There are many different varieties of pasta. It may be long () or short (). It may have a simple shape like a thin cylinder (spaghetti), a sheet (lasagna), a tube (penne), or a grain, or be complex and three-dimensional. It may be stuffed or not. It may be boiled, then served drained (pastasciutta), cooked in broth (pasta in brodo), baked (pasta in forno). Some varieties are ubiquitous, others are unknown outside their region of origin.
Names vary by region, by language, and by manufacturer: "one man's can be another's ". For example, cut rotelle are also called in Italy and 'wagon wheels' in the United States. Manufacturers and cooks often invent new shapes of pasta, or may rename pre-existing shapes.
Italian pasta names often end with the masculine plural diminutive suffixes or the feminine plurals , etc., all conveying the sense of ; or with the augmentative suffixes , meaning . Other suffixes like , and , may also occur.
Long- and medium-length pasta Long pasta may be made by extrusion or rolling and cutting. + List of long- and medium-length pasta Type Image Description Translation Synonyms Origin or main area of consumption BarbineThin strands, often coiled into nestsLittle beardsBarbina BavetteNarrower version of tagliatelleBibsBaverine, bavettine, lasagneddi (in Sicily)Liguria BigoliThick, softer, spaghetti-like pasta. Made with whole wheat rather than durum. Sometimes made with duck egg.From bigolaro, the pasta press used to make bigoliFusarioiVeneto BucatiniThick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the centerHollow straws. Translated from , meaning "hole", and , meaning "pierced".Boccolotti, perciatellini, foratini, fidelini bucati, fide bucate, agoni bucati, spilloni bucatiLazio Busiate (or busiati)Type of long macaroni. Often coiled around a twig of local weed.From busa, meaning "reed"Subioti, fusarioi, maccheroni bobbesi, busa, ciuffolitti (Abruzzo), gnocchi del ferroSicily (particularly Trapani) Sardinia CapelliniVery thin spaghetti, often coiled into nests. Capelli d'angelo are slightly thinner.Thin hair, little hairAngel Hair, Capelli d'angelo, cabellos de angel, capelvenere, fidelini, fedelini, cappellini, sopracappellini, capellini fini, bassetti, tagliolini a nido, barbine a nido, ramicia, vrimiciddiLiguria FedeliniVery thin spaghettiMarchetti, Domenica (2011). The Glorious Pasta of Italy. Chronicle Books. p. 122. Little faithful onesNaples, Genoa and Liguria FerrazzuoliSimilar to a twisted buccato with a cleft running on the sidePossibly from the thin iron square used to create the cleftCannucceCalabria FettuccineRibbon of pasta approximately 6.5 millimeters wide. Larger and thicker than tagliatelle.Little ribbons: from affettare, "to slice".Lasagnette, fettucce, ramicce, sagneRome FilejaElongated screwDialectal for yarn, filatofilleda, filateddhi, filatelli, fusilli avellinesi, maccaruni aru ferru, ricci di donnaVibo Valentia (Calabria), Avellino (Campania) LaganeWide pastaLasagnoni, Bardele LasagneSquare or rectangle sheets of pasta that sometimes have fluted edges (lasagne ricce). The square of pasta is lasagna while the dish is lasagne.Possibly from Latin lasanum or Greek lasonon, "Cooking pot", or the Greco-Roman laganum, a flat piece of breadbardele, lasagnoni (Veneto); capellasci (Liguria); sagne (Salento); lagana (Apulia); the fluted version can also be doppio festone, sciabo, sciablo LasagnetteNarrower version of lasagnaLittle lasagne LasagnotteLonger version of lasagnetteBigger lasagna LinguineFlattened spaghettiLittle tonguesBavettine, bavette fini, radichini, linguettine Maccheroni alla molinaraVery thick, long, hand-pulled pastaThe miller’s wife’s pastaAbruzzo Maccheroncini di CampofiloneThin strands of egg-based pasta. Similar to Capelli d'angelo.Marche MafaldeLong rectangular ribbons with ruffled sidesNamed in honor of Princess Mafalda of SavoyReginette, frese, tagliatelle nervate, signorine, trinette, ricciarelle, sfresatine, nastri, nastriniNaples MatricianiSimilar to perciatelli, but folded over rather than hollowed out PappardelleThick flat ribbons of egg-based doughFrom Tuscan papparsi, "to pig out"Papparelle, paparele (Veneto); paspardelle (Marche)Tuscany and northern Italy Perciatelli"Virtually identical to bucatini"From perciare, "to hollow"Maccheroncelli, Maccheroncini, Mezzanelli, Long MacaroniCampania PicaggeFlat strands about 1.5cm wide. Thinner sheet than lasagna. Can be white or green.In Savonese dialect the name refers to the ribbons used as ornaments by dressmakers. In Genovese dialect however the word means napkin and refers to the size and shape of the pasta.Picaje or piccaggeLiguria, in particular the province of Savona PiciVery thick, irregular and long, hand-rolled pastaFrom appiciare, "to stick"Lunghetti (Montalcino); pinci (Montepulciano); umbrici/ciriole (Umbria)Tuscany PillusVery thin ribbonsLisanzedas, a variation; large discs in lasagne-like layersSardinia RusticheSerrated ribbonsLiterally the feminine plural of rustico, meaning 'rustic'Apulia Sagne 'ncannulateLong tube formed of twisted ribbonCaned lasagne Scialatelli or scialatielliShort, flat ribbonsSorrento SpaghettiA long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin, made of semolina or flour and water.Definition of spaghetti. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: 3 June 2008). Spaghettini and spaghettoni are slightly thinner or thicker, respectively."Little strings". Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine".Fide/fidi, fidelini, ristoranti, vermicelloni, filatelli, vermicelloni gigantiSicily Spaghetti alla chitarraSquare spaghetti, made of egg and flourNamed after the guitar-like device used to cut the pasta, which has a wooden frame strung with metal wires. Sheets of pasta are pressed down onto the device, and then the wires are "strummed" so the slivers of pasta fall through.Tonnarelli, maccheroni alla chitarraAbruzzo Spaghettini A slightly thinner version of spaghettiThin spaghettiThin spaghetti SpaghettoniA slightly thicker version of spaghettiThick spaghettiSpaghetti spessi StringozziSimilar to shoelacesShoestring-like, shoelaces Su FilindeuExtremely rare pasta, made of thinly pulled and folded dough which is laid in the sun to dryThe threads (or wool) of GodSardinia TagliatelleRibbons of egg-based pasta. Generally narrower than fettuccine.From the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut"Tagliarelli, reginelle, fresine, nastri, fettuccelle, fettucce romane, fiadi, tagliolini; tagliatelle smalzade (Trentino); lesagnetes (Veneto); bardele (Lombardia); fettuccine (Lazio); pincinelle (Colonna); tagghiarini (Sicily); taddarini (Sardinia)Emilia-Romagna (part. Bologna) TaglioliniThinner version of tagliatelleFrom the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut"Tagliolini; tagliatini (Tuscany); tajarin (Piedmont)Liguria, Piedmont TrenetteThin ribbon ridged on one side. Slightly thicker than linguine. TripolineThick ribbon ridged on one sideSignorine VermicelliA traditional pasta round that is thinner than spaghettiLittle wormsCampania ZitiLong, narrow hose-like tubes larger than mezzani (also called mezzi ziti) or bucatini that are traditionally broken before being put to cook. The addition of the word rigati (e.g. ziti rigati) denotes lines or ridges on the pasta's surface. Ziti candelati are longer, zitoni a bit larger.Bride and bridegroom (ziti is plural) in Sicilian dialectBoccolotti, zitoni, zituane, candele, ziti candelatiSicily, Southern Italy
Short-cut pasta Short-cut pasta () are mostly made by extrusion.