The word for book in Italian is libro (masculine, plural: libri), which comes from the Latin word liber. If you find it hard to remember, just think of the English word library! Before the Latin word came to mean book, it indicated the inner bark of some plants which, when dried, was used as a …
The word for uncle in Italian is zio (masculine, plural: zii). It comes from the Latin word thius and, as in English, is used to describe the brother of one’s mother or father, or the husband of one’s aunt (zia). Mio zio abita in Canada da dieci anni. My uncle has lived in Canada for …
A very important phrase for all those who enjoy a hearty Italian meal is Ho fame! which in Italian means I’m hungry! It is made up of two components: the first person conjugation of the verb avere (to have) and the noun fame which translates as famine or hunger. Ho (I have) + fame (hunger) …
The word for wife in Italian is moglie (feminine plural: mogli), which comes from the Latin mŭlier meaning woman, wife or mistress. Ho conosciuto mia moglie dieci anni fa. I met my wife ten years ago. By making it diminutive, you get the word mogliettina which roughly translates as wifey or little wife in English. …
The adjective pulito, whose primary translation is clean in English, is the past participle of the verb pulire (to clean). It comes from the Latin verb ‘polire’ of the same meaning. Pulito is the masculine singular form of this adjective. In order to make it feminine, it is necessary to change the word final o …
Today we’re talking about one of my all-time favourite Italian words: pigro (lazy)! As with all adjectives with a word final o, you must change the ending according to the gender and number of the subject. pigro = masculine, singular pigra = feminine, singular pigri = masculine, plural pigre = feminine, plural Sono troppo pigro …