Ah, la gelosia! That passionate mix of love, doubt, and a few overreactions we’d rather forget. In Italian, this word sounds and means pretty much the same as “jealousy” in English, but it hides another meaning that might just surprise you. Curious? Let’s find out what it is! Gelosia But first, a quick grammar note: …
The word sacco in Italian has several meanings. It can mean a sack, the punching bag you hit at the gym, or even a big pile of something. We also use it informally to mean “a ton” or “loads.” Sacco Sacco is a masculine noun, so it’s il sacco in the singular form and i …
While it usually translates to “case,” the meaning of caso in Italian changes depending on the context. It can mean situation, fate, coincidence, or even pop up in grammar jargon. Let’s explore how we use this word in everyday life, from court cases to chance encounters! caso Caso is a masculine noun that takes the …
Did you know that venire (to come) is the base for a series of everyday Italian verbs? By simply adding a prefix, we get words like intervenire (to intervene), prevenire (to prevent), or svenire (to faint). Today’s word, convenire, is part of this family of verbs, and it’s a very interesting one! Let’s explore all …
The Italian word scarpa means shoe in English, and it is one of the most common nouns you will encounter when talking about clothing or fashion in Italian. scarpa shoe According to the Devoto-Oli dictionary, scarpa most likely derived from scarpettina (meaning “little shoe”), which itself comes from the Greek karpatínē, a variant of karbatínē, …
At first glance, the Italian word ruga refers to a wrinkle, as in the fine lines that mark a face – and that I’m noticing more and more in the mirror every day! But in certain regions of Italy, especially in Venice, ruga also takes on a completely different meaning as we’ll discover in this …