Italian Word of the Day: Bidone (garbage can)

Just as there are numerous terms for the humble garbage can in English including trash can, rubbish bin, wastepaper basket and dustbin, so too are there many in Italian! One of the most diffused terms is bidone (masculine, plural: bidoni). It can be used on its own or followed by della spazzatura / dei rifiuti …

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Italian Word of the Day: Cucina (kitchen)

The room in the house where all the cooking is done is called a cucina (feminine, plural: cucine) in Italian. It is closely related to the verb cucinare which, as you’ve probably guessed, means to cook. Ho cucinato un pollo in cucina oggi. I cooked a chicken in the kitchen today. When talking about the layout of …

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How to Say “Chimney” in Italian – Camino

Today’s word of the day is part of our Italian Christmas Word Advent Calendar series. Each day throughout December, we’ll post a word that is related to the holiday season. Enjoy! How does Santa Claus manage to enter the homes (case) all the world’s children? Not through the door, not through the window, but by shimmying his …

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Italian Word of the Day: Gabinetto (toilet)

Italian word for 'toilet'

There are several way to translate the word toilet in Italian. You can say bagno, but this noun also means bathroom or bath. There is the French “toilette” that is also used in the Italian language, or if you’re a bit posh, you can ask for the servizi igienici (sanitary services). But perhaps the most …

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The Italian Word for “Bathroom” – Bagno

One room that most of us couldn’t imagine living without these days is the bathroom or bagno in Italian (plural: bagni). Bagno is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: il bagnoun bagno i bagnidei bagni Related to the verb bagnare (to wet), it can refer to both the room with …

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Italian Word of the Day: Camera (room)

In Italian and English, it isn’t uncommon to come across “false friends“, or in other words, vocabulary items in different languages that look or sound similar but have a completely different meaning. One of the best examples of this is the word camera (feminine, plural camere). At first glance, any English speaker would immediately assume …

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