When I first started learning Italian many moons ago, I clearly recall that one of the topics I struggled with the most was difference between the prepositions da and per when talking about periods of time or durations. Indeed, it is possible to translate for X number of years (to use a common example) as …
There are certain phrases that seem to pop of my mouth almost without thinking. One of them is the typical line “What’s wrong?” And I probably say it most often to mio figlio (my son)! Sometimes it’s because he’s gone unusually silenzioso (quiet). Sometimes he’s come through the door looking abbattuto (despondent) after school. Sometimes …
Buono (good), buonissimo (really good), non è buono (it’s not good)… these are all great words to know when commenting on food in Italian. But when we really love (or hate) what’s on our plate, we like to be a bit more creative and reach for expressions that, when translated literally, can sometimes sound pretty …
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 the word frizzante (fizzy, 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 …