The start of the New Year (nuovo anno) is typically when many people tend to make a list of resolutions (buoni propositi) for the following year. By taking stock of what worked during the previous year, we are able to set goals for the next. Resolutions can be as simple as trying to lose weight or save money, or more specific, such as learning a new craft or in the case of anyone reading this … [Read more...] about 50 Common New Year’s Resolutions (Buoni Propositi) in Italian

Most people in the English speaking world strictly associate witches with Halloween. In our minds, they are dark clad figures with flying brooms, ragged clothing, craggy features, and perhaps, a black cat for company. As far as I know, Italy is the only country in the world where witches are also closely linked to the Christmas tradition. And not just witches in general - a specific witch who … [Read more...] about La Befana: The Italian Christmas Witch

Paying compliments is a huge part of learning any language to proficiency. Using them properly can improve your relationships with other people, which is extremely important when making new friendships in a foreign country. In English, we tend to say Good job!* or Well done! to praise an individual or a group of people on an activity or job performed to a high standard. In Italian, there are … [Read more...] about 5 Ways to Say “Good job!” or “Well done!” in Italian

We all love a funny idiom, especially those whose content seems to have nothing to do with the intended meaning. Some good examples in English include kick the bucket (to die), Bob's your uncle (it's as simple as that), and a piece of cake (easy) but what about Italian? It turns out that it too has a range of chuckle-worthy idioms that will put a smile on the face of any learner of the … [Read more...] about 10 Funny Italian Idioms & Sayings That Are Guaranteed to Make You Smile

If you love belting out Christmas songs as much as I do, you'll be delighted to know that there is no lack of Christmas tunes you can sing along to in the Italian language. You'll find that some have a very familiar melody whereas others are original Italian creations. In this article, we've come up with a list of ten of the most popular Italian Christmas songs (or canti di Natale) you'll … [Read more...] about A List of 10 Popular Italian Christmas Songs with Lyrics and Translations in English

When someone says "Thank you!" in English, there is more than one way we can respond depending on the formality of the situation and who we are talking to. Unsurprisingly the same applies to the Italian language. In this article, we take a look at ten of the most popular ways of responding to "Grazie!" (Thank you!). No matter what kind of situation you find yourself in, you can be sure that one … [Read more...] about 10 Ways to Respond to “Grazie” (Thank You) in Italian