Italian Word of the Day: Tatuaggio (tattoo)

The word for a design made by inserting pigment into punctures in the skin is tatuaggio (masculine, plural: tatuaggi) in Italian. It derives from the French tatouage, which in turn comes from the English tattoo. Learn with our video There are two ways of saying ‘to get a tattoo‘ in Italian: There isn’t a big …

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Italian Word of the Day: Scavezzacollo (daredevil)

The word for a reckless young person who leads a wild, free and unruly life is scavezzacollo in Italian. Three possible translations in English include daredevil, risk-taker and tearaway. Learn with our video It is composed of two words: scavezzare, a single verb that means to break the top off a tree or more generally …

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Italian Word of the Day: Magna magna / Mangia mangia

One of our readers recently asked us what the expression mangia mangia means in Italian. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, let’s take a quick look at what mangia means on its own, and how Italians use this word to create various idiomatic expressions. Learn with our video What does “mangia” mean in Italian? …

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