If you’ve just gorged yourself on ten chocolate bars or come down with a nasty stomach virus, you may be experiencing some serious mal di pancia which is the colloquial Italian word for upset stomach or stomach ache! Il bambino piangeva per il mal di pancia. The child was crying because of an upset stomach. …
Air – or aria (feminine, plural: arie) in Italian – is fundamental to all life on earth. Without air, or more specifically oxygen (ossigeno), the human body can only survive for a few minutes before it begins to fail. In addition to being the means by which winged animals and machines fly (volare), it is …
The Italian word for daughter is figlia (plural: figlie) which is the feminine equivalent of figlio (son). Ho una figlia e due figli. I have a daughter and two sons. It can also refer to young girl in general, or even an adult woman, in compassionate or affectionate statements. Povera figlia, come ti sei ridotta! …
All languages have their own way of fare un brindisi, or toasting the health of other people. In English, we say Cheers!, in Japanese they say Kampai! and in French you’ll hear À votre santé! but what about Italian? Well, a favourite amongst learners is the onomatopoeic expression Cin cin! (pronounced chin chin). Cin cin …
If you want to talk about something that is one of a kind, you can use the word unique in English, which translates to unico (masculine, plural: unici) and unica (feminine, plural: uniche) in Italian. La voce di Freddy Mercury era unica. Nessun altro cantava come lui. The voice of Freddy Mercury was unique. Nobody …
Like food, wine plays a very important role in Italy’s commerce and culture. Mangiare (eating) together is a fundamental part of Italian social life, and whether you’re at a restaurant or someone’s house, a bottiglia (bottle) of wine is always on the table. The word for wine in Italian is vino (masculine, plural vini). As …