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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Italian Word of the Day: Divertirsi (to have fun)

In Italian, there is a single reflexive verb that can be used to express the concept “to have fun” and that is divertirsi. What is a reflexive verb, you ask? Well, it is any verb whose direct object is the same as its subject. In Italian, these verbs always end in si, with some good …

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Italian Word of the Day: Famiglia (family)

Like many other nations, the family plays a central role in Italian culture. The further south you go, the more sacred the concept of family becomes. Famiglia is the translation of family in Italian. It is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: la famiglia una famiglia le famigliedelle famiglie The …

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Italian Word of the Day: Molto (much / many / very)

One of the first words that will enter your survival vocabulary in Italy is molto (plural: molti | feminine: molta | plural feminine: molte). It can mean either much or many depending on whether you are referring to uncountable nouns (such as electricity, water or happiness) or countable nouns (such as apples, dogs or cars). …

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