italiano · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Kitchen basics
Learn tools with their gender and place them in a simple kitchen scene.
Understand the choice
Kitchen words stick when article and position travel with them. Link la pentola al fornello, il coltello al tavolo, and food al frigorifero rather than memorizing bare nouns.
Core rule: Su + definite article contracts to sul/sulla/sui; essere states a fixed location.
Notice it in context
La pentola è sul fornello e il coltello è sul tavolo.
The pot is on the stove and the knife is on the table.
Sul is su + il before masculine fornello and tavolo; subjects retain their own articles.
La padella è accanto alla pentola.
The pan is next to the pot.
Padella and pentola show feminine articles; alla is a + la.
Metto la tazza e il piatto nel frigorifero.
I put the cup and plate in the refrigerator.
Nel contracts in + il and marks the destination container.
What to remember
- Fornello is one burner or small stove; cucina can mean kitchen or cooker.
- Frigo is the common informal shortening of frigorifero.
Common trap: Do not write articulated prepositions as separate words: sul, alla, nel.