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 mai ragionare! What a stubborn guy! You can never reason with … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Testardo (stubborn)
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Italian Word of the Day: Boh (I don’t know)
In the movie Spiderman: Far From Home, protagonist Peter Parker and his classmates travel to Venice where they are unexpectedly attacked by the Water Elemental. But before the chaos ensues, Peter's love interest MJ tells him that she's learned "the most perfect word in the world" while exploring the city - and this happens to be our word of the day: boh (I don't know)! Now, before we … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Boh (I don’t know)
Italian Word of the Day: Vergogna (shame / disgrace)
Vergogna (feminine, plural: vergogne) is a very useful Italian noun that translates as shame, disgrace or embarrassment in English depending on the context. Below are a few common verbs you'll see is the company of vergogna: sentire / provare vergogna = to feel shame(non) conoscere la vergogna = to (not) have a sense of shamevincere la vergogna = to overcome one's embarrassmentarrossire di … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Vergogna (shame / disgrace)
Italian Word of the Day: Maleducato (rude, impolite)
There is a great Italian word for someone who eats with his mouth open, talks back to his parents, and disturbs other people by making too much noise and that is maleducato. Maleducato translates into English as rude, impolite or ill-mannered and may refer to a person's speech or behaviour. A volte quel ragazzo è propio maleducato con i suoi genitori. Sometimes that boy is really rude … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Maleducato (rude, impolite)
Italian Word of the Day: Maledizione (curse)
The word for curse in Italian is maledizione (feminine, plural: maledizioni). It is composed of two parts: male (meaning bad or evil) and dizione (meaning diction or speech). Related to the noun is the verb maledire (lit: to say bad) which means to curse or to damn. Another more complex way of saying the same thing is invocare or lanciare una maledizione. Le streghe hanno invocato una … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Maledizione (curse)
Italian Word of the Day: Singhiozzo (hiccup)
Today's word of the day is something extremely annoying and sometimes quite hard to get rid of: the hiccups (also spelled hiccoughs) which in Italian translates as singhiozzo (plural: singhiozzi). It comes from the verb singhiozzare meaning to hiccup (when referring to a human being) or to go by fits and starts (when talking about a machine). Il motore singhiozza un po' quando … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Singhiozzo (hiccup)