Buono, Bravo, Bello, & Bene Flashcards
Which are adjectives?
Bello, bravo, and buono are adjectives; they describe qualities of nouns.
Which is an adverb and a noun?
Bene is an adverb; it modifies verbs . In some expressions, it can also be a noun, meaning good.
Use of bello
Bello
(1) Adjective, used with people, animals, and things (including intangible ideas and concepts). (
2) Expresses positive “aesthetic” quality (e.g. visual or aural beauty), emphasizes pleasant nature of an action, or experience, enjoyable nature of an idea or concept,
(3) Translations: “handsome” (for men), “beautiful” (for women), “fine” (for animals) and “nice” (as in an experience or ideas).
Use of buono
Buono
(1) Adjective, used with people, animals, and things (including intangible ideas and concepts).
(2) Usually translated as “good”.
(3) Expresses a good quality about “inherent content”, e.g., good taste and smell of food and drink, morally good qualities of people, good quality of animals and things, a job performed well.
(4) Also used to wish someone well (“Buon viaggio!, Buona giornata!).
(6) Can be used instead of “bravo” to mean experienced or skilled.
Use of bravo
Bravo
(1) Adjective, used only with living beings (people and animals), NOT things.
(2) Usually translated s “good”, “skilled,” “clever”, “well-behaved”.
(3) Expresses positive qualities at doing something, e.g., being good at one’s job, playing a sport, dancing, speaking Italian, cooking, behaving politely.
(4) Also expresses a compliment for a job well done: Bravo!
Use of bene
(1) Bene is adverb that means “well”, and modifies verbs, not nouns. (2) But it can be a noun. meaning “good”, in some expressions (“far del bene” – to do good). (3) As a noun, the plural is beni. (4) It can also express “good” as in approval or pleasure.
bravo vs. buono in describing people and animals
Rule of thumb: (a) bravo is used only with people or animals, and to express their skill at doing something or good behavior; (b) buono is used with people, animals, and things, and describes good character (not skill at doing something).
bello: after the noun
Masc. Sing./Pl.
BELLO / BELLI: after ALL masc. nouns
Fem. sing./pl.
BELLA / BELLE: after ALL fem. nouns
bello: before the noun
Masc. Sing.
BELLO: before masc. sing. nouns beginning w/ s + consonant,
gn, pn, ps, z, or x.
BEL: before masc. sing. nouns beginning w/ other consonants
BELL’ (with apostrophe): before masc. sing. nouns beginning w/ a vowel
Masc. Pl.
BEGLI: before masc. pl. nouns beginning w/ s + consonant,
gn, pn, ps, z, or x, AND with a vowel
BEI: before masc. pl. nouns beginning w/ other consonants
Fem. Sing.
BELLA: before fem. sing. nouns beginning w/ a consonant
BELL’: before fem. sing. nouns beginning w/ a vowel
Fem. Pl.
BELLE: before all fem. pl. nouns (regardless of starting letter).
Buono: after the noun
Masc. Sing./Pl.
BUONO / BUONI: after all masc. sing./pl. nouns
Fem. Sing./Pl.
BUONA / BUONE: after all fem. sing./pl. nouns
Buono: before the noun
Masc. Sing.
BUONO: before nouns beginning w/ with s + consonant, gn, pn, ps, z, or x.
BUON (no apostrophe): before nouns beginning w/ any other consonant, OR with a vowel
Masc. Pl.
BUONI: ALL masc. pl. nouns
Fem. Sing.
BUONA: nounsbeginning w/ a consonant;
BUON’ (with apostrophe): nouns that begins with a vowel;
Fem. Pl.
BUONE: ALL all fem. pl. nouns
Bravo: before and after the noun
(Note: same forms before and after nouns; no articulated forms before nouns
Masc. Sing./Pl.
BRAVO / BRAVI: before and after ALL masc. sing./pl. nouns
Fem. Sing./Pl.
BRAVA / BRAVE: before and after ALL sing/fem. pl. nouns
Bene: placement
(1) Bene is an adverb, and follows the verb. (2) It does not change form – is always “bene”.
Maria is a beautiful woman.
Maria è una bella donna. (fem. sing. beg/ w/ consonant)
It’s a beautiful/nice concert.
È un bel concerto. (masc. sing. beg/ w/ consonant other than s + consonant, gn, pn, ps, z, or x)
There was nice weather.
C’era bel tempo. (masc. sing. beg/ w/consonant other than s + consonant, gn, pn, ps, z, or x)
Marco is a handsome man.
Marco è un bell’uomo. (masc. sing. beg/ w/ vowel)
I’m going to make myself a nice cup of coffee.
Mi faccio una bella taza di caffè.
I’m going to take a nice shower.
Faccio una bella doccia.
I’ll prepare you a nice steak.
Ti preparo una bella bistecca.
They are beautiful women.
Loro sono belle donne.
They are handsome men.
Loro sono begli uomini.
They are fine horses.
Loro sono bei cavalli. (masc. pl. beg/ w/ a consonant, but not s + consonant, gn, pn, ps, z, or x, and for masc. sing. and not with a vowel)
Luca’s mother is a good person.
La madre di Luca è una persona buona.
I read a good book.
Ho letto un buon libro (meaning a well-written book) Ho letto un bel libro (meaning an enjoyable book).
Maria is beautiful, but she is not always good with other people.
Maria è bella, ma non sempre e buona con gli altri.
good pasta
buona pasta
good smell
buon perfumo
a fine mess!
un bel guaio!
a good day
una buona giornata
a good (kind) man
un uomo buono (note: buon uomo means “my good man.”)
It’s a good film (quality) vs. an enjoyable film (aesthetic judgment)
un buon film (well put together) v. un bel film (meaning enjoyable)
The car works well.
La macchina funziona bene.
Marco plays the guitar well.
Marco suona bene la chitarra.
Marco is a good guitar player.
Marco è un bravo chitarrista.
Maria Callas was a good singer.
Maria Callas ere una brava cantante.
Which to use with food and drink?
Buono is most often used with food and drink to describe the good taste. Using bello with food and drink means appearance to the eye. “Il cibo è buono da mangiare, e bello a vedere.”
“Lei è una bella persona” vs. Lei è una buona persona”
(1) “Lei è una bella persona” means a person of interior beauty – gentle, kind. (2) “Lei è una buona persona” means a person who is good, not bad, as in would not hurt a fly.
“Hai fatto un buon lavoro” vs. “Hai fatto un bel lavoro”
These two mean about the same thing: “Hai fatto un buon lavoro” means well-done or worthwhile. “Hai fatto un bel lavoro” means impressive job, looks good.
“Il tuo lavoro è proprio bello”
This means “your work is really beautiful”, and refers to something aesthetically beautiful, like a work or art. You can’t use “proprio” with “buono” to describe work.
It’s a beautiful/lovely house.
È una bella casa.
It’s a good publishing house.
È una buona casa editrice.
He is a good boy (good natured).
È un ragazzo buono. (good moral quality)
He is a good boy (well-behaved)
È un bravo ragazzo. (well behaved)
He is a clever boy.
È un ragazzo bravo. (clever)
a good teacher (skilled and clever) vs. a good teacher (good as a teacher)
Un bravo insegnante (skilled and clever; more emphatic: un insegnante bravo) vs. un buon insegnante (good as a teacher
a good idea (aesthetic opinion) vs. a good idea (in content)
una bella/bell’ idea (judged to be a fine or nice idea) vs. una buona/buon’ idea (a good idea in content)
nice pants
bei pantaloni.
beautiful places
bei posti
the beautiful/nice buildings
begli edifici
beautiful trees
begli alberi
nice weather
bel tempo
beautiful gift
bel regalo
a beautiful/nice building
un bell’edificio
your nice features
il tuo bell’aspetto.
a good marriage
un buon matrimonio
a good time
un buon momento / un buon tempo
buono: form chart
BEFORE THE NOUN
MASC. SING. MASC. PL.
buono buoni s + consonant, gn, pn, z, x.
buon buoni other consonants
buon buoni vowels
FEM. SING FEM. PL.
buona buone consonants
buon’ buone vowels
AFTER THE NOUN
SING, PL.
buono buoni all masc. nouns
buono buone all fem. nouns
bello: form chart
BEFORE THE NOUN
MASC. SING. MASC. PL.
bello begli s + consonant, gn, pn, z, x.
bel bei other consonants
bell’ begli vowels
FEM. SING. FEM. PL.
bella belle consonants
bell’ belle vowels
AFTER THE NOUN
SING. PL.
bello belli all masc. nouns
bella belli all fem. nouns
bravo: form chart
BEFORE AND AFTER THE NOUN
bravo bravi all masc. nouns
brava brave all fem. nouns
