Although Italy has a variety of microclimates, the rainy season generally occurs between March and May and again between September and November, with October and November being the rainiest months of the year. In the Piemonte region where I used to live, violent thunderstorms are also common during the peak summer months. The word for …
Strada (feminine, plural: strade) is an incredibly flexible word in Italian. Not only does it mean road or street in the literal sense, but it also has a couple of figurative meanings, as we’ll discover below. Io abito in strada San Giusto. È in campagna. I live on San Giusto street. It’s in the countryside. …
If someone thanks you for a favour you’ve done, or apologises for a mistake they’ve made, there is one easygoing response that covers all the bases: Non c’è problema! (No problem!). It literally translates as there isn’t a problem. Caspita, ho dimenticato il regalo per Anna… – Non c’è problema. Lo prendiamo al ritorno. Darn, …
If you are familiar with the English word lupine, it shouldn’t be too difficult to remember the word lupo (masculine, plural: lupi), which is the Italian for wolf. A wolf cub is known as a lupetto. This is also the term used for a cub scout in the young Scouts organisation and the mock turtleneck. …
The domestic pig – or maiale (masculine, plural: maiali) in Italian – is one of the most populous mammals (mammiferi) in the world. In fact, it is estimated that approximately one billion are alive at any time. Because they are omnivores (onnivori) just like humans, they can consume a wider range of food than most …
The Italian word for fast or quick is veloce. It derives from the Latin word velox meaning quick. When I was first learning Italian, I found this word very easy to remember because it shares the same origin as the English word velocity, not to mention the name of everyone’s favourite dinosaur in Jurassic Park, …