Imparare questo e quello in italiano con esempi

Is it “cannolo” or “cannoli” in Italian?

In Italian, one of these crisp ricotta-filled pastries is “un cannolo.” The “-i” ending makes the plural: two or more are “cannoli.” English borrowed the plural form, so people abroad often say “a cannoli” for a single one — but in Italy that sounds like ordering several. The word comes from “canna,” meaning a reed or small tube, with a “little” ending: literally “a little tube,” named for the pastry’s rolled shape.

The clip lays the pair out: “Questi sono 2 cannoli” (these are two cannoli), then, after one is eaten, “Questo era un cannolo. Buonissimo. Lo mangio io” (this was one cannolo — delicious, I’ll eat it). It even names the filling: “Questa è la ricotta.” So you see both numbers side by side. The cannolo is a Sicilian sweet, a fried pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta. The name traces to “canna” (reed, cane, tube) plus the small ending “-olo,” so it reads as “little tube” — a nod to the tube-shaped shell. Quick rule: one = cannolo, more than one = cannoli.