The verb accarezzare, which means to stroke, derives from the noun carezza (stroke / caress). Both the Italian carezza and the English caress are based on the Latin word carus meaning dear. Below is how you would conjugate accarezzare in the present tense: Io accarezzo(I stroke) Tu accarezzi(You stroke – informal) Lui accarezza(He strokes) Lei …
Today’s word of the day is bound to raise your spirits if you’re feeling glum! Allegria (feminine, plural: allegrie) is how you would say cheerfulness, joy or merriment in Italian. If you have trouble remembering this word, it might help to associate it with the musical term allegro, the name given to a lively musical …
The way you would translate fed up or sick and tired in Italian is stufo. I personally found this word quite easy to remember when I first started learning the language because the “uff” sound that makes up the word’s core is reminiscent of a grumble or sigh of annoyance. Because stufo is an adjective, …
The word for fog in Italian is nebbia (feminine, plural: nebbie). If you have trouble remembering this word, I find it helps to create a mental association with the astronomical term nebula with which it shares the same Latin origin. Fog can be described according to its thickness (e.g. fitta = thick; densa = dense; …
Today’s word of the day sounds just like the action it is describing: the verb ringhiare (to growl). It comes from the Latin ringulare. Although it is principally used to describe the low guttural sound of hostility emitted by dogs (cani), it can also apply to other animals such as wolves (lupi) or bears (orsi). …
Whereas in English, we distinguish between the words paradise and heaven, there is just one word in Italian: paradiso (masculine, plural: paradisi). It comes from the Latin word paradisus which in turn derives from the Greek paradisos. Paradiso, in the sense of heaven, is the place regarded in various religions as the abode of God, …