Many of you are probably glued to the World Cup right now, but even if you couldn’t care less about the sport, it’s worth tuning in just to hear some Italian commentary: the tournament is an absolute goldmine of words and expressions we use far beyond the football pitch. Let’s explore some! Before kickoff 1. …
You know when you’re in the middle of a sentence and instead of saying the actual word or name, you go “you know, the thing…” or “that guy, you know who I mean…” Maybe you forgot it. Maybe you just don’t want to say it. Either way, you’re waving your hands around while the other …
Oggi non esco a pranzo, ho la schiscetta. This is the kind of thing you’d hear in any Milanese office when the clock strikes lunchtime. It simply means “’I’m not going out for lunch, I brought my lunchbox,” but doesn’t schiscetta just sound so much more fun? In Italian we have an incredibly specific vocabulary …
There’s nothing like standing at the bar counter, waiting for our foamy cappuccino, when someone leans in and whispers La sai l’ultima? (Literally, do you know the latest?). And just like that, our morning routine becomes a lot more interesting! I know, I know: gossiping is not exactly a noble hobby. But let’s be honest, …
Popular tourist spots can come with a side of “unwanted attention,” and the streets of Rome or Florence are no exception: I’m talking street vendors who really (really!) want you to buy something, people placing a rose in your hand and then demanding payment for it before you can even say “no thanks.” Or even …
Autostrada, sottopassaggio, lungolago: what do these three Italian words have in common (apart from the fact that you’ll likely spot them on road signs during your Italian road trip)? They are all nouns made up of two words fused together into one. In Italian, we call them parole composte — compound words. The adjective composto …