Italian Phrase of the Week

People across the world are familiar with the informal Italian greeting Ciao! which can be used at the start of a conversation to greet someone, or at end of a conversation to sign off. The meaning is exactly the same as Hi! and Bye! in English. Ciao Enrica, come stai? Hi Enrica, how are you? Ciao Enrica, ci vediamo domani! Bye Enrica, see you … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Ciao ciao! (Bye bye!)

This week, we've chosen a classic Italian expression with which I imagine the vast majority of you are already very familiar! :-) IPA: /ˈɡrat.t͡sje/ Grazie! is the equivalent of Thank you! or Thanks! in Italian. It is the plural of the noun grazia which literally translates as grace, gracefulness, favour or generosity depending on the context. Ricordati di dire grazie, sempre. Always … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Grazie! (Thank you!)

If you've been learning Italian for a while now, you may already be familiar with the classic greeting Buongiorno! which is how you say Good day! / Good morning! / Hello! in a formal context. Buongiorno. Come sta? Good morning! How are you? If you want to explicitly wish someone a good day however, it is necessary to use a slight variation on this expression which is Buona … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Buona giornata! (Have a nice day / good day!)

Every year, Mother's Day (known as La Festa della Mamma in Italian) falls on the second Sunday of May in most countries across the world including Italy, the United States, Canada, and Australia. It marks a special time honouring mothers of all kinds, from birth mothers (mamme biologiche) and grandmothers (nonne) to adoptive mothers (mamme adottive) and mother figures (figure materne). The way … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Buona Festa della Mamma! (Happy Mother’s Day!)

If you're experiencing sadness from the absence of a family member, close friend, lover or spouse, a good phrase to know is I miss you which translates as (Tu) mi manchi in Italian. In conversation, the personal pronoun tu is almost always omitted since the grammatical person is clear from the conjugation of the verb mancare (to miss / to lack). Mi manchi tanto. Quando posso venire a … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Mi manchi! (I miss you!)

Scarpetta in Italian is the diminutive of scarpa, the word for shoe or boot. It refers to any small shoe including a child's shoe, a small and elegant shoe that ladies wear, or a flat sports shoe made of light and flexible material such as canvas or rubber. IPA: /scar·pét·ta/ Una paio di scarpette leggere. = A pair of lightweight shoes. The idiomatic expression fare la scarpetta (lit: … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Fare la scarpetta (Using bread to soak up sauce)