The word for cousin in Italian is cugino. Unlike the English word however, you can specify the gender of the person by changing the last letter of the word. A male cousin is a cugino and a female cousin is a cugina. There are also masculine and feminine versions of the plural cousins. Many male …
The word potere (masculine, plural: poteri) in Italian can act as either a noun or a modal verb. When used as the former, it translates as power in most cases. Both potere and power can mean various things depending on the context, including authority or special ability. Il capo del governo ha il potere di …
The mere mention of the word “Italy” is likely to conjure up thoughts of all the gastronomic delights one can experience when visiting or living there, including wine (vino), pizza, gelato and of course, pasta! In English and Italian, the mass noun pasta (feminine, plural: paste) refers to any dish consisting of dough made from durum wheat and …
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 …
In foreign countries, the noun gelato (masculine, plural gelati) is associated with a special kind of Italian ice cream. In Italy however, gelato refers to a wider range of ice cream and is therefore a more generic term. The family of gelati includes, for example: sorbetto = sorbet ghiacciolo = ice pop / ice lolly …
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 …