Valentina Nicastro
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 …
We say “a lot”… well, a lot! We eat a lot. Laugh a lot. Binge-watch a lot of TV series. It’s one of those everyday expressions we use all the time without even thinking about it. But when it comes to saying it in Italian, you might suddenly realise you don’t actually know that many …
So, you get asked Come stai? and before you can think, you’ve already replied Tutto bene. Sure, it’s the classic. It works perfectly fine. But if that’s what you say every single time, it can start to feel a little boring. After all, “I’m fine” can hide different meanings: really good, kind of okay, stressed …