The word for smile in Italian is sorriso (masculine, plural: sorrisi). It derives from the verb sorridere (to smile) which in turn comes from the Latin subridere, the combination of sub (under) and ridere (to laugh). Another way to say to smile besides sorridere is fare un sorriso – literally to make a smile. The …
The word for the hair on one’s head is the plural capelli in Italian. The singular capello, on the other hand, usually refers to an individual strand of hair. This word is easily mixed up with the similar sounding cappelli, the plural of cappello, which is the Italian word for hat. You can hear the …
The Italian word for mouth is bocca (feminine, plural: bocche), which comes from the Latin bucca meaning cheek. Below are a few common verbs you’ll often see used with bocca: aprire la bocca = to open one’s mouth chiudere la bocca = to close one’s mouth coprire la bocca = to cover one’s mouth tenere …
Many teenagers and some unfortunate adults suffer terribly from brufoli (masculine, singular: brufolo), the Italian word for pimples, zits or spots. An alternative spelling for brufolo is bruffolo with two Fs. Both are considered correct. According to Treccani, the word is thought to be a blend of the Latin terms verruca (wart) and rufulus (reddish, …
The Italian equivalent of the verb to breathe in English is respirare. It shares the same origin as the verb to respire, the less used synonym of to breathe. Respirare is an -ARE verb that is conjugated in the following way in the present tense: Faccio fatica a respirare quando corro. I find it hard …
A useful word to know in Italian if you’re feeling a bit under the weather is tosse which means cough. It comes from the Latin tussim from which the verb tossire (to cough) also derives. Tosse is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Ho una brutta tosse e il mal di …