The adjective sfasato in Italian, which derives from the verb sfasare (to dephase), is used in technical terms to mean out of phase mainly in reference to motors and electrical currents. Learn with our video What should be of interest to most learners of Italian isn’t so much the technical but rather the figurative meaning …
The adjective pignolo (also written as pignuolo in rare cases) in Italian is used to describe someone who is fussy, pedantic or extremely meticulous in nature. Learn with our video It derives from the word pigna (pine cone), but precisely how it came to denote a fussy person is uncertain. According to Treccani, this figurative …
While forse (maybe) and magari (possibly) are perfectly good words for expressing a possibility or uncertainty, an expression you simply cannot ignore if you really want to sound fluent in Italian is può darsi. It is the combination of può (the third-person singular of potere ‘to be able‘) and darsi (the reflexive form of dare …
The adjective lunatico in Italian is used to describe someone with a fickle and inconstant character, who is subject to mood swings or sudden outbursts of anger. Although it shares the same origin as the English word lunatic, its meaning is closer to moody or temperamental. Learn with our video Lunatico comes from the Latin …
Gettonato is an adjective that has interesting links to the early days of popular music. Although today it can denote almost anything that is popular or well-liked, it used to refer specifically to popular songs or singers. Learn with our video To understand why, we need to take a deeper look at the origin of …
When speaking Italian, it is all too easy to find yourself stuck in the trap of using perché whenever you want to say because. In order to sound more like a native speaker however, it is important to try and expand your vocabulary by learning some common synonyms. One such synonym is siccome which can …