The Italian word for luxury is lusso (masculine, plural: lussi). Both English and Italian terms can be traced back to the Latin luxus meaning ‘excess‘. Some common verbs you’ll often see paired with lusso include: Andare in vacanza è un lusso che non tutti possono permettersi. Going on vacation is a luxury that not everyone …
One of my favourite Italian words of all time is the onomatopoeic paffuto which translates as chubby or plump in reference to people and certain body parts. Unlike grasso (fat) which could be interpreted as an insult, paffuto has a cute ring to it and tends to be used to describe children more than adults. …
The word for friendship in Italian is amicizia (feminine, plural: amicizie). It derives from the Latin amicitia of the same meaning. A few common verbs you’ll see used with amicizia include: Ho fatto amicizia con la signora anziana che vive nella casa accanto. I’ve made friends with the elderly lady who lives next door. Metaphorically …
The Italian translation for magnificent is magnifico. Both words can ultimately be traced back to the Latin magnifĭcus, which is a combination of magnus (big) and facere (to do). Because magnifico is an adjective, the ending changes depending on whether you are talking about a masculine, feminine or plural subject. Se sali in cima alla …
Dolce vita or la dolce vita is Italian for the sweet life but when combined into a single word, dolcevita, we get the term for the kind of sweater Americans call a turtleneck and the British call a polo neck. What’s interesting is that dolcevita apparently gets its name from the 1960s film by Fellini, …
The word for to gossip in Italian is pettegolare. It comes from the Venetian verb petegolar (to gossip) and the Venetian noun petegolo (gossip). When pettegolare is followed by a direct object, the preposition su (on / about / above) or su + a definite article (sul, sulla, sui, sugli, sulle) is required. Dai, smettila …