If you are in a hurry to get from point A to point B, you may prefer to take a scorciatoia (feminine, plural: scorciatoie) – the word for shortcut in Italian – rather than the long way around. The word is a combination of the verb scorciare, which means to shorten, and the instrumental suffix …
In linguistics, false friends (or falsi amici in Italian) are words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning. One of my favourite examples is the English eventually and the Italian eventualmente, the latter of which is our word of the day. In English eventually is synonymous with the expressions prima …
When we cannot recall or do not know the name of a person or thing in English, we tend to substitute the name with funny-sounding words such as thingy, thingumabob, thingamajig, or whatchamacallit. In Italian, the corresponding term is coso (masculine, plural: cosi), a derivative of the word cosa (thing / object / matter). It …
At some point in time, we’ve all found ourselves laughing uncontrollably at a funny situation or a hilarious joke. In English, we call this unstoppable laughter the giggles whereas in Italian, it is called la ridarella (feminine). The word comes from the verb ridere meaning to laugh. To say that you’ve got the giggles in Italian, …
The way you would say to tell off or to scold in Italian is sgridare. It is a derivative of the verb gridare meaning to shout or yell. Se faccio tardi mamma mi sgrida! If I’m late mom will tell me off! From this word we get the noun sgridata (scolding, telling-off) which may be …
Someone who is determined not to change their attitude or position on something, no matter how right or wrong they are and regardless of the advice and opinions of others, is called testardo (stubborn) in Italian. It derives from the Italian word for head which is testa. Che ragazzo testardo! Con lui non si può …