. CAP is an acronym that stands for Codice di Avviamento Postale. The CAP has 5 digits.
While the zip code is the last thing on an American address, in Italy the CAP is written before the name of the town and province. Here is an example:
