In its most basic form, posto in Italian means “place” or “location.” But listen to any Italian conversation and you’ll hear it used in all kinds of ways. It can refer to your seat at the dinner table, that little café with the perfect espresso, and much more. Surprised? Keep reading! posto place / location …
Permesso looks and sounds a lot like the English permission, and yes, they’re related. But this word has a couple more layers to explore. permesso permission / excuse me / may I…? Grammatically speaking, permesso is the past participle of the verb permettere, which means to allow, to authorise, or, when used reflexively as permettersi, …
It can sum up a point, show hesitation, express annoyance, or even say “not really” without saying it. Insomma, do you know how to use insomma in Italian? If you’ve been learning Italian or simply love the language and culture, chances are you’ve stumbled across this curious adverb. We use it everywhere, but it doesn’t …
Casino is a word we use a lot in everyday Italian. But unlike in English, it has (almost) nothing to do with slot machines and James Bond. It comes from casa (house) combined with the diminutive suffix -ino, so it literally means “little house.” Sounds simple, right? Not really. This Italian word has a surprising …
Today we are going to focus on a verb that, in many ways, forms the backbone of the Italian language along with other important verbs like fare (to do/make), avere (to have) and essere (to be). That verb is dare (to give), and you can hear how it’s pronounced below: dare to give Dare may …
A tormentone is an expression, catchphrase, buzzword, meme, or piece of music that is repeated ad nauseam via the mass media or word of mouth, gaining rapid popularity and widespread diffusion as a result. tormentone catchphrase / hit song Tormentone is a masculine noun, and the plural form is tormentoni. il tormentone un tormentone i tormentoni …