The name given to the celestial body that orbits around our earth is luna (feminine, plural: lune) in Italian. La luna impiega un mese per orbitare intorno alla terra. The moon takes a month to orbit around the earth. Just as in English, it is also the word used to denote the natural satellite of any planet, …
The prickly shrub that bears red, pink, yellow or white flowers is called a rosa (feminine, plural: rose) in Italian. It is also the name given to the colour pink, presumably because many roses come in a pink shade. Questa rosa mi sembra più rosa che rossa. This rose looks more pink than red to …
Ombra (feminine, plural: ombre) is the word for both shadow (the dark shape cast behind an illuminated body) and shade (the darkness created by direct shelter from sunlight). In Italian, there is no real distinction between these two concepts. L’albero proiettava un’ombra sul marciapiede. The tree cast a shadow on the footpath. Mi sono seduto all’ombra …
The terms ocean and oceano (masculine, plural: oceani), which derive from the Greek ōkeanos, refer to the largest expanses of salt water on the earth’s surface. Just as in English, Italians often refer to the ocean as il mare (the sea), even though technically seas are smaller in size and have different geological characteristics. There …
The name we give the bright star (stella) at the centre of our solar system is the Sun (Sole) with a capital letter S. The word sole can be used to describe not just the star itself but also the light (sunlight or sunshine) it generates. When referring to the light, you must use the …
The greatest turning point in history for the human species was the discovery of fire, or fuoco in Italian (masculine, plural: fuochi). Mi sono seduto vicino al fuoco per scaldarmi. I sat beside the fire to warm myself up. In a figurative sense, fuoco can also be translated as hearth or flame (in the sense of …