The act of quickly closing and opening one’s eye while leaving the other eye open is known as an occhiolino (masculine, plural: occhiolini) in Italian or wink in English. It is usually performed in such a way that only the recipient notices it. Learn with our video Occhiolino is the diminutive form of occhio (eye), …
The word for a design made by inserting pigment into punctures in the skin is tatuaggio (masculine, plural: tatuaggi) in Italian. It derives from the French tatouage, which in turn comes from the English tattoo. Learn with our video There are two ways of saying ‘to get a tattoo‘ in Italian: There isn’t a big …
The word for brain in Italian in cervello (masculine). It derives from the Latin cerebellum which is the diminutive form of cerebrum (brain). Cervelli is the simple plural of cervello, whereas the feminine plural cervella indicates the matter of which the brain is made, mostly notably in the expression far saltare le cervella (to blow …
A raspberry or Bronx cheer – known as a pernacchia (feminine, plural: pernacchie) in Italian – is a derisive and vulgar sound, performed by blowing through pursed lips with the tongue to obtain a noise similar to that of flatulence. /per·nàc·chia/ It derives from vernacchio which in turn can be traced back to the Latin …
Today’s ‘word of the day’ is part of our Italian Halloween Word series. On the days leading up to Halloween, we’ll post a word that is related to this spooky time of year. Enjoy! 🦇 Scheletro (masculine, plural: scheletri) is the Italian word for skeleton. It derives from the Greek term skeletos which means ‘dried …
Just as English speakers use the words tummy and belly to informally refer to the area between the ribs and the pelvis, Italians also have an informal name for this part of the body: pancia (feminine, plural: pance). Note: A more formal context would require the use of ventre or addome to refer to the …