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 …
Tourism is one of Italy’s most profitable industrial sectors, with an estimated 47.7 million turisti (tourists, singular turista) visiting the country every year. That makes it the fifth most visited country in the world! An interesting fact about the word turista is that unlike many Italian words, it derives not from Latin but rather from …
When you meet someone for the first time in Italy, it’s extremely important to know how to introduce yourself. The classic textbook phrase everyone learns on their first day of Italian lessons is Ciao, mi chiamo… which means Hello, my name is… but literally translates as Hello, I call myself… Ciao, mi chiamo Matteo. Hello, …
The most literal meaning of the Italian word cielo (masculine, plural: cieli) in English is sky. There are various ways of describing the sky in Italian depending on the atmospheric conditions and the time of day: Il cielo è coperto di nuvole oggi. The sky is filled with clouds today. A common expression in Italian …
The word caldo can refer to anything that is hot or warm, be it the temperature, weather, food or clothing. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on whether the subject is masculine, feminine, and/or plural. La minestra è ancora calda, ti servo un altro piatto? The soup is still hot, do you …
The word for bed in Italian is letto (masculine, plural: letti). It derives from the Latin lectus of the same meaning. Amongst the different kinds of beds in existence, some popular options include the letto singolo (single bed), letto matrimoniale / letto doppio (double bed), divano letto (sofa bed) and my all-time favourite as a …