The Italian word scarpa means shoe in English, and it is one of the most common nouns you will encounter when talking about clothing or fashion in Italian. scarpa shoe According to the Devoto-Oli dictionary, scarpa most likely derived from scarpettina (meaning “little shoe”), which itself comes from the Greek karpatínē, a variant of karbatínē, …
At first glance, the Italian word ruga refers to a wrinkle, as in the fine lines that mark a face – and that I’m noticing more and more in the mirror every day! But in certain regions of Italy, especially in Venice, ruga also takes on a completely different meaning as we’ll discover in this …
Campo sounds a lot like the English word camp, and yes, that’s one of its meanings. But it’s just the beginning! There’s actually quite a lot packed into this Italian word, so get comfy and let’s explore its many uses. campo But first, a quick grammar note: campo is a masculine noun, so it’s il …
If you’ve ever watched sports in Italian, you’ve probably heard squadra a lot: it’s basically the standard word for “team.” But it’s not limited to the football field or volleyball court. We use it in many other contexts, from geometry class to groups of people doing something together. squadra So, let’s see all the main …
Sale looks identical in Italian and English, so it’s easy to assume it means the same thing in both language. But actually, its meanings couldn’t be more different! sale First of all, the grammar: sale is a masculine noun, and its plural form is sali (but we generally use it only in certain contexts, and …
In Italian, danno can be a masculine noun (il danno in the singular form, i danni in the plural) or a verb. The trick to figuring out which one you’re dealing with is context, and especially the article: if you see il or un danno, you’re looking at a noun. No article, then it’s a …