You are eating out with your Italian friends, then il conto (the bill) lands on the table and suddenly things get a little awkward. Who’s paying? Will you split it half and half? Or will everyone just pay for what they ordered? Here are five useful expressions to help you handle the moment smoothly. 1. …
Say you are meeting your Italian relatives after a long time. What’s the first thing you are likely to do? Most probably, comment on just how much time has flown since the last time you saw each other. Or maybe you were watching your little nephew, who went from toddler to teenager in what feels …
Say frizzante (sparkling, bubbly) out loud: freet-TSAHN-teh. Don’t you feel those tiny bubbles almost popping on your tongue? That’s the beauty of certain Italian words: they express their meaning through the way they sound. I’ll share a few below. Some of these will make you laugh, others will make you want to whisper them just to …
In Italian, much like in English, there is a wide range of expressions you can use to bring a conversation to a natural close. A simple and friendly Ci vediamo! (See you!) works perfectly when you’re not sure when you’ll meet again, while more specific options allow you to indicate exactly when you’ll see someone …
Certain Italian words are really difficult to translate — not because English is short on vocabulary, but because it lacks the context that gives those words their meaning. For instance, you can translate sistemarsi as “to settle down,” sure. But it fails to capture the fact that this is the ultimate Italian merit badge, unlockable …
Il pane (bread) is one of those things that’s never missing from an Italian table. Even when there are already enough carbs on the plate and it’s clearly not needed for the meal. It doesn’t matter, it’s just there: in a basket, still inside the bakery bag, or scattered across the set table, quietly waiting …