Italian Word of the Day: Olio di oliva (olive oil)

Olio di oliva – or olive oil in English – is technically three words, but they appear together so often that we figured you’d let us off the hook, just this once! 😉 Olio is a masculine noun. To create the plural form, just get rid of the ending -o and you have oli, and …

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Italian Word of the Day: Albero (tree)

Today is Arbor Day (La Festa degli Alberi), a holiday dedicated to planting trees, so what better word to choose as ‘word of the day’ than albero (masculine, plural: alberi). It comes from the Latin arbor of the same meaning. Some verbs that often appear alongside albero include: L’Etiopia ha annunciato di aver piantato più …

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Italian Phrase: Sto imparando l’italiano. (I’m learning Italian.)

If you are an English speaker living in Italy, it is important to let people know that you are currently learning the Italian language. Otherwise, some people, however well-intentioned they may be, might assume that you’d rather speak in English or try to practise their English on you. The best way to translate the phrase …

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Italian Phrase: Ti piace? (Do you like it?)

If you buy someone a gift or cook them a meal, you might want to ask the question Ti piace? (Do you like it?) to find out if your thoughtful gesture was appreciated. The phrase is made up of the second person indirect pronoun ti (you or to you) and the verb piacere (to like) …

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Italian Phrase: Vorrei un caffè. (I would like a coffee.)

If you visit a bar (café or coffee shop) in Italy, it is important to know how to order food and drink in Italian. In this article, we’ll be looking specifically at how to order a classic cup of coffee. Vorrei un caffè. I would like a coffee. Let’s see how the phrase is composed. …

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Italian Phrase: Parli italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)

If you are a non-Italian living in Italy, a question you might wish to ask other foreigner nationals or travellers you meet is Parli italiano? which means Do you speak Italian? Parli Italiano? Parli is the second-person singular of the verb parlare (to speak / talk) whereas italiano means Italian. Note that the names of …

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