Learn Italian: L'acqua del mare è azzurra. - The seawater is light blue.

L'acqua del mare è azzurra.

The seawater is light blue.

Breakdown of L'acqua del mare è azzurra.

of the; than the (di + il)

Questions & Answers about L'acqua del mare è azzurra.

Why is "seawater" translated as two words, acqua del mare?

Italian doesn't stack nouns together like English does to make a new word. Instead, you connect them using the preposition di (of). So "seawater" becomes l'acqua del mare (the water of the sea). Because mare takes the masculine article il, di and il combine to form the word del.

Why does azzurra end in an "a" when the closest noun, mare, is masculine?

The adjective must match the main subject of the sentence, which is l'acqua (the water), a feminine singular noun. Even though mare (sea) is right next to the verb, it is just part of the description of the water. Therefore, the base adjective azzurro changes to the feminine azzurra.

Could I use the word blu here instead of azzurra?

You could, but it changes the meaning. In Italian, azzurro is a lighter, sky-blue color, while blu is a darker, deeper navy blue. Italians almost always use azzurro to describe the natural bright color of the sea and the sky.