tifone

typhoon

noun tee-FOH-neh Rare

Origin: From Arabic 'tufan' (storm), reaching Italian via Portuguese or Spanish.

Usage Note

Tifone is masculine and refers specifically to a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific — the Atlantic equivalent is uragano and the Indian Ocean equivalent is ciclone tropicale. Learners sometimes confuse tifone with tifoso (sports fan or typhoid sufferer), which is unrelated.

Examples

"Il tifone ha colpito le isole."

Natural Translation

The typhoon hit the islands.

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