Generally speaking, in common use: Dare = to give Regalare = to give as a present Donare = donate Nouns: Regalo = present, gift (concrete) Dono = gift - can also be concrete but commonly more formal and abstract, as in "life is a gift = la vita è un dono" Donazione = donation

dare: to give donare: to give as a gift To express the same meaning of /donare/ the English language needs (afaik) a locution. Example: - Guarda, papa` mi ha donato questa penna! Non e` bellissima? - Look, daddy gave me this pen as a present! Isn't it beautiful? By the way, we use /regalare/ more often than /donare/, the verbs have the same meaning. regalo, dono: present We use /donare/ usually in contexts related with /giving to the poor /, or something like: /donare i soldi per una biblioteca pubblica/ and /regalare/ usually in other contexts, but this is NOT a rule.