Heather Broster
If you want to tell someone that the answer they have given is correct in Italian, you can use the phrase Hai ragione. Let’s take a quick look at how this phrase is formed: hai is the second-person singular form of the verb avere (to have). It literally means you have. The pronoun tu (you) …
You may be surprised to learn that a word Italians commonly used to denote the toilet bowl is water! It was abbreviated from the dated English term water closet, which is just another name for a typical flush toilet, or more broadly, the small room containing said toilet. Be aware, however, that in Italian the …
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 …