La Befana: The Italian Christmas Witch

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 …

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5 Ways to Say “Good job!” or “Well done!” in Italian

Knowing how to pay a compliment 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 …

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Giorno vs Giornata: What’s the difference?

In English, we have but one word for day but in Italian, there are two: giorno and giornata. Knowing which to use can be tricky if you’ve only just started learning the language, so here are some helpful tips to clear up the confusion! Giorno It takes 24 hours for the earth to rotate on …

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10 Ways to Respond to “Grazie” (Thank You) in Italian

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!” …

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