Notte is the Italian word for “night”. It is a feminine noun, pronounced “NOT-teh”, and its plural is notti (nights). You already know it from buonanotte (goodnight). Italian also has sera for the evening, plus nottata and serata for the whole night or evening as an experience.
“Night” in Italian
“Notte”
Notte is the most direct Italian word for “night” and refers to the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. It is a feminine word and its plural form is notti.
Questa notte sarà fredda.
Tonight will be cold.
Ho dormito male la notte scorsa.
I slept poorly last night.
Le notti d’estate sono bellissime.
Summer nights are beautiful.
It is used to describe specifically the time when people sleep and you might have heard it already in the expression buonanotte (goodnight).
“Sera”
Sera translates to “evening” and refers to the time between the late afternoon and the night, generally from around 6:00 p.m. until the point when it becomes fully dark.
It is commonly used in the expression buonasera (good evening).
Stasera usciamo a cena.
We’re going out for dinner tonight.
Ogni sera guardo un film prima di andare a dormire.
Every evening, I watch a movie before going to bed.
Unlike notte, sera refers more to the period before night truly sets in, so it is typically used to refer to the moment spanning in the early part of the evening.
“Nottata”
Nottata refers to the duration or experience of an entire night, often with an emphasis on the events that take place during that time. It is commonly used when describing how the night was spent, especially when it’s been an unusually long or eventful night.
È stata una nottata difficile, ho lavorato fino all’alba.
It was a tough night, I worked until dawn.
Abbiamo passato una bella nottata in spiaggia.
We spent a beautiful night on the beach.
Nottata focuses more on the span of nighttime as a block of time, often emphasizing how tiring or intense the night felt.
“Serata”
Nottata is paired to notte just like serata is paired to sera. Serata focuses on the quality or the experience of the evening rather than just the time.
It is often used to describe events or activities that take place during the evening hours, like dinners, concerts, or social gatherings.
È stata una serata piacevole con gli amici.
It was a pleasant evening with friends.
Stasera c’è una serata di gala.
Tonight there’s a gala evening.
Tonight in Italian: Stasera or Stanotte?
English speakers often translate “tonight” as stanotte, but most of the time you need stasera. Use stasera for the evening that is coming, and stanotte for the deep night hours, or for the night that has just passed:
Stasera esco con gli amici.
Tonight I’m going out with friends.
Stanotte ho dormito male.
Last night I slept badly.
Stanotte c’è la luna piena.
Tonight there’s a full moon.
Useful Expressions with Notte
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| di notte | at night |
| buonanotte | goodnight |
| nel cuore della notte | in the middle of the night |
| a notte fonda | in the dead of night |
| passare la notte in bianco | to have a sleepless night (literally “to spend the night in white”) |
| notte bianca | a “white night”, a city event where shops and venues stay open all night |
Ho passato la notte in bianco per l’esame.
I didn’t sleep all night because of the exam.
Mi ha chiamato nel cuore della notte.
He called me in the middle of the night.
Buonasera, Buonanotte or Buona Serata?
These three are easy to mix up:
- Buonasera is a greeting you use from the late afternoon onwards, when you meet someone. It means “good evening”.
- Buonanotte is only for saying goodbye at night, especially when someone is going to bed. You do not use it to say hello.
- Buona serata means “have a nice evening” and is what you say when you part ways in the evening.
For the greetings of the rest of the day, see my lesson on how to say good morning in Italian.
Parts of the Day in Italian
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| l’alba | dawn |
| la mattina | the morning |
| mezzogiorno | noon |
| il pomeriggio | the afternoon |
| il tramonto | sunset |
| la sera | the evening |
| la notte | the night |
| mezzanotte | midnight |
If you want to tell the exact hour, learn how to do it in my lesson on telling the time in Italian.
