Italian Word of the Day: Pera (pear)

When I was young, our backyard was home to a massive pear tree, so every summer, I’d clamber to the top to collect the juiciest pears, which my parents would then use to make pear pie and wine. Those were the days! The Italian word for pear is, unsurprisingly, pera (feminine, plural: pere). The origin …

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Italian Word of the Day: Crepacuore (heartbreak)

Crepacuore (masculine, plural: crepacuori) is one possible translation for heartbreak or broken heart in Italian. It is made up of two terms: the verb crepare, which is a colloquial way of saying to die, and cuore, the word for heart. Below are a couple of verbs you might hear used with this word: Dopo meno …

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Italian Word of the Day: Visto che (given that / since)

Today we will be talking about visto che, a very useful Italian conjunction that can be translated in numerous ways, including: Visto che introduces a causal clause (a clause that expresses the reason of the main clause) with the verb in the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. Visto che era stanco, l’ho messo a dormire …

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How to Pronounce “Ciabatta” in Italian – Pronunciation Guide

The ciabatta (feminine, plural: ciabatte) is a classic type of Italian bread made from wheat, flour, water, salt, yeast and olive oil. Recognisable by its long flat shape, large holes and crunchiness, it is a very popular choice for sandwich-making across the world. You may be surprised to learn that the ciabatta isn’t an ancient …

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Italian Word of the Day: Nero (black)

The word for the darkest colour in existence owing to the complete absence or absorption of light is nero in Italian, or black in English. Its form changes to nera when modifying feminine nouns, and their respective plurals are neri and nere. Un vestito nero means a black suit, whereas a person who is vestito …

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Italian Word of the Day: Solletico (tickle)

The Italian word for tickle is solletico (masculine, plural: solletichi). It normally appears in the expressions fare il solletico (to tickle, or literally, “to do the tickle”) and soffrire il solletico (to be ticklish, or literally, “to suffer from the tickle”). A synonym for fare il solletico is the verb solleticare. If you are going …

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