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Italian vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "basketball" in Italian?
la pallacanestro
In Italian, "basketball" is la pallacanestro.
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Pronunciation
pahl-lah-kah-NEH-stroh. Stress PAHL and NEH. Five syllables. Double 'll' is a single 'l', and 'canestro' has a soft 'c' (ch).
Grammar notes
Feminine noun, plural le pallacanestro. Palla (ball) canestro (basket). Takes la in singular, le in plural.
Example sentence
Gioco a pallacanestro.
I play basketball.
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How to remember la pallacanestro
Pallacanestro = palla (ball) plus canestro (basket). It is literally ball-in-basket, describing the game.
Related words
- arrow la freccia
- ball la palla
- helmet il casco
- horse riding l’equitazione
- jump rope saltare la corda
- roller skates i pattini
- swimming il nuoto
- table tennis il ping pong
- wrestling il wrestling
Browse all Italian words in the glossary.
Questions about la pallacanestro
How do you say "basketball" in Italian?
In Italian, "basketball" is la pallacanestro. It is a noun.
Is la pallacanestro masculine or feminine?
Feminine noun, plural le pallacanestro. Palla (ball) canestro (basket). Takes la in singular, le in plural.
How is la pallacanestro used in a sentence?
Use la pallacanestro as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: Gioco a pallacanestro. (I play basketball.).
Where can I practice Italian words for free?
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"Basketball" in other languages
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