Il verbo essere con esempi semplici in città

What does “citofono” mean in Italian?

A citofono is the intercom by the street door of an Italian apartment building. You press the button next to a name, someone answers from upstairs, and they buzz you in. Almost every block has one, so visitors rarely walk straight inside — they citofonano first. The matching verb is citofonare, “to buzz” or “ring up” someone at the door.

Walking around Milan, the host points at the panel by the big main door and says, “Questo è un citofono.” The word is a blend: cito- from Latin citus (“quick”) plus -fono from telefono — literally a “quick phone” to the door. You may also see interfono, but citofono is the everyday word for the buzzer panel you find outside Italian buildings.