The adverb perfino in Italian is made up of the prefix per– and the preposition fino (up to, as far as). It is used much in the same way as the adverb even in English, in that it emphasises something surprising or extreme. Important: perfino has an alternative form, persino, but don’t worry, they are …
Balordo is one of those fun Italian adjectives that you will rarely see in a textbook, but comes up all the time in casual conversation between native speakers. Its etymological origin has not been confirmed. It may derive from the French balourd, which in turn comes from the ancient French beslourd. Learn with our video …
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 …