Learn about the Italian word pantaloni (pants or trousers), how to pronounce pantaloni and pantalone, and clear up whether they are singular or plural Italian nouns. You’ll learn plenty of ways to use pantaloni, the words for types of pantaloni like jeans, pantaloni da ginnastica and pantaloni a zampa.
If you’re wondering if pantaloni is a kind of food (it’s not), there is an explanation of the word you’re probably thinking of: delicious panettone!
We’ll also explain what pantaloni means in Romanian (it’s the same as Italian!).
Uno, due, tre, via!
Table of Contents
WHAT ARE PANTALONI?
Pantaloni is the Italian word for pants (American English), trousers (British English) and slacks.
The pronunciation of pantaloni is: pahn-tah-LOH-nee
Listen to how to pronounce pantaloni here:
The word pantaloni is an Italian masculine plural noun. I pantaloni means the pants/trousers, and dei pantaloni means some pants/trousers.
I pantaloni sono neri.
The pants are black.
You can also say un paio di pantaloni, which means a pair of pants/trousers.
Hai bisogno di un paio di pantaloni!
You need a pair of pants!
WHAT IS PANTALONE?
Un pantalone is the (masculine) singular form of pantaloni.
The pronunciation of pantalone is: pahn-tah-LOH-neh
Listen to how to pronounce pantalone here:
In some areas of Italy, such as Tuscany, people use the singular form un pantalone to talk about pants/trousers, or a pair of pants/trousers. For example:
Sto cercando un pantalone bianco da indossare al matrimonio di mio fratello.
I’m looking for a pair of white pants to wear at my brother’s wedding.
Pantalone (Pantaloon in English) is also the name of a commedia dell’arte character from the 16th century, and thus a Venetian Carnival mask. Pantalone is an old, greedy Venetian merchant with a penchant for young women, and his mask has a long pointed nose. You can see it in the mask shops of Venice today.
In fact, the word pantaloni for pants derives from the French word pantalons, which can be traced back to the Venetian character Pantalone.
TYPES OF PANTALONI
There are many types of pantaloni, or pants in Italian. Here are some of the most common:
- Jeans are jeans, but the Italian word is pronounced “jeents” instead of “jeenz”
- Leather pants are pantaloni di pelle
- Flares and bell bottoms are pantaloni a zampa d’elefante, pantaloni a zampa, or pantaloni a campana
- Pajama pants are pantaloni del pigiama
- Sweatpants and track pants are pantaloni da tuta or pantaloni da ginnastica
- Capri pants are pantaloni alla Capri or pinocchietti
- Low waisted pants and hip huggers are pantaloni a vita bassa
- High waisted pants are pantaloni a vita alta
- Five-pocket pants are pantaloni a cinque tasche
- Winter pants are pantaloni invernali
- Summer pants are pantaloni estivi
Pantaloni can be:
- eleganti or fancy, elegant
- larghi or loose fitting
- aderenti or tight
- leggeri or lightweight
- pesanti or heavy
- lunghi or long
- corti or short
In estate porto raramente i pantaloni lunghi.
In summer I rarely wear long pants.
Quando torneranno di moda i pantaloni larghi?
When will loose fitting pants come back into style?
PANTALONCINI – SHORTS IN ITALIAN
Pantaloncini is the word for shorts in Italian. Other Italian words for shorts are pantaloni corti and pantaloncini corti.
Oggi fa caldissimo, mi metto i pantaloncini.
Today is very hot, I’m putting on shorts.
PANTALONI FAQ
Pantaloni is not an Italian food. However, there is an Italian Christmas dessert with a similar name called panettone.
Panettone is a sweet and puffy yellow bread, dotted with raisins and candied fruit inside. Originally from Milan, it is now eaten all over Italy and around the world at Christmas time.
Just like in Italian, pantaloni is the Romanian word for pants (American English) and trousers (British English).
Olivier Pantaloni is a Ligue 1 French soccer manager and former soccer player. The striker played for Nice, SC Bastia, and AC Ajacca, among other teams.