The word for almond in Italian is the lovely sounding mandorla (feminine, plural: mandorle). Both words can ultimately be traced back to the medieval Latin amandula. Mandorla shouldn’t be confused with the masculine equivalent mandorlo which is the word for the almond tree. Learn about ‘mandorla’ with our video To say that something is made …
The word for the violent noise something makes when it smashes against a hard surface is fracasso (masculine, plural: fracassi) in Italian. Derived from the verb fracassare, it best translates into English as to smash. Learn about ‘fracasso’ with our video Il vaso si è rotto con gran fracasso. The vase broke with a loud …
The Italian adjective affascinante, which can translate in a number of ways including fascinating and attractive, comes from the verb affascinare meaning to fascinate. Learn about ‘affascinante’ with our video The singular form is always affascinante and the plural form is always affascinanti regardless of the gender of the subject. When used to describe a …
The Italian word for truth is verità and it is feminine. Like all nouns ending in an accented à in Italian, the ending of the word does not change in its plural form (i.e. truths = verità). It derives from the Latin veritas and is related to English words such as verity and verify. Learn …
The word for the terrifying natural phenomenon known as an earthquake is terremoto in Italian (masculine, plural: terremoti), which comes from the Latin terrae motus meaning ‘movement of the earth’. Learn with our video An earthquake occurs when pressure, building up within rocks of the earth‘s crust (crosta terrestre), is released in a sudden burst …
April Fools’ Day is known in Italian as pesce d’aprile which literally translates as April’s fish. Want to find out more about how April 1st is celebrated in Italy? Then read on! Similar to other countries where April Fools’ is celebrated, pesce d’aprile involves playing harmless pranks on friends and family. These pranks vary in …