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 …
(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 …
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. In the words of the tutor, this phrase translates as the …
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 …
In situations where you aren’t entirely thrilled with the status quo or the outcome of a situation, but have resigned yourself to accepting it for what it is, you might want to use the phrase È così! in Italian. This expression usually translates as It is what it is! or That’s how it is/things are! …
If someone thanks you for a favour you’ve done, or apologises for a mistake they’ve made, there is one easygoing response that covers all the bases: Non c’è problema! (No problem!). It literally translates as there isn’t a problem. Caspita, ho dimenticato il regalo per Anna… – Non c’è problema. Lo prendiamo al ritorno. Darn, …