Those of you who have been following Daily Italian Words from the very beginning will know that I’m a native English speaker raising my son in my non-native language: Italian. It’s hard to believe, but he turned six a few months ago – yep, he’s almost as old as this website! He is now fully …
You’ve decided to rent an apartment in Italy? That’s exciting! Just get ready to arm yourself with some new words and expressions to get through it. Because yes, there’s specific vocabulary you’ll need to familiarise yourself with. So, before you find yourself handing over a caparra without really knowing what you agreed to, or arguing …
Somewhere in Italy right now, someone is ordering priest stranglers and Judas’ blood, and nobody is batting an eye. Don’t worry, I haven’t gone crazy: Strozzapreti (priest stranglers) and Sangue di Giuda (Judas’ blood) are perfectly normal menu items in Italy! This is just what we call certain foods: body parts, religious figures, personal traits, …
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 …