Dialogo al ristorante in italiano per principianti

What does “acqua naturale” mean in Italian?

When you sit down at an Italian restaurant, the waiter usually asks if you want water with or without bubbles. The answer is one word. Acqua naturale is flat, still water, no fizz. It sounds like English “natural,” but here it just means plain. If you want the bubbly kind, you ask for acqua frizzante (or gassata) instead. Many places only sell it bottled, so you pick a type when ordering.

In this restaurant scene the waiter offers water first, “Vi porto intanto dell’acqua,” and the guests split their order: one says “Sì, una bottiglia naturale, per favore” (still), the other “È frizzante per me, grazie” (sparkling). Naturale comes from Latin naturalis, “as it is in nature,” so the water is left as-is, with nothing added, no gas. Useful pairs: naturale = still, frizzante or gassata = sparkling, liscia is another casual word for still. A common shop-and-table label is “acqua naturale” versus “acqua frizzante.” Tap water exists but is often called acqua del rubinetto, and bottled is the default in many restaurants.