Italian Phrase: Non è un granché! (It’s nothing special!)

If you and a friend go to a restaurant, but the waiters are slow and the dish you ordered doesn’t float your boat, you might describe the restaurant with the phrase: Non è un granché! It’s nothing special! / It’s not all that great! This phrase is used to say that you don’t particularly like …

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Italian Phrase: Non penso. (I don’t think so.)

The best way to translate the phrase I don’t think so in Italian is, quite simply, Non penso which literally means I don’t think. The phrase is composed of two words: non is used to give a negative sense to a sentence, especially in front of a verb. It is the equivalent of not in …

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Italian Phrase: Sto imparando l’italiano. (I’m learning Italian.)

If you are an English speaker living in Italy, it is important to let people know that you are currently learning the Italian language. Otherwise, some people, however well-intentioned they may be, might assume that you’d rather speak in English or try to practise their English on you. The best way to translate the phrase …

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Italian Phrase: Ti auguro ogni bene. (I wish you well.)

If you want to express a desire for someone’s well-being in Italian, you can use the phrase Ti auguro ogni bene which means I wish you well or I wish you the best. Let’s break this phrase down into bitesized chunks! ti An indirect object pronoun in Italian that can translate as either you or …

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Italian Phrase: Ti piace? (Do you like it?)

If you buy someone a gift or cook them a meal, you might want to ask the question Ti piace? (Do you like it?) to find out if your thoughtful gesture was appreciated. The phrase is made up of the second person indirect pronoun ti (you or to you) and the verb piacere (to like) …

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