Tea will forever be my preferred hot drink, whether I’m at home, in a coffee shop, or on the road travelling. And if someone serves me a bad cuppa in the morning – well – that’s enough to put me in a bad mood for the rest of my day!
Italians have the same affinity for il caffè (coffee) that the Brits have for il tè, so much so that they’ve even coined a specific word for a bad cup of coffee: ciofeca.
Ciofeca is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
- la ciofeca
- le ciofeche
- una ciofeca
- delle ciofeche
Altro che espresso, questa è una ciofeca!
This isn’t an espresso, it’s dishwater!
Although the exact origin of the word is unknown, one possibility according to Treccani is the Spanish chufa meaning “tiger nut” (an edible tuber produced by the plant Cyperus esculentus). It began as a southern term but soon spread to the rest of Italy, in part thanks to the medium of cinema. Italian actor Totò, in particular, often used the word in his films.
“Ma chi l’ha fatto questo caffè?”
“L’ho fatto io. Perché? Non è buono?”
“È una ciofeca!”
“Who made this coffee?”
“I did. Why? Isn’t it good?”
“It’s awful!”
Over the years, the meaning of ciofeca has expanded to refer more broadly to anything of poor quality, turning it into a close synonym of the more common term schifezza. Another “sacred” drink it is commonly used to refer to is vino (wine). In some regions of Italy, it is even used to describe a person’s appearance, or how one is feeling.
Questo computer è una ciofeca.
This computer is a piece of crap.
Oggi sto proprio una ciofeca.
I feel awful today.
So, the next time you’re in a café and you feel like you’re drinking dishwater, don’t forget the word ciofeca. Saying it may not make your drink any tastier, but at least you’ll be able to impress your Italian companions with your vast vocabulary!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
