If you want to pay a compliment to the lucky lady in your life, a romantic phrase that never fails is Come sei bella! or Ma come sei bella! The phrase is made up of the following components: Ma (but) + come (how) sei (are) + bella (feminine form of bello meaning ‘beautiful’)! The ma …
When I was working as an au pair for an Italian family in Turin, the three children I looked after would begin every meal with a cheerful chorus of Buon appetito! (Bon appetit! / Enjoy your meal!), an expression many Italians say before eating. The proper response to this expression is grazie, altrettanto (thanks, likewise) …
Imagine you are enjoying a romantic dinner, or a barefoot walk along the beach at sunset with your Italian boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s been nearly a year since you first got together, and with each passing day, your feelings for each other have grown stronger than you ever imagined. Suddenly, your other half says those …
Father’s Day (known as la Festa del Papà in Italian) is celebrated on different days around the world, just like Mother’s Day. In most countries including the United States, Canada, France and Japan, the customary day for the celebration of fatherhood takes place on the third Sunday in June but in Italy, it always falls …
When you meet someone for the first time in Italy, it’s extremely important to know how to introduce yourself. The classic textbook phrase everyone learns on their first day of Italian lessons is Ciao, mi chiamo… which means Hello, my name is… but literally translates as Hello, I call myself… Ciao, mi chiamo Matteo. Hello, …
A very simple yet incredibly useful phrase in Italian is Sì, (io) lo so which means Yes, I know or Yes, I know that in English. It is made up of the following components: Sì ( Yes ) + io ( I ) + lo ( direct object pronoun ‘it’ ) + so (first person …