Italian Word of the Day: Sorriso (smile)

The word for smile in Italian is sorriso (masculine, plural: sorrisi). It derives from the verb sorridere (to smile) which in turn comes from the Latin subridere, the combination of sub (under) and ridere (to laugh). Another way to say to smile besides sorridere is fare un sorriso – literally to make a smile. The …

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Italian Word of the Day: Scorciatoia (shortcut)

Italian word for "shotcut"

If you are in a hurry to get from point A to point B, you may prefer to take a scorciatoia (feminine, plural: scorciatoie) – the word for shortcut in Italian – rather than the long way around. The word is a combination of the verb scorciare, which means to shorten, and the instrumental suffix …

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Italian Word of the Day: Liscio (smooth)

In order to say that something is smooth in Italian, you would use the adjective liscio. The opposite of liscio is the word ruvido (rough). As is the case with many adjectives in Italian, the ending of the liscio changes depending on whether you are talking about a masculine, feminine or plural subject: I neonati …

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Italian Word of the Day: Eventualmente (if necessary)

In linguistics, false friends (or falsi amici in Italian) are words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning. One of my favourite examples is the English eventually and the Italian eventualmente, the latter of which is our word of the day. In English eventually is synonymous with the expressions prima …

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Italian Word of the Day: Coso (thingy)

When we cannot recall or do not know the name of a person or thing in English, we tend to substitute the name with funny-sounding words such as thingy, thingumabob, thingamajig, or whatchamacallit. In Italian, the corresponding term is coso (masculine, plural: cosi), a derivative of the word cosa (thing / object / matter). It …

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Italian Word of the Day: Canzone (song)

One of the most enjoyable and effective ways of learning new words and expressions in Italian is to familiarise yourself with all the best canzoni (feminine, singular: canzone). The word canzone (song) comes from the verb cantare which means to sing. Some other related terms include the diminutive canzoncina (a cute or simple song), canto …

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