What does “cornetto vuoto” mean in Italian?

Al bar: ordinare caffè e cornetti

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A1 Italian listening practice · Standard Italian · Picked for people who know a little

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cornetto vuoto
Italian café-counter word
Literally an “empty croissant” — the plain, unfilled one, with nothing inside.

Order at an Italian bar and you’ll be asked which cornetto you want, and the plainest option is the cornetto vuoto — literally “empty.” It isn’t broken or hollow; vuoto simply means there’s no cream, jam, or chocolate inside. The opposite is a cornetto ripieno (“filled”). So when a barista offers a cornetto vuoto, they’re describing the simplest pastry on the tray, not a defective one.

A cornetto is Italy’s softer, slightly sweeter cousin of the French croissant, the standard companion to a morning cappuccino. Common fillings give you cornetto alla crema (pastry cream), alla marmellata (jam), or al cioccolato. You’ll also hear cornetto semplice for the same plain version. Knowing vuoto vs. ripieno lets you order breakfast precisely instead of pointing.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this A1 Italian listening practice video?

95.6%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Italian words
Most of the words in this video are common Italian words.

How common in written Italian

86.7%
Top 1,000
95.6%
Top 2,000
97.8%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Italian

97.7%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than A1. Here is what they mean.

cornetti
1×
Not in top 5,000
mmh
1×
Not in top 5,000
hmm / mmm
macchiato
1×
Not in top 5,000
espresso macchiato (coffee with milk)
dimmi
1×
Top 5,000People say this a lot
buongiorno
2×
Top 2,000People say this a lot
good morning / good day

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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