Italian Word of the Day: Zaino (backpack)

The word for backpack, knapsack or rucksack in Italian is zaino, and its plural form is zaini. zaino backpack Here are its definite and indefinite articles. Notice how the masculine articles for masculine nouns beginning with Z, S + consonant and vowels are different to those for other masculine nouns. lo zainouno zaino gli zainidegli …

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Italian Word of the Day: Pietra (rock, stone)

The Italian word pietra (feminine, plural: pietre) can be translated as either rock or stone in English. It comes from the Greek word πέτρα (pétrē). As you can see from the two examples below, pietra is used to talk about both the compact mass formed by natural mineral substances, as well as the smaller fragments …

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Italian Word of the Day: Battuta (joke)

The word joke has three main translations in Italian. The one you choose depends on the kind of joke in question. The first is battuta, which is our word of the day! battuta joke Battuta is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: It refers to any kind of comment that …

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Italian Word of the Day: Bidone (garbage can)

Just as there are numerous terms for the humble garbage can in English including trash can, rubbish bin, wastepaper basket and dustbin, so too are there many in Italian! One of the most diffused terms is bidone (masculine, plural: bidoni). It can be used on its own or followed by della spazzatura / dei rifiuti …

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Italian Word of the Day: Virus (virus)

Today’s “word of the day” couldn’t be more timely with news about the coronavirus dominating every headline across the world. The Italian word virus (masculine, plural: virus) is written the same as in English but is pronounced quite differently as you can hear from the audio clip below. The word comes from the Latin virus …

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Italian Word of the Day: Moglie (wife)

The word for wife in Italian is moglie (feminine plural: mogli), which comes from the Latin mŭlier meaning woman, wife or mistress. Ho conosciuto mia moglie dieci anni fa. I met my wife ten years ago. By making it diminutive, you get the word mogliettina which roughly translates as wifey or little wife in English. …

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