Heather Broster
The Italian adjective molle is used to describe things that yield to touch or pressure. In English, we might use descriptors such as soft, flabby or damp depending on the object being described, but in Italian, molle neatly covers all these translations. molle soft / flabby / damp In Italian, adjectives always agree with the …
If you’ve ever tried to describe someone as beautiful in English, you might opt for phrases like natural beauty or fresh-faced. But in Italian, they take a much more literal – and, dare I say, charming – approach. Enter the idiomatic expression acqua e sapone, which translates as water and soap. Yes, you read that …
If you want to talk about older boys and young men in Italian, there is no better word than ragazzo. Let’s discover it now! ragazzo boy / guy / young man / boyfriend Ragazzo comes from the Arabic word raqqāṣ (رقّاص), which originally meant something like messenger, courier, or errand boy. This Arabic word was …
Those of you who have been following Daily Italian Words from the very beginning will know that I’m a native English speaker raising my son in my non-native language: Italian. It’s hard to believe, but he turned six a few months ago – yep, he’s almost as old as this website! He is now fully …
Do you have a quick-tempered person in your life? Or perhaps you are the irascible one? In either case, it’s worth learning the Italian adjective irascibile, which describes a person’s tendency to be easily angered. irascibile quick-tempered / irascible The adjective irascible in English certainly hasn’t fallen out of use, but it is definitely used …
There are many things we hope to avoid in life – feeling stressati (stressed), being ammalati (unwell), and experiencing infelicità (unhappiness) – but one situation that can lead to all of these is finding oneself al verde, completely broke and without a penny. essere al verde to be broke The literal translation is “to be …