Heather Broster
If there is one thing that all followers of this website have in common, it is our shared love for Italy and the Italian language. This week’s phrase will allow you to express that love in its purest form: Amo l’Italia! I love Italy! Let’s take a moment to deconstruct the phrase, shall we? Amo …
The Italian word for a mirror is specchio. It comes from the Latin speculum, which is a derivative of the Latin verb specere meaning to look. Specchio is a masculine noun. Take away the final -o and you have the plural, specchi. uno specchiolo specchio degli specchigli specchi There are two ways to express the …
If you find yourself regularly coming up against stumbling blocks while trying to realise your goals, you’ll definitely find the word intoppo useful! Intoppo is a masculine noun. The plural is intoppi. l’intoppoun intoppo gli intoppidegli intoppi Intoppo, which comes from the verb intoppare (to crash, collide, stumble), describes the act of colliding with an …
The word for lake in Italian in lago, which derives from the Latin lacum of the same meaning. Lago is a masculine noun whose plural form in laghi. Remember to insert the letter ‘h’ between ‘g’ and ‘i’ to preserve the hardness of the ‘g’! il lago = the lakeun lago = a lake i …
The noun sbaglio in Italian, which means mistake or error, is a derivative of the verb sbagliare (to make a mistake), which itself is a combination of the subtractive prefix s- and abbagliare (to blind, to dazzle). Sbaglio is a masculine noun, but because it starts with s + consonant, the definite and indefinite articles …
Although the words lizard and lucertola share the same Latin origin – the word lacertus which meant lizard, sea fish or muscle – I think many of you would agree that the Italian has a much prettier ring to it! Lucertola is a feminine singular noun that becomes lucertole in its plural form. la lucertolauna …