Stella
NOUN [feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
1. Star
🇬🇧 A luminous celestial body visible in the night sky.
🇮🇹 Corpo celeste luminoso visibile nel cielo notturno.
2. Star
🇬🇧 A famous person, especially in the entertainment industry.
🇮🇹 Persona famosa, specialmente nel mondo dello spettacolo.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | - | la - una stella |
| Plural | - | le - delle stelle |
Example sentences 💬
Il cielo era pieno di stelle luminose.
The sky was full of bright stars.
Lei è una stella del cinema italiano.
She is a star of Italian cinema.
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Idioms with stella 🇮🇹
Dormire sotto le stelle
→ To sleep under the stars
Abbiamo fatto campeggio e dormito sotto le stelle.
We went camping and slept under the stars.
Vedere le stelle
→ To see stars (from pain)
Ho sbattuto il ginocchio contro il tavolo e ho visto le stelle.
I hit my knee on the table and saw stars.
Nascere sotto una buona stella
→ To be born under a lucky star
Sembra che sia nato sotto una buona stella, ha sempre fortuna.
It seems he was born under a lucky star, he's always lucky.
Alle stelle
→ Sky-high, through the roof
I prezzi del carburante sono alle stelle.
Fuel prices are through the roof.
Dalle stelle alle stalle
→ From riches to rags
L'ex campione è passato dalle stelle alle stalle dopo lo scandalo.
The former champion went from riches to rags after the scandal.
Stella polare
→ North Star, guiding principle
La sua etica è sempre stata la sua stella polare.
His ethics have always been his guiding principle.
Stella cadente
→ Shooting star
Domani è la notte di San Lorenzo. Spero di vedere una stella cadente per esprimere un desiderio.
Tomorrow is San Lorenzo’s night. I hope to see a shooting star to make a wish.
Where does the word stella come from? 🔎
Stella comes from the Latin stella, having the same meaning.
Did you know that... 🤓
Impress your italian friends with curious facts about Italy and its culture
Want to shatter your Italian friends' childhood certainties? Here's a secret weapon: the game "Un, due, tre, stella!" (One, two, three, star!)
Have you seen Squid Game? Remember the first game, where participants must move without being seen by a giant robot doll? In Italy, there's a very similar children's game, but fortunately much less dangerous: "Un, due, tre, stella!".
A new theory about the true name of this game is circulating on Italian social networks. According to this idea - unconfirmed and without sources - the original name wasn't "Un, due, tre, stella!" but "Un, due, tre, stai là!" (One, two, three, stay there!).
This reasoning would make more sense with the game's rules, where the counter turns around suddenly to stop the others, just like the Squid Game doll. The difference? Instead of eliminating players, it just tells them to "stay there".
It's thought that this version comes from the Piedmontese "Un, due, tre, ste' là!", which then spread throughout Italy and was mistakenly transformed into "stella".
True or not, this theory is perfect for a fun chat with your Italian friends!
And while we're at it, remind your friends that tomorrow, August 10th, is the night of San Lorenzo, famous in Italy for shooting stars. According to tradition, on this night you can make wishes while watching falling stars.
