Heather Broster
In English, we have but one word for day but in Italian, there are two: giorno and giornata. Knowing which to use can be tricky if you’ve only just started learning the language, so here are some helpful tips to clear up the confusion! Giorno It takes 24 hours for the earth to rotate on …
The Italian word for angel looks and sounds extremely similar to its English equivalent: angelo. Angelo is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: The word derives from the Latin angelus via the Greek angelos meaning messenger. Angeli play an important role in the Christian religion, as they are believed to …
We already talked about the word festa (party / celebration) in a previous ‘word of the day’ article but did you know that you can transform it into a verb as well? The verb festeggiare means to celebrate, to party or to make merry in Italian and can be used to talk about birthdays, anniversaries …
The word for decoration (or ornament) in Italian is decorazione which, given the shared origin of the two words, shouldn’t be in the least bit difficult for English speakers to remember! The word derives from the Late Latin decoratio(n), which in turn comes from the verb decorare. As a feminine noun, it takes the following …
We all love a funny idiom, especially those whose content seems to have nothing to do with the intended meaning. Some good examples in English include kick the bucket (to die), Bob’s your uncle (it’s as simple as that), and a piece of cake (easy)…but what about Italian? It turns out that it too has …
Are you a fan of the fluffy white stuff that falls out of the sky close to Christmastime? Well, then you might be keen to learn what it is called in Italian! The word for snow in Italian is neve (feminine, plural: nevi). It is contained within lots of words associated with snow including: Nevoso …