Skip to content

aspro

harsh; sharp; bitter

adjective AH-sproh Rare

Origin: From Latin asper, rough, harsh.

Also means

rugged; rough (terrain)

Usage Note

Aspro describes both tastes (a sharp, sour, or unripe flavour: un sapore aspro) and character/situations (harsh criticism: parole aspre). For terrain it means rugged or steep. The feminine is aspra, plural aspri/aspre. Do not confuse with amaro (bitter in the coffee/medicinal sense) — aspro implies a sharper, more acidic harshness.

Examples

"Il limone ha un sapore molto aspro."

Natural Translation

The lemon has a very sharp flavour.

Explore Italian by topic