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 …
If you have an Italian friend, significant other or relative whose special day is on the horizon, a sure-fire way to impress them is to learn how to say Happy Birthday in Italian! The official greeting is Buon Compleanno, with buon meaning ‘good‘ and compleanno meaning ‘birthday‘. Important: In Italian, felice (the actual word for …
The words machine in English and macchina (feminine, plural: macchine) in Italian both derive from the Latin “machina”, which in turn comes from the Greek “mekhos” meaning contrivance. Both refer to a mechanical apparatus with several parts, which together perform a particular task. Hanno costruito una macchina complicata con semplici materiali domestici. They built a …
The phrase « Life is beautiful » translates as « La vita è bella » in Italian. It is made up of the following components: La (feminine form of definite article ‘the‘) + vita (life) + è (third person of essere ‘to be‘) + bella (feminine form of bello ‘beautiful‘). It’s important to note that …
They say that sometimes, being with your best friend is all the therapy you need when the world gets you down, and I couldn’t agree more! The word for best friend in Italian is migliore amico in reference to a male or migliore amica for a female. The plural forms are migliori amici and migliori …
The word for blood in Italian is sangue (masculine). If you have trouble remembering this term, I find it helps to think of the English word sanguine, which shares the same Latin origin (sanguis). Below are a few verbs that are often used with sangue: When describing something related to blood, the adjective sanguigno is …