Heather Broster
The word mozzafiato in Italian translates as breathtaking in English. It is a combination of the verb mozzare (to cut off) and the noun fiato (breath), two words that also make up the expression mozzare il fiato (to take one’s breath away). In both languages, these words refer to anything that arouses so much amazement …
This week’s phrase is bound to come in handy if you see or hear about something that defies belief. Non ci posso credere! I can’t believe it! It is made up of the following components: Note that it is possible to move ci from its position between non and posso to the end of credere …
The word for bee in Italian is ape (feminine, plural: api). It comes from the Latin apis of the same meaning. Honeybees (api domestiche or api comuni) live in beehives (alveari) or colonies (colonie) which may consist of as few as 20,000 or more than 100,000 bees. The roles in the hive are as follows: …
One of the most common terms for someone who dislikes hard work, and consequently limits himself to doing only what is strictly necessary is scansafatiche. In English, some of the closest translations would be lazybones, idler and slacker to name a few. It is formed of two parts: the verb scansare (to avoid, dodge) and …
In celebration of Thanksgiving, we’ve chosen ringraziamento (masculine, plural: ringraziamenti) as today’s Italian word of the day. Formed of the verb ringraziare (to thank) and the suffix -mento, it translates as thanks / thank-you, thanksgiving or gratitude. Below are some useful verbs you’ll often see paired with ringraziamento: fare i (propri) ringraziamenti = to thank, …
Infradito is a type of summer shoe in leather, rubber, straw or plastic, in which the sole is secured to the foot by a strip (called a toe post) that passes between the big toe and the second toe. In English, we call these shoes flip-flops, thong sandals or toe-post sandals depending on the style. …