Today’s word is part of our Italian Christmas Word Advent Calendar series. Each day throughout December, we’ll post a word or phrase that is related to the holiday season. Enjoy! Christmastime is upon us yet again, and if you are studying Italian, you may well be wondering what Christmas is called in Italy! Natale/na·tà·le/(masculine noun) Christmas Unlike …
Before anyone jumps on me for writing about what is essentially a North American tradition, let me take a moment to say that I know Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in Italy, nor does it show any sign of taking root in Italian culture. That said, I felt it was important to cover this greeting because a …
Winter (inverno) can be a gloomy time of year in Italy, but it is brightened annually by the arrival of carnevale (carnival), a festival during the week before Lent (quaresima) involving music, processions, dancing and people dressed up in elaborate costume. A fun saying you can learn in preparation for this beloved celebration is A …
As 2020 comes to a long-awaited end (fine), we want to take a moment to wish (augurare) all our followers a Buon Anno! Although this expression literally translates as good (buon) year (anno), it is by far the most common way of saying Happy New Year! in Italian. Buon Anno a tutti! Happy New Year …
Last year we taught you how to say the traditional holiday greeting Buon Natale! (Merry Christmas!), so this year we’re going with something a bit different! The Italian for Christmas is here! is Natale è arrivato! which literally translates as Christmas has arrived! It is made up of the following components: Natale >> The word …
In celebration of Thanksgiving, we’ve chosen ringraziamento (masculine, plural: ringraziamenti) as today’s Italian word of the day. Formed of the verb ringraziare (to thank) and the suffix -mento, it translates as thanks / thank-you, thanksgiving or gratitude. Below are some useful verbs you’ll often see paired with ringraziamento: fare i (propri) ringraziamenti = to thank, …