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 to all! Another expression you will certainly come across is Felice Anno Nuovo! which … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Buon Anno! (Happy New Year!)
Celebrations
Italian Phrase: Natale è arrivato! (Christmas is here!)
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 for Christmas in Italian. è >> The third … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Natale è arrivato! (Christmas is here!)
Italian Word of the Day: Ringraziamento (thanks / thanksgiving)
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, to give (one's) … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Ringraziamento (thanks / thanksgiving)
Italian Phrase: Buon Halloween! (Happy Halloween!)
Today’s 'phrase of the week' 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! 🦇 Despite being an American invention, Halloween (which is pronounced 'alloween without the initial 'h' in Italian) has become increasingly popular in Italy over the last decade, much to the chagrin of the older, … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Buon Halloween! (Happy Halloween!)
Italian Word of the Day: Strega (witch)
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! 🦇 Halloween is on the horizon so what better character to write about than the Queen of the Night herself, the strega (feminine, plural: streghe)! La strega ha trasformato la bambina in una rana. The witch … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Strega (witch)
Italian Word of the Day: Sorpresa (surprise)
The Italian word for surprise is sorpresa (feminine, plural: sorprese), which is the past participle of the verb sorprendere (to surprise). Both the English and Italian terms can trace their origin back to the medieval Latin verb superprehendere (to seize). Surprises can be broadly divided into two categories: belle sorprese (nice surprises) and brutte sorprese (unwelcome surprises). Some … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Sorpresa (surprise)