ragazza

Ragazza is an Italian noun that means a girl or a young woman. It is the feminine form of ragazzo, the corresponding masculine noun. The term is common in standard Italian and widely used in everyday speech to refer to someone who is not yet an adult or a young adulta in general.

In grammatical terms, ragazza is a feminine, countable noun. The singular form is la ragazza and the plural is le ragazze. Indefinite use is una ragazza, and the possessive forms shift accordingly (la mia ragazza, la tua ragazza, etc.). In addition to its literal meaning, the phrase la mia ragazza is also commonly used to mean “my girlfriend,” though more formal terms such as fidanzata may be used in certain contexts.

Diminutives and related forms include ragazzina, a common affectionate or diminutive for a young girl, and ragazzetta, which may carry a similar nuance in some dialects or historical usage. These forms reflect the word’s development within Romance-language vocabulary for youth.

Origin and usage notes: ragazza originates in medieval Italian as part of the Romance language lineage. The feminine form parallels ragazzo, its masculine counterpart, and both derive from older vernacular terms used to designate young people. Across regions and registers, the word remains a standard and versatile label for female youth, with usage shaped by formality and context.