Valentina Nicastro
You’ve just landed in Italy. Obviously, you’ve already memorised all the food vocabulary (priorities!). Maybe you’ve also rehearsed a few survival phrases. But at some point (and trust me, it will happen) you’ll also need to explain how your body feels. And I’m not just talking about the “I think that fifth gelato was a …
Have you ever heard of a Tuscan pasta dish called gnudi? They’re basically ravioli with no pasta wrapper, just the delicious filling, served as it is. Naked dumplings, if you will. Which brings us—quite naturally and very deliciously—to today’s word: nudo. nudo In Italian, nudo can work both as an adjective and as a masculine …
Italian is a beautiful, musical language — we can all agree on that, right? But there’s a specific category of the vocabulary that’s honestly next-level. I’m talking about words for sounds, the ones that don’t just describe a rustling leaf or a crackling fire, they sound like one. From a grammatical point of view, many …
Do you need to scrub the floor to remove that stubborn stain? Maybe you’ve realized they made you pay way too much for that coffee? Or perhaps someone grabbed the last taxi right under your nose? In Italian, we have one verb that perfectly captures the frustration (and action!) in all these situations: fregare. fregare …
Whether you’re marveling at a mosaic tucked inside a quiet neighborhood church or letting your local friend know that the wine they recommended is absolutely incredible, at some point knowing how to express that you like something in Italian becomes kind of essential. But of course, there isn’t just one way to say it. Instead, …
As beautiful as it can be, love often brings a side of drama, jealousy, and the occasional betrayal that makes you want to throw your partner’s belongings out the window. And that leads us to today’s word: cornuto In a nutshell, cornuto in Italian means “cuckold:” it’s the betrayed one, the unfortunate soul who is …