italienisches

Italienisches is the inflected form of the German adjective italienisch, meaning Italian or of Italy. It describes nouns related to Italy, its language, culture or products. The same root also appears in the noun form das Italienische, which refers to the Italian language, and sometimes to Italian culture in a broader sense.

In German, adjectives decline according to article and noun gender. Neuter singular: after an indefinite article, as in ein italienisches Auto; after a definite article, as in das italienische Auto. Plural: italienische Autos (no article) or die italienischen Autos (with definite article). The endings shift with gender and case in other contexts, producing forms such as die italienische Küche or eine italienische Küche.

Etymology: Italienisches derives from Italien, the German name for Italy, combined with the suffix -isch, which forms adjectives indicating origin or characteristic. The corresponding noun das Italienische is used for the Italian language.

Usage notes: italienisches is commonly used to describe tangible items (italienisches Auto), cuisine (italienische Küche), fashion (italienische Mode) or broader cultural attributes. When referring specifically to language or nationality in a formal sense, the noun form das Italienische or the demonym Italiener/Italienerin may be used.

See also: Italien, Italienisch (the language), Italian culture.