01
der Italiener
Italian
A male person who comes from Italy or has Italian citizenship.
example
Mein neuer Kollege ist Italiener und kommt aus Rom.
My new colleague is Italian and comes from Rome.
der Italiener
Italian / Italian restaurant
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
01 / 02
Usage tips
Word formation
The word 'Italiener' (Italian) is formed from the country name 'Italien' (Italy) with the ending '-er'. This ending is often used to refer to male inhabitants of countries or cities.
EXAMPLE
Ein Mann aus Berlin ist ein Berliner, ein Mann aus Italien ist ein Italiener.
A man from Berlin is a Berliner; a man from Italy is an Italian.
Context clue
You can tell from context whether a person or a restaurant is meant. If it's about food or going out, the restaurant is usually meant, often in combination with prepositions like 'zum' (to the) or 'beim' (at the).
EXAMPLE
Lass uns heute Abend zum Italiener gehen.
Let's go to the Italian restaurant tonight.
Typical collocations
When 'der Italiener' (the Italian restaurant) means a restaurant, it is often used with certain phrases: 'zum Italiener gehen' (to go to the Italian restaurant), 'beim Italiener essen' (to eat at the Italian restaurant), or 'einen Tisch beim Italiener reservieren' (to reserve a table at the Italian restaurant).
EXAMPLE
Wir haben für Samstag einen Tisch beim Italiener reserviert.
We reserved a table at the Italian restaurant for Saturday.
Register
The term 'der Italiener' (the Italian restaurant) for an Italian restaurant is very common, but it is considered colloquial.
EXAMPLE
Ich kenne einen guten Italiener in der Nähe.
I know a good Italian restaurant nearby.
Compare with
Italiener vs italienisch
Italian
'italienisch' and 'der Italiener' both have to do with Italy, but grammatically they do not belong to the same group. 'italienisch' is an adjective and describes things like food, music, language, or culture. 'der Italiener' is a noun and usually means a man from Italy. Colloquially, 'zum Italiener gehen' (to go to the Italian restaurant) can also mean going to an Italian restaurant. The words can be confused when talking about origin or language: a person can be Italiener, but a language or a dish is italienisch.
Italiener
Im Supermarkt spricht er mit einem Italiener über frische Tomaten.
In the supermarket, he talks with an Italian man about fresh tomatoes.
italienisch
Frau Wolf kocht heute ein italienisches Gericht.
Ms. Wolf is cooking an Italian dish today.
In real life
Loading video examples...