Valentina Nicastro
Have you ever spotted a celebrity name and thought, “Hang on, that sounds Italian!” Yep, some surnames carry that unmistakable Italian rhythm, you just know it as soon as you hear them said aloud. But what’s the story behind them? Are they tied to deep-rooted family heritage, or just some distant cousin in the family …
Permesso looks and sounds a lot like the English permission, and yes, they’re related. But this word has a couple more layers to explore. permesso permission / excuse me / may I…? Grammatically speaking, permesso is the past participle of the verb permettere, which means to allow, to authorise, or, when used reflexively as permettersi, …
Just whisper the word mare (sea) and you’re halfway to a mental vacation: the sound of crashing waves, a chilled Spritz in hand, and that unmistakable scent of salsedine (salty air) in the face. But did you know that mare is also used for a series of everyday Italian idioms? Yep, we love the sea …
It can sum up a point, show hesitation, express annoyance, or even say “not really” without saying it. Insomma, do you know how to use insomma in Italian? If you’ve been learning Italian or simply love the language and culture, chances are you’ve stumbled across this curious adverb. We use it everywhere, but it doesn’t …
Casino is a word we use a lot in everyday Italian. But unlike in English, it has (almost) nothing to do with slot machines and James Bond. It comes from casa (house) combined with the diminutive suffix -ino, so it literally means “little house.” Sounds simple, right? Not really. This Italian word has a surprising …
Italian is often described as the language of music, poetry, and passion, where even a grocery list can sound sexy. I mean, try saying prosciutto out loud. It’s got a certain rhythm that is hard to resist, doesn’t it? But here’s the real question: as beautiful as it sounds, is Italian actually easy to learn …