Italian Word of the Day: Bruciore di stomaco (heartburn)

Acid reflux (reflusso gastrico) is where stomach acid travels up to your throat from your stomach. It can cause a burning sensation in your chest which is colloquially known as bruciore di stomaco (heartburn) in Italian. The literal translation is burning of the stomach. It is a masculine noun and the plural is bruciori. Below …

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Italian Word of the Day: Arachide (peanut)

The word for both peanut and the peanut plant in Italian is arachide (feminine, plural: arachidi). Just as you can call a peanut a groundnut, goober or monkey nut in English, Italian too has three synonyms: nocciola americana, pistacchio di terra and cece di terra. Le arachidi sono il mio snack preferito. Peanuts are my …

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Italian Word of the Day: Cioè (that is / namely)

Today we’re going to talk about a little word with a very big meaning: the conjunction cioè. It is a fusion of the pronoun ciò (this, that) and è, which is the verb essere (to be) conjugated in the third person singular of the present tense. Cioè is used to introduce detailed information, a correction …

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Italian Word of the Day: Invece (but / instead)

The function of a “linking word” in language is to join two ideas or sentences in order to help other people to understand the connections you are making when speaking or writing. One very useful linking word in Italian is invece which is used to: introduce a phrase contrasting with what has already been mentioned …

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Italian Word of the Day: Capriccio (tantrum / whim)

The words tantrum and whim both translate as capriccio (masculine, plural: capricci) in Italian. Derived from the antiquated form caporiccio, meaning fright or sudden start, it shares the same origin as the English word caprice. In the former sense of the word, it is often used to talk about the temper tantrums of young children. …

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Italian Word of the Day: Colmo (brimming / peak)

A barrel brimming with beer. A plate overflowing with pasta. A heart bursting with joy. Anything that is full to the brim, be it physical or metaphorical, can be described using a simple adjective in Italian: colmo. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on the gender and number of the person or …

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