Italian Phrase: Amo la cucina italiana! (I love Italian food!)

A survey carried out by YouGov in 2019 discovered that over 80 percent of people in the world count Italian food among their favourites, followed by Chinese and Japanese. Indeed, I’ve yet to meet a single person who doesn’t rank pizza and pasta highly on their list of go-to foods! If you are wondering how …

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Italian Word of the Day: Spuntino (snack / bite to eat)

A spuntino in Italian can be defined as a quick, light snack eaten either between main meals or in place of one of them. According to Treccani, its etymology is unknown, whereas Il Devoto–Oli maintains that it derives from the word spunto. Spuntino is a masculine noun, and the plural is spuntini. lo spuntinouno spuntino …

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Italian Word of the Day: Birra (beer)

An alcoholic beverage prized the world over is beer, known as birra in Italian. Like its English counterpart, its origin can ultimately be traced back to the German Bier. Birra is a feminine noun whose plural form is birre. The definite and indefinite articles are as follows: la birrathe beer una birraa beer le birrethe …

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Italian Word of the Day: Limone (lemon)

The Italian word for lemon is limone, which comes from the Arabic līmūn, the collective term for fruits of this kind. Limone is a masculine noun, and its plural form is limoni. il limonethe lemon un limonea lemon i limonithe lemons dei limoni(some) lemons Interestingly, limone is also the name given to the lemon tree, …

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Italian Word of the Day: Carciofo (artichoke)

cover image with the word “carciofo” and its translation written on a notepad next to a cup of coffee

Today we’re going to be taking a look at one of my favourite vegetables, the humble yet incredibly tasty carciofo. Unlike many Italian words, the word doesn’t have a Latin origin – rather, it comes from the Arabic kharshuf. It is the word, not only for the edible part of the plant, but also the …

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