Italian Word of the Day: Incubo (nightmare)

Dreams (sogni) are stories and images that our minds create while we are in a phase of sleep called REM (rapid eye movement). Most tend to be entertaining, romantic or even bizarre, but sometimes you may find yourself tangled up in a frightening incubo (masculine, plural: incubi), which is the word for nightmare in Italian. …

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Italian Word of the Day: Tirchio (stingy)

Are you wondering what the best Italian word is to describe that Scrooge in your life, the one who wouldn’t part with a penny if his or her life depended on it? Well, you’re in luck! 😉 The word for stingy in Italian is tirchio. According to Treccani, it likely comes from the old dialectal …

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Italian Word of the Day: Aprile (April)

Today is the first day of April (il primo giorno di aprile), otherwise known as April Fools’ Day or Pesce d’Aprile in Italian! A classic prank on Pesce d’Aprile involves taping a paper fish onto another person’s back. The idea is that everyone walks around, asking where the pesce d’aprile is until the unsuspecting victim …

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Italian Word of the Day: Faticoso (tiring)

The word faticoso in Italian, which translates as tiring or strenuous, comes from the verb faticare which is how you would say to labour or to struggle. It shares the same origin as the word fatigue in English. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on whether you are talking about a masculine, …

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Italian Word of the Day: Asciugamano (towel)

Whenever you have a shower, jump in the bath or visit the beach, one thing you should never forget is your trusty asciugamano (masculine, plural: asciugamani), which is the Italian word for towel. A compound word made up of the verb asciugare (to dry) and mano (hand), it literally translates as hand-dryer! Mi sono asciugato …

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Italian Phrase of the Week: Lavati le mani! (Wash your hands!)

Something all parents must teach their kids as they grow up is the importance of washing one’s hands, which translates as lavarsi le mani in Italian. This clause is made up of three parts: lavarsi (reflexive verb ‘to wash oneself‘) + le (definite article ‘the‘) + mani (‘hands‘) Below you can see the straightforward conjugation …

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