A few months ago, we wrote an article about the word moglie (wife), so now it’s time to talk about the other half of the equation! The word for husband in Italian is marito (masculine, plural: mariti). It comes from the Latin maritus which in turn is a derivative of mas / maris meaning male. …
If you happen to make some Italian friends whilst travelling around or living in Italy, at some point in the conversation you can expect them to inquire about your place of birth. The informal way to ask this question is: Di dove sei?Di (of) + dove (where) + sei (second person of verb essere ‘to …
What is furry, cute and classified as both a house pet and a pest? Why, the humble mouse of course! The word for mouse in Italian is topo (masculine, plural: topi), which was originally a dialectal variant of talpa (mole). There are various synonyms for topo when referring to the family of rodent in Italian, …
The word for magic in Italian is magia (feminine, plural: magie). Both words can be traced back to the Latin magica, which in turn comes from the Greek magike (‘the art of magus’). Below are some useful verbs you’ll often see used with magia: Nel medioevo, tutti credevano nella magia. In the Middle Ages, everyone …
When giving someone a present on a special occasion, such as their birthday or at Christmas, we often accompany the act of giving with a phrase such as «This is for you». The way you would say this phrase in Italian ultimately depends on the grammatical gender of the gift in question. If it is …
In English, we have two separate terms to describe a cloth bag stuffed with soft material used as a comfortable support. The kind we use to support the head while sleeping or lying down is called a pillow whereas the kind placed on chairs and sofas is called a cushion. In Italian, both are referred …