How do you say "antipasto, antipasti" in Italian?

‘Antipasto’ *(m) is an appetizer, or hors d’oeuvres. ‘Pasto‘ is Italian for a ‘meal’ – so ‘antipasto’ means ‘before the main meal’.The plural ‘appetizers’ is ‘antipasti’. Olives, cold meats, fish, pickled vegetables all qualify as antipasti – there is a huge variation depending on season, variation and availability.

Some people think antipasto means ‘before the pasta’. This is why it’s so important to be careful of gender and ending of words in Italian – very often, a simple change in gender can change the meaning of a word to something unrelated. ‘Pasto’ and ‘pasta’ sound similar, but they aren’t related. ‘Pasto’ is a relative of ‘repast’, and ‘pasta’ means ‘paste’.

antipasto, antipasti

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