Italian Word of the Day: Siepe (hedge)

The word for a boundary formed by closely grown bushes or shrubs is known as a siepe in Italian. It derives from the Latin word saepes. siepe hedge Siepe is a feminine noun, and its plural is siepi. la siepeuna siepe le siepidelle siepi Some different kinds of hedges include: Abita in una villa circondata …

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Italian Word of the Day: Carponi (on all fours)

The adverb carponi (also written as a carponi or the less common carpone) is how you would say on all fours or on one’s hands and knees in Italian. It is probably connected with the Latin carpere which means to swipe or to pilfer. (a) carponi on all fours Some common verbs you’ll see used …

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Italian Word of the Day: Aspirapolvere (vacuum cleaner)

As a toddler, my son was pretty fearless. However, he did have one archenemy: the dreaded aspirapolvere (vacuum cleaner / hoover)! Aspirapolvere is an invariable masculine noun, so it does not change in its plural form. Here are the definite and indefinite articles you should use with this word: It is composed of the verb …

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Italian Word of the Day: Gattonare (to crawl / to stalk)

The verb gattonare in Italian has two meanings, depending on whether you are describing a human being or an animal. When a human, or more specifically a baby, is the subject, gattonare means to crawl. Mia figlia ha cominciato a gattonare molto presto. My daughter started crawling very early. When talking about predatory animals such …

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Italian Word of the Day: Russare (to snore)

Has your other half’s snoring been keeping you up all night? Then maybe now’s a good time to learn the Italian verb russare! Derived from the term hrūzzan, it is one of many words that entered Italian via the Lombard language of Northern Italy. Since it is a regular -are verb, it conjugates in the …

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Italian Word of the Day: Occhiolino (wink)

The act of quickly closing and opening one’s eye while leaving the other eye open is known as an occhiolino in Italian or wink in English. It is usually performed in such a way that only the recipient notices it. occhiolino wink Occhiolino is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: …

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