Heather Broster
The word for any small bowl-shaped drinking container with a handle is tazza in Italian. Unlike most Italian words which derive from Latin, the origin of the word tazza can be traced back to the Arabic ṭasa. Two possible translations in English are cup and mug. Tazza is a feminine noun. The plural is tazze. …
One word for late in Italian is tardi, which should be very easy to remember as we have the same word in English, albeit spelt with a word-final ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’. Both the Italian and the English tardy can be traced back to the Latin tardus meaning ‘slow’. The expressions essere tardi (lit. …
As a self-proclaimed language geek, I am constantly on the lookout for new and innovative methods to improve my language skills, especially those that allow me to save oodles of time and streamline the learning process. I first discovered LingQ (pronounced ‘link’) while watching an episode of Podcast Italiano in which the host, Davide, interviews …
In Italian, the portable device we use to make phone calls, browse the Internet, take photos and send messages, is called a cellulare. It comes from the Latin word cellularis, which in turn derives from the word cellula meaning ‘little chamber’. Cellulare is a masculine noun. The plural is cellulari. un cellulareil cellulare dei cellularii …
The word for a parrot in Italian is pappagallo. It entered the Italian language from the Arabic babaġā via the Greek papagâs. Pappagallo is a masculine noun. The plural is pappagalli. un pappagalloil pappagallo dei pappagallii pappagalli Ieri ho visitato uno zoo e ho visto tanti pappagalli colorati. Yesterday I visited a zoo and saw …
In Italian, there are two main ways to translate the expression “I would like…” This is because “I would like…” actually has two subtly different meanings. On one hand, we use “I would like…” to say that it would please us to do something, even if that thing may not feasible at that moment in …