Heather Broster
If there is one thing that stops us from becoming more confident speakers of Italian, it’s that ever-looming sense of doubt in our own abilities. Doubt in Italian can be translated as dubbio, which should be easy to remember given how similar they look and sound. dubbio doubt The origin of dubbio is straightforward – …
If you’ve ever been faced with a difficult or seemingly unresolvable problem, you could define it in Italian as una bella gatta da pelare, or literally, a beautiful female cat to skin. avere una bella gatta da pelare to have a difficult problem to resolve So, where does this expression come from? Though its exact …
The Italian expression Tanta roba! began as a slang phrase used among the younger generations but has now spread to the lingo of all Italians, both young and young-at-heart. I’ve even heard my suocera (mother-in-law) say it every now and then, and she’s 82! tanta roba Tanta is the feminine form of tanto, meaning many …
Ci è mancato poco is a common Italian expression used to indicate that an event, often negative, was narrowly avoided. It corresponds perfectly to the English idiom “a close one” or “a close call”. Ci è mancato poco! That was a close one! Let’s break it down into its component parts: Let’s start with the …
Whilst touring Montepulciano, one of our guides recounted the story of how, in 2016, a man had entered La Chiesa di San Biagio and after broking the protective glass in front of the fresco depicting the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, stole her crowns. Unfortunately, the thief was never apprehended, nor were the crowns ever …
Since I began learning languages over 20 years ago, one thing that has always struck me is how often different languages have idioms or proverbs that convey the same idea, yet express it in completely different ways. A good example is today’s proverb, Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca, which roughly corresponds to the English …