Heather Broster
The word for bottle in Italian is the similar-sounding bottiglia (feminine, plural: bottiglie). Unlike many Italian words which can be traced directly to Latin, bottiglia comes from the Spanish botilla meaning wine vessel. Drinks generally come in two types: bottiglie di plastica (plastic bottles) or bottiglie di vetro (glass bottles). When talking about small bottles …
Today, as I was listening to the classic Lucio Battisti hit Ancora Tu on the radio, I was reminded of myself at 23 years old, strolling under the portici (arcades) of Via Roma in Torino, iPod in hand, doggedly trying to memorise the lyrics, and in particular, our word of the day which appears in …
If you are learning Italian and thinking of studying another language at the same time, one of the easiest you can choose is French. Although they share many similar characteristics due to their shared Latin heritage, there is enough that sets them apart to keep you entertained and challenged. Here are just a handful of …
When I first started learning Italian, the verb whose usage confused me more than any other was piacere, which means to like. To understand why this verb is so confusing for English speakers, let’s take a look at our phrase of the week: (Tu)* mi piaci! I like you! *Note: personal pronouns like tu are …
Two Italian words that many people have heard before, even if they aren’t actively studying the language of love, are bellissimo and bellissima. Curious to find out what they mean? Then keep on reading! The Meaning of Bellissimo Bellissimo is the absolute superlative of bello, a masculine adjective that can translate in numerous ways including …
A noun that describes someone who loves sleeping, or habitually sleeps in a lot, especially in the morning, is dormiglione (masculine, plural dormiglioni) or dormigliona (feminine, plural dormiglione) in Italian. The best translations are sleepyhead and late riser. Today’s word is the combination of the verb dormire (to sleep) and the suffix -one which is …