Italian Word of the Day: Essere (to be)

One of the first verbs all serious learners must master in Italian is essere which is the infinitive verb for to be or to exist. Because it is an irregular verb, it isn’t as easy to conjugate as regular -are, -ire and -ere verbs such as mangiare (to eat), venire (to come), and vedere (to …

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How to Say “To Eat” in Italian – Mangiare

Eating in Italy is so much more than just ingesting food. It is about friends, family, generosity, being with the people you love, sharing happiness and creating important moments together. It is a celebration of the ordinary around a table of good food. One of my fondest memories of eating in Italy is from a …

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Italian Word of the Day: Sognare (to dream)

A dream is an involuntary succession of random images, emotions, and sensations that normally occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep when brain activity is at its highest. Sometimes you might wake up from a deep sleep and remember every detail of your dream, whereas other times, they fade from memory as …

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Italian Word of the Day: Pennichella (nap)

cover image with the word “pennichella” and a boy napping on a bench in the background

If you’re just wiping the last crumbs from your mouth following a wholesome Italian meal, you may feel the need for what the Italians call a pennichella! Pennichella is a feminine noun and takes the following articles: la pennichellathe napuna pennichellaa nap le pennichellethe napsdelle pennichelle(some) naps Pennichella is one of the most common words …

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Italian Word of the Day: Luce (light)

The most widely known translation for the word luce is light in the sense of the natural agent that makes things visible to the eye. Luce is a feminine noun and takes the following articles: la lucethe lightuna lucea light le lucithe lights delle luci(some) lights Just as in English, it can be used to …

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Italian Word of the Day: Antipasto (appetizer)

Italian meals are made up of several courses, the first being the antipasto, or appetizer / starter in English. Antipasti is a mix of light food brought before the primo (first main course) whose main purpose is to stimulate your appetite. It is composed of two words: anti and pasto with the latter meaning meal. …

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