Italian Word of the Day: Pompiere (fireman / firefighter)

Yesterday, my son was over the moon when a real-life firefighter came to our house to check the fire alarms. And today, he’s off to the fire station with his class to see the fire engines up close! Could life get any more exciting for a young boy? In Italian, the word for firefighter is …

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Italian Word of the Day: Genitore (parent)

Since becoming a genitore (parent), my life has been turned on its head. Tempo libero has become a distant dream, and every day is a whirlwind of activities and responsibilities. Yet, despite the challenges, the joy and fulfilment I find in watching my little boy grow and thrive make every moment worthwhile. genitore parent Genitore …

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5 Ways to Say “Dad” in Italian

Fatherhood – known as paternità in Italian – plays an extremely important role in family and society, and Italy is no exception. In fact, in the Italian language, there are six different ways to refer to the most important male figure in our lives. And with Father’s Day (la Festa del Papà) just around the …

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Italian Word of the Day: Piantagrane (troublemaker / nitpicker)

The word for a pedantic person who raises questions and objections, and causes difficulties or problems over things of little importance is piantagrane in Italian. Some possible translations in English include troublemaker, fault-finder and nitpicker. Piantagrane is the combination of the verb piantare (to plant) and the noun grana, which in addition to meaning ‘grain‘ …

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Italian Word of the Day: Mago (magician)

The Italian word for a person with magical powers, or a person that performs magic tricks, is mago. Mago is a masculine noun, and for this reason, it is only used to denote male figures with magical powers. The feminine equivalent is maga and their respective plurals are maghi (masculine, plural) and maghe (feminine, plural). …

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