Italian Word of the Day: Albero di Natale (Christmas tree)

It’s officially December, and you know what that means – we can finally put up our Christmas trees without feeling as if we’re jumping the gun! The word for Christmas tree in Italian is albero di Natale (masculine, plural: alberi di Natale). Albero is the word for tree while Natale is the word for Christmas. …

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Italian Word of the Day: Formaggio (cheese)

It is difficult to imagine Italy without conjuring up images of pane (bread), vino (wine), pasta, pizza, and of course, cheese. The generic word for cheese in Italian is formaggio (masculine, plural: formaggi) and as everyone knows, many of the most famous cheeses in the world originate from Italy. In fact, it is estimated that there …

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Italian Word of the Day: Nuovo (new)

The usage of the adjective nuovo (feminine: nuova, plural: nuovi or nuove) in Italian is almost identical to the word new in English. Just as it can refer to something that didn’t exist before, it can also describe something produced, introduced, or discovered recently or for the first time, or an unused item. Ho comprato …

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10 Ways to Respond to “Grazie” (Thank You) in Italian

When someone says “Thank you!” in English, there is more than one way we can respond depending on the formality of the situation and who we are talking to. Unsurprisingly the same applies to the Italian language. In this article, we take a look at ten of the most popular ways of responding to “Grazie!” …

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Italian Word of the Day: Terra (Earth)

The Italian word for the beautiful blue planet we all call home is la Terra (the Earth). It is normally spelled with a capital T in scientific contexts. Terra La Terra gira intorno al Sole. The Earth revolves around the Sun. Terra in its uncapitalised form (plural: terre) may be used to refer to the …

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