Italian Phrase of the Week

If you are brimming with confidence before a difficult task or simply feel ready to take on any challenge the world throws your way, here is the perfect Italian phrase for you! :-) Ce la faccio! is the way Italians say I can do it! It comes from the verb farcela, meaning to manage or to succeed at something, and contains the following grammatical elements: Ce (form of the ci particle) + la … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Ce la faccio! (I can do it!)

One of the safest and least vulgar ways of saying I don't care in Italian is the phrase Non mi interessa, which literally means It doesn't interest me. Non mi interessa che tu voglia andare a casa. Dobbiamo rimanere qui. I don't care that you want to go home. We have to stay here. As you've probably guessed from the literal meaning, another perfectly valid translation of this … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Non mi interessa. (I don’t care.)

If somebody asks you a question and you simply can't think of the answer, the best (and most honest) way to respond is by saying I don't know. In Italian, this phrase translates as (Io) non lo so. It breaks down as follows: Io (I) + non (negation) + lo (it) + so (know, first person). IPA: /nón ló só/ The reason I've put io (I) into brackets is because in Italian and many other … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Non lo so. (I don’t know.)

(Tu) sei carino/a! is how you would say You are cute! in Italian. If you are talking to a man, you need to make the adjective masculine (carino) whereas for a woman, you would choose the feminine carina. The reason I've put tu (you) in brackets is because in Italian, subject pronouns are optional if it is already clear who the subject is. In this case, the verb sei (are) tells us the subject is … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Sei carino! (You’re cute!)

One of the most memorable scenes from the movie Eat Pray Love is when the protagonist Elizabeth (played by Julia Roberts) is sitting in a local barber shop, talking with her Italian tutor and his friend about the Italian expression Il dolce far niente. IPA: /il dol.tʃe ˈfar ˈnjɛn.te/ In the words of the tutor, this phrase translates as the sweetness of doing nothing. It is made up … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Il dolce far niente. (The sweetness of doing nothing.)

The expression "I would like..." is extremely useful to know in any language. In Italian, one common way of translating this phrase is "Mi piacerebbe..." which literally means "It would please me..." Mi piacerebbe andare al cinema questa sera. I would like to go to the cinema this evening. Similar to "Mi piacerebbe..." is the phrase "Mi farebbe piacere..." (Lit: It would do me … [Read more...] about Italian Phrase of the Week: Mi piacerebbe… (I would like…)