Italian Phrase of the Week

When giving someone a present on a special occasion, such as their birthday or at Christmas, we often accompany the act of giving with a phrase such as « This is for you ». The way you would say this phrase in Italian ultimately depends on the grammatical gender of the gift in question. If it is masculine, you'd use the pronoun questo (this) + è per te (is for you) whereas questa (also this) … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Questo / Questa è per te. (This is for you.)

If you have an Italian friend, significant other or relative whose special day is on the horizon, a sure-fire way to impress them is to learn how to say Happy Birthday in Italian! The official greeting is Buon Compleanno, with buon meaning 'good' and compleanno meaning 'birthday'. Important: In Italian, felice (the actual word for happy) is rarely a substitute for buon (good). You most … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase: Buon compleanno! (Happy birthday!)

The phrase « Life is beautiful » translates as « La vita è bella » in Italian. It is made up of the following components: La (feminine form of definite article 'the') + vita (life) + è (third person of essere 'to be') + bella (feminine form of bello 'beautiful'). It's important to note that you cannot say vita è bella because in Italian, an article is almost always required in front of … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: La vita è bella! (Life is beautiful!)

If someone inconveniences you or unintentionally causes you offence, a handy phrase you can use to reassure or comfort him or her is Non fa niente, which is one way of saying It doesn't matter in Italian. It is made up of the following components: Non (negation) + fa (third person of fare 'to do/make') + niente (nothing). Caspita, ho dimenticato il portafoglio a casa! - Non fa niente, pago … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Non fa niente! (It doesn’t matter!)

When expressing satisfaction, admiration or approval in Italian, it is perfectly acceptable to use overtly positive expressions such as Che bello! (How wonderful!), Fantastico! (Fantastic!) or Meraviglioso! (Marvellous!). However, in some cases, you may want to express a positive judgement using a litote (a negative, often ironic understatement that expresses a positive meaning). One frequently … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Mica male! (Not bad!)

If you are travelling around Italy and somehow manage to lose your way despite having invested in a reliable map and travel book, fear not – you can always rely on the tried and tested method of asking the locals for help! :-D To inform someone that you are lost in Italian, you can use the simple phrase Mi sono perso (if you are a man) or Mi sono persa (if you are a woman). Both literally … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Mi sono perso/a! (I’m lost!)