When you start learning Italian, numbers are probably one of the very first things you pick up. Uno (one), due (two), tre (three)… you memorise them, practise a little, and then move on to other topics.
Then you hear real, everyday Italian, and suddenly those numbers stop being mere quantities. Take due (two) for example: it’s used in many different expressions and sayings that range from turning someone down romantically to avoiding a question we’d rather not answer.
So, let’s dive into this other side of due with 11 phrases we say all the time. At the end, I’ll also share a useful pattern you can use when chatting in Italian.
1. Avere due pesi e due misure
To have double standards
(Lit. “To have two weights and two measures”)
It’s when rules and standards are applied differently depending on who’s involved, like when we bend them for the people we favour.
The expression comes from the old marketplace, where dishonest merchants used different weights for their balance scales: a heavier one for buying (so they got more than they paid for), and a lighter one for selling (so customers got less than they paid for). Same scale, same goods, but different standards!
Non puoi usare due pesi e due misure a seconda della convenienza; le regole devono valere per tutti.
You can’t have double standards depending on what suits you; the rules have to apply to everyone.
2. Tenere il piede in due scarpe
To keep a foot in both camps
(Lit. “To keep the foot in two shoes”)
This one is for all those furbetti/e (sneaky little opportunists) who keep themselves in two different situations at once since fa comodo (it’s convenient). Like promising support to both mayoral candidates so as not to upset anyone. Or dating two people at the same time because, well, why choose?
The beauty of this idiom is that it’s instantly visual: you can picture someone trying to keep one foot in both shoes, struggling to maintain their balance, and sooner or later they’re bound to fall. Which, at the end of the day, is what tends to happen to people who like to tenere il piede in due scarpe!
Se continui a tenere il piede in due scarpe, rischi di perdere tutto.
If you keep trying to keep a foot in both camps, you risk losing everything.
3. Dare il due di picche
To turn someone down romantically
(Lit. “To give the two of spades“)
This expression has its roots in Italian card-playing tradition, where the due di picche (two of spades) is a notoriously bad card to draw in certain games. And receiving it has become the perfect metaphor for getting rejected in love. So, dare il due di picche essentially means to turn down a romantic advance.
But it’s not something we say directly to the person we are rejecting. It’s more the kind of thing our friends would tease us with the second we tell them what happened. Like when we ask our crush out, they say no, and our friends hit us with:
Ti ha dato un bel due di picche eh!
Ouch, you got rejected!
4. Dire due parole
To say a few words
(Lit. “To say two words”)
We use this when we want to say something briefly. That due doesn’t literally mean “two” here; it’s just a casual way of saying “a few,” suggesting that whatever is coming won’t take long.
The exact meaning of this expression depends on the context, as it can be used in different situations. For example:
- To give a short speech or make a few remarks.
Vorrei dire due parole prima di iniziare.
I’d like to say a few words before we start.
- To invite someone to make a brief comment or statement.
Sindaco, vuole dire due parole sui risultati degli ultimi sondaggi?
Mayor, would you like to say a few words about the latest poll results?
- To have a quick private conversation with someone (that famous “we need to talk” moment).
Vieni un attimo, devo dirti due parole in privato.
Come here a minute, I need to have a word with you in private.
In this sense, you may also hear the diminutive form dire due paroline (literally, “to say two little words”), which may sound all cute but in reality it’s what we often say right before giving someone a piece of our mind.
Quel maleducato ha di nuovo parcheggiato davanti al mio garage. Adesso vado a dirgli due paroline!
That rude guy parked in front of my garage again. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.
5. Essere due cuori e una capanna
To live on love alone
(Lit. “To be two hearts and a hut”)
Ah, us Italians and our romantic imagery: this is the picture of two people so deeply in love that they don’t need anything else, just each other and a little hut!
Taken literally, this expression is genuinely sweet:
A loro bastava stare insieme: erano proprio due cuori e una capanna.
All they needed was to be together: they truly lived on love alone.
But we actually use it way more often to playfully tease those couples who insist that they only care about love, only to turn out to be rather fond of la bella vita (the good life)!
Altro che due cuori e una capanna, si sono comprati una villa con piscina!
Forget living on love alone, they bought themselves a villa with a pool!
6. Essere tra due fuochi
To be caught in the middle
(Lit. “To be between two fires”)
We have a very vivid image here: there’s fire on one side, fire on the other, and we have nowhere to run. Not exactly a great spot to be in. In everyday conversation, we use this expression figuratively to mean that we find ourselves torn between two sides, such as playing referee between two arguing friends or mediating between a demanding client and a strict manager.
Il capo dice di chiudere il progetto, il cliente continua a chiedere modifiche e io sono tra due fuochi!
My boss wants to finish the project, while the client keeps asking for changes, and I’m caught in the middle!
7. Non c’è due senza tre
Good things come in threes
(Lit. “There is no two without three”)
You know when you’re already running late for a meeting and then, just to make things worse, your car breaks down too? That’s the kind of situation for non c’è due senza tre: something (in this case, bad luck) has already happened twice, so obviously, a third time is bound to follow.
That’s because three has always been considered a bit of a “perfect number”, so non c’è due senza tre plays on the idea that once a pattern starts with two things happening, the universe requires a third to complete the cycle!
We usually say this jokingly when a couple of bad things have already occurred and we are expecting more. But it works for good luck too: if two good things have already come our way, why not hope for a third?
A: Uffa, è la seconda volta che dimentico il portafoglio a casa questa settimana! – B: Sai come si dice, non c’è due senza tre…
Damn, this is the second time I’ve forgotten my wallet at home this week! – You know what they say, things come in threes…
8. Ogni due per tre
Very often
(Lit. “Every two for three”)
In Italian, we have plenty of adverbs for talking about things that happen often: spesso (often), frequentemente (frequently), di continuo (constantly), ripetutamente (repeatedly), and so on. But when something happens so often it starts to get a little annoying, we reach for maths instead and say ogni due per tre.
This expression is very common in everyday spoken Italian. For example, it’s the kind of thing we might say about someone whose behaviour is starting to drive us a little crazy, like:
Il mio capo cambia idea ogni due per tre, non lo sopporto più!
My boss changes his mind all the time. I can’t stand it anymore!
Or we might use it to tease someone about a habit they can’t seem to resist:
Ogni due per tre compra un biglietto e parte, è più forte di lei.
She’s always buying a ticket and taking off, she just can’t help it.
Fun fact: if you flip the word order and say tre per due instead of due per tre, you get the classic supermarket offer, “buy two, get one free” in Italian!
Questa settimana c’è il tre per due sui biscotti del Mulino Bianco.
This week, there’s a buy-two-get-one-free deal on Mulino Bianco cookies.
9. Perchè due non fa tre
Because that’s just how it is
(Lit. “Because two doesn’t make three”)
You know when a little kid won’t stop asking “why” and you’ve run out of answers? Sure, you can always use classics like perché sì (because yes), perché no (because no),or perché è così (because that’s how it is), but there’s a more playful way to shut down such questions: perché due non fa tre.
It’s an answer that makes absolutely no sense, and that’s the whole point: it’s confusing enough to make them surrender. But use it only with close friends who are asking annoying questions or with kids who’ve asked “why” one too many times.
A: Perchè io non posso volare? E perché gli uccelli sì? – B: Perchè due non fa tre!
Why can’t I fly? And why can birds? – Because that’s just how it is!
10. Prendere due piccioni con una fava
To kill two birds with a stone
(Lit. “To catch two pigeons with one fava bean”)
The origin of this expression, sadly for the pigeons involved, comes from an old hunting method. Back in the day, a fava bean was tied to a string and left where a pigeon could find it. If the pigeon swallowed it, the fava bean could get stuck in its throat, making the bird easy to catch. Every now and then, one bean would even help catch two pigeons, marking a lucky day for the hunter.
Today, prendere due piccioni con una fava is much more innocent: we simply use it to describe getting two things done with a single action, no birds harmed!
Devo andare in posta per ritirare una raccomandata e, già che ci sono, chiedo informazioni per spedire il pacco a Lucia, così prendo due piccioni con una fava.
I need to go to the post office to pick up a registered letter, and while I’m there, I’ll ask about shipping the package to Lucia. That way, I kill two birds with one stone.
11. Su due piedi
On the spot
(Lit. “On two feet”)
The image behind this idiom is pretty simple: we are standing there on our two feet, when suddenly we are hit with a question or a task we weren’t expecting, and there’s no time to sit down and think, we just have to react right where we are standing.
So, we use su due piedi a lot when someone asks us something or expects an immediate decision right away, and we need a little more time.
A: Secondo te, qual è la città più bella d’Italia? – B: Ma, così su due piedi non saprei, ce ne sono davvero troppe!
In your opinion, what’s the most beautiful city in Italy? – Hmm, I wouldn’t know on the spot, there are just too many!
And this expression works just as well the other way around, when someone does something out of the blue, with zero warning. For example:
Eravamo insieme alla festa, poi lui ha ricevuto una telefonata e se ne è andato, così, su due piedi.
We were at the party together, then he got a phone call and just left, right on the spot.
Using DUE as an indefinite value
To wrap things up, here’s one incredibly useful pattern you’ll hear all the time in spoken Italian.
Remember expression #4 dire due parole? In phrases like that, due (two) often isn’t meant as an exact number. Instead, it’s used to mean a small, unspecified amount, like “a couple” or “a few.”
There are many phrases and expressions where we use due this way, such as:
- Fare due chiacchiere: To have a little chat (lit. “to make two chats”)
Passa da me quando finisci, così facciamo due chiacchiere.
Come over when you’re done, so we can have a chat.
- Fare due passi: To go for a little walk (lit. “to make two steps”)
Ti va di fare due passi?
Do you feel like going for a little walk?
- Fare due conti: To do the math (lit. “to make two calculations”)
Facendo due conti, ci conviene prendere il treno invece dell’aereo.
When you do the math, it makes more sense for us to take the train instead of flying.
- Fare due foto: To take a few pictures (lit. “to make two pictures”)
Aspettami qui, vado a fare due foto a quella chiesetta.
Wait here, I’m going to take a couple of photos of that little church.
- Farsi due risate: To have a laugh (lit. “to make two laughs”)
E fatti due risate! Sei troppo serio!
Come on, have a laugh! You’re too serious!
- Essere a due passi: To be just a short distance away (lit. “to be at two steps”)
Parcheggiamo qui, tanto il ristorante è a due passi.
Let’s park here. The restaurant is just a short walk away anyway.
- Aspettare due minuti: To wait a couple of minutes (lit. “to wait two minutes”). Here, due minuti can be an actual two minutes, but in everyday speech it often just means “a couple of minutes.”
Aspetta due minuti prima di riaccendere la macchina.
Wait a couple of minutes before turning the car back on.
- Masticare due parole di…: To know/ to speak a little… (lit. “to chew two words of…”)
Mastico due parole di francese. Diciamo che riesco a ordinare un caffè al bar.
I know a little French. Let’s just say I can order a coffee at the bar.
Valentina Nicastro is a travel writer in love with her home country, Italy. Having travelled widely around the globe, she realised there was more to explore closer to home and decided to put the passport aside for a while. When she is not immersed in documenting Italy, you’ll find her donning her communication consultant hat, weaving words as a content writer and bridging linguistic divides as a translator.
