Heather Broster
The Italian word for daughter is figlia (plural: figlie) which is the feminine equivalent of figlio (son). Ho una figlia e due figli. I have a daughter and two sons. It can also refer to young girl in general, or even an adult woman, in compassionate or affectionate statements. Povera figlia, come ti sei ridotta! …
All languages have their own way of fare un brindisi, or toasting the health of other people. In English, we say Cheers!, in Japanese they say Kampai! and in French you’ll hear À votre santé! but what about Italian? Well, a favourite amongst learners is the onomatopoeic expression Cin cin! (pronounced chin chin). Cin cin …
The word welcome – as in the polite and friendly greeting you use upon someone’s arrival – can be translated as benvenuto in Italian. The end of the word changes depending on whether you are addressing a man, woman or multiple men and women. Benvenuti alla mia festa! Welcome to my party! The same word …
If you’ve only just arrived in Italy and your vocabulary hasn’t progressed far beyond ciao and grazie, there is a survival phrase you should definitely make an effort to learn: Do you speak English? Italian has both formal and informal registers, so if you’re addressing a stranger on the street or in a shop, the …
There are literally hundreds of words in the English language that sound or look similar to their Italian equivalents. This is because English has been heavily influenced by Latinate and Romance sources, such as French and Anglo-Norman, ever since the Early Middle Ages. In this article, I’m not going to be investigating Italian-sounding words that …
English speakers are taught from an early age that putting more than one negative in a sentence is grammatically incorrect. In fact, I’m sure my English teacher would have spontaneously combusted had I ever written “I don’t have nothing,” in one of my essays! Not so in Italian! In the language of love, it is …