Heather Broster
A wonderful Italian word I love throwing into conversation at every opportunity is intramontabile (plural: intramontabili) which is an adjective meaning timeless, everlasting, enduring, immortal or evergreen. Note that the e/i ending (singular/plural) doesn’t change according to the gender of the noun. It derives from the verb tramontare meaning to set (as in the setting …
One way of translating the word people in Italian is gente (feminine, plural: genti). Although it is almost always used in the singular form, the plural le genti can be seen in literature or when referring to a population (e.g. le genti dell’antica Roma = the people of ancient Rome). It derives from the Latin …
If someone comes up to you and starts gloating about the fact that they won the lottery, you could a) be polite and say Che bello! (That’s great!), b) act genuinely happy for the person and say Sono felicissimo/a per te! (I’m so/very happy for you!) or c) let your sarcastic side loose and respond …
Most people, regardless of whether or not they are studying the language of love, know that the word for thank you or thanks in Italian is grazie. However something of which they may not be aware is that there are eight (yes, eight!) different ways of translating thank you very much. Let’s take a look …
Crepapelle, or more specifically a crepapelle, is one of those Italian expressions that does not have a direct English equivalent. Comprising the words crepare (to crack / to die) and pelle (skin), it describes various actions that are carried out to the point of bursting or to the breaking point. The best way to understand …
An adjective that describes something in poor condition due to neglect or lack of care is trasandato (masculine). The feminine equivalent is trasandata and their respective plurals are trasandati and trasandate. It is the past participle of the obsolete verb trasandare, which is a combination of the prefix tra(n)s-, meaning across or beyond, and the …