Italian Word of the Day: Sbadiglio (yawn)

The Italian word for yawn is sbadiglio (masculine, plural: sbadigli). Learn with our video Because it starts with s+consonant, the articles il (the – singular), un (a – singular), i (the – plural) and dei (some – plural) become lo, uno, gli and degli respectively. Some common verbs used with sbadiglio include: Tratteneva a stento …

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Italian Word of the Day: Sempre (always / still)

Sempre is an extremely common adverb in Italian that has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. It comes from the Latin ‘semper’ of the same meaning. Learn with our video 1. Sempre = Always The translation for sempre that most learners encounter first is always. Just like the English word, …

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Italian Word of the Day: Affezionato (fond / affectionate)

An Italian adjective that means fond or attached is affezionato, which is the past participle of the verb affezionare (to grow fond). The feminine form is affezionata, whereas the respective plurals are affezionati (masculine) and affezionate (feminine). Learn with our video Whereas in English, we would say fond of (something) or attached to (something), Italians …

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Italian Word of the Day: Quindi (so / therefore)

An Italian conjunction that allows you to express a conclusion or a cause-and-effect relationship is quindi. It usually translates as so or therefore in English. Both quindi, and its obsolete twin quinci (hence, thus), come from the late Latin eccum inde ‘from here‘. This locative meaning existed in archaic Italian, much like its Latin counterpart, …

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Italian Word of the Day: Imbranato (clumsy / awkward)

A colloquial adjective for someone whose behaviour or movements are clumsy is imbranato in Italian. The corresponding feminine form is imbranata whereas the respective plurals are imbranati (m) and imbranate (f). Learn with our video The word is thought to derive from the Venetian imbranà (imbrigliato in Italian) which literally translates as harnessed or tightened …

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Italian Word of the Day: Bicchiere (glass / cup)

The Italian word for a glass or cup from which one drinks is bicchiere (masculine, plural: bicchieri). It is thought to derive from a dialectal form of old French, or possibly the Greek βῖκος (bikos). Learn with our video Ho fatto cadere il bicchiere e si è frantumato in mille pezzi. I dropped the glass …

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