Italian Word of the Day: Visto che (given that / since)

Today we will be talking about visto che, a very useful Italian conjunction that can be translated in numerous ways, including: Visto che introduces a causal clause (a clause that expresses the reason of the main clause) with the verb in the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. Visto che era stanco, l’ho messo a dormire …

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Italian Word of the Day: A prescindere da (regardless / apart from)

Today we have an expression that, if used correctly, can go a long way in helping you sound like a fluent Italian speaker! A prescindere da is used to indicate something you purposely do not take into account, leave out of consideration, or put to one side. The expression comes from the verb prescindere which …

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Italian Word of the Day: Barlume (flicker / glimmer)

What I consider a rather romantic-sounding term in Italian is barlume (masculine, plural: barlumi) which is the word for any kind of dim light, such as a glimmer, flicker or gleam. It derives from the word lume (one possible translation for light in Italian) and the prefix bar- which is akin to the pejorative prefix …

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Italian Word of the Day: Scavezzacollo (daredevil)

The word for a reckless young person who leads a wild, free and unruly life is scavezzacollo in Italian. Three possible translations in English include daredevil, risk-taker and tearaway. Learn with our video It is composed of two words: scavezzare, a single verb that means to break the top off a tree or more generally …

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Italian Word of the Day: Magna magna / Mangia mangia

One of our readers recently asked us what the expression mangia mangia means in Italian. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, let’s take a quick look at what mangia means on its own, and how Italians use this word to create various idiomatic expressions. Learn with our video What does “mangia” mean in Italian? …

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