Meaning & use
orecchiette
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
A type of small pasta shaped like little ears.
Grammar: In English, it is often used as an uncountable noun: 'orecchiette is delicious'. It can also be treated as plural: 'the orecchiette are cooked'.
Patterns
- orecchiette with something
- a plate of orecchiette
I ordered orecchiette with broccoli rabe.
Orecchiette is a traditional pasta from Puglia.
The orecchiette were perfectly cooked.
Common combinations
- orecchiette with broccoli rabe
- Orecchiette with broccoli rabe is a classic dish from southern Italy.
- orecchiette pasta
- She bought a bag of orecchiette pasta at the Italian market.
- homemade orecchiette
- Making homemade orecchiette takes practice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ear-shaped pasta
- A descriptive term, not a fixed name; 'orecchiette' is the specific Italian name.
Commonly confused: orecchiette or orecchio?
orecchiette vs orecchio
This is the Italian word for 'ear' (singular); 'orecchiette' literally means 'little ears'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'orecchiette' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Orecchiette' is an uncountable noun in English, so it does not take 'a' or a plural -s. 'An orecchiette' is wrong because it is not countable; 'orecchiettes' is not an English plural; 'for dinners' changes the meaning unnecessarily.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “orecchiette”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.