The greatest turning point in history for the human species was the discovery of fire, or fuoco in Italian (masculine, plural: fuochi). Mi sono seduto vicino al fuoco per scaldarmi. I sat beside the fire to warm myself up. In a figurative sense, fuoco can also be translated as hearth or flame (in the sense of …
Whereas in English, we have separate words for grandson, granddaughter, grandchild, nephew and niece, in Italian, there is just one word that covers them all: nipote (plural: nipoti). In order to figure out which relative is being referred to, it helps to pay attention to the gender of the article or possessive adjective that precedes …
Winter – or inverno (masculine, plural: inverni) in Italian – is the coldest season of the year due to the Earth‘s axis being oriented away from the sun. It occurs between autumn (autunno) and spring (primavera) each year. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere (emisfero nord), it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere …
The name both Italians and English speakers give to the delicious toasted Italian bread covered in olive oil, garlic or tomatoes is bruschetta (feminine, plural: bruschette). Learn how to pronounce “bruschetta” with our video You may be wondering why today’s ‘word of the day’ is an Italian word that also exists in the English language. …
The word verdura in Italian is interesting because it is normally used as a singular collective noun, referring to the category vegetables as a whole, or more specifically, the parts of a vegetable plant that can be used in human nutrition. For example, if you say La verdura fa molto bene alla salute, you are …
Although Italy has a variety of microclimates, the rainy season generally occurs between March and May and again between September and November, with October and November being the rainiest months of the year. In the Piemonte region where I used to live, violent thunderstorms are also common during the peak summer months. The word for …