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Describing materials with 'di' and 'in'

When you want to describe what an object is made of, English makes it incredibly easy. You can simply take the material and place it right before the object, creating phrases like a plastic cup or a leather jacket. Sometimes, English even has dedicated adjectives for materials, like wooden or woollen.

In Italian, nouns cannot be stacked directly next to each other. You also will not usually find a direct adjective translation for words like wooden. Instead, you need a connecting preposition to link the object to its material. This means that to say a wood table, you literally have to say a table of wood.

Word list
cartafA1 paper di carta / in carta nevefA1 snow di neve argentomA2 silver d'argento / in argento bronzomA2 bronze di bronzo / in bronzo cuoiomA2 leather di cuoio / in cuoio ferromA2 iron di ferro / in ferro ghiacciomA2 ice di ghiaccio legnomA2 wood di legno / in legno metallomA2 metal di metallo / in metallo oromA2 gold d'oro / in oro pellefA2 leather di pelle / in pelle pietrafA2 stone di pietra / in pietra plasticafA2 plastic di plastica / in plastica sabbiafA2 sand di sabbia vetromA2 glass di vetro / in vetro lanafB1 wool di lana / in lana mattonemB1 brick di mattoni / in mattoni setafB1 silk di seta / in seta acciaiomB2 steel d'acciaio / in acciaio alluminiomB2 aluminium d'alluminio / in alluminio bambùmB2 bamboo di bambù / in bambù calcestruzzomB2 concrete di calcestruzzo / in calcestruzzo carboniomB2 carbon di carbonio / in carbonio cartonemB2 cardboard di cartone / in cartone cerafB2 wax di cera / in cera ceramicafB2 ceramic di ceramica / in ceramica cotonemB2 cotton di cotone / in cotone cristallomB2 crystal di cristallo / in cristallo fangomB2 mud di fango gommafB2 rubber di gomma / in gomma granitomB2 granite di granito / in granito marmomB2 marble di marmo / in marmo piombomB2 lead di piombo / in piombo porcellanafB2 porcelain di porcellana / in porcellana ramemB2 copper di rame / in rame acciaio inossidabilemC1 stainless steel d'acciaio inossidabile / in acciaio inossidabile argillafC1 clay d'argilla / in argilla avoriomC1 ivory d'avorio / in avorio linomC1 linen di lino / in lino pagliafC1 straw di paglia perlafC1 pearl di perle platinomC1 platinum di platino / in platino stoffafC1 fabric di stoffa sugheromC1 cork di sughero / in sughero tessutomC1 fabric di tessuto / in tessuto zincomC1 zinc di zinco / in zinco cera d'apifC2 beeswax di cera d'api compensatomC2 plywood di compensato / in compensato gessomC2 plaster di gesso / in gesso legafC2 alloy di lega / in lega ottonemC2 brass d'ottone / in ottone pergamenafC2 parchment di pergamena / in pergamena resinafC2 resin di resina / in resina stagnomC2 tin di stagno / in stagno titaniomC2 titanium di titanio / in titanio vellutomC2 velvet di velluto / in velluto viminemC2 wicker di vimini / in vimini
The classic construction

The most traditional way to state what something is made of is by using the preposition di followed by the material. You start with the object, add di, and finish with the material noun. There is no article before the material.

This rule applies to everyday materials like legno, vetro, and carta. You will use the exact same pattern for modern synthetic materials like plastica and gomma, or traditional crafted materials like ceramica.

Hanno comprato un bellissimo tavolo di legno.
(They bought a beautiful wood table.)
Fai attenzione, quel bicchiere è di vetro.
(Be careful, that cup is glass.)
Ho scritto il numero su un pezzo di carta.
(I wrote the number on a piece of paper.)
I bambini giocano con spade di plastica.
(The children are playing with plastic swords.)
Fabrics and leather

When shopping for clothes or furniture, you will frequently need to talk about fabrics. Words like lana, cotone, and seta follow the exact same rules. The same applies to animal products used in fashion, such as cuoio and pelle.

While di is the standard preposition, it is also extremely common in modern Italian to use the preposition in to express the exact same idea. There is no difference in meaning between a shirt di cotone and a shirt in cotone. Both are perfectly correct and widely used.

In estate preferisco indossare magliette di cotone.
(In summer I prefer wearing cotton t-shirts.)
Ho regalato a mia madre una sciarpa in seta.
(I gave my mother a silk scarf as a gift.)
Questa giacca di pelle è molto costosa.
(This leather jacket is very expensive.)
Metals, stones, and apostrophes

When talking about building materials like pietra and marmo, or industrial materials like metallo, ferro, and acciaio, the rule remains the same. However, you must pay attention to spelling when the material begins with a vowel.

If you are using di, and the material starts with a vowel, the preposition drops its final letter and takes an apostrophe. This is especially common with precious metals like oro and argento. So, di combined with oro becomes d'oro. If you choose to use in instead, no apostrophe is needed, resulting in in oro.

Il cancello di ferro è molto pesante.
(The iron gate is very heavy.)
La statua è fatta di marmo bianco.
(The statue is made of white marble.)
Indossa sempre una collana d'oro.
(She always wears a gold necklace.)
Mi hanno regalato degli orecchini d'argento.
(They gave me silver earrings.)
Summary

In Italian, you cannot use a material directly as an adjective. Instead, you must use the prepositions di or in followed by the noun for the material. Remember to use an apostrophe if you use di before a vowel.