The word for twins in Italian is gemelli (masculine, singular: gemello; feminine, singular: gemella). Whereas in English, we have separate terms for offspring in a multiple birth (twins, triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets, octuplets, nonuplets and decuplets), Italian applies the blanket term gemelli regardless of the number. In order to be specific, you must add …
The affectionate name children use towards their father (padre) in Italian is papà. It is the equivalent of dad, daddy or pa in English. A very easy mistake you might make when you first start learning Italian is to accidentally place the emphasis on the first rather than the last syllable. If you place it …
The name almost all children call their mother (madre) in Italian, no matter their age, is mamma, which translates as mom / mommy in American English or mum / mummy in British English. Three possible variations are the affectionate diminutives mammi, mami and mammina. When using a possessive adjective like mia (my), you have the …
The word for the daughter of a king or queen, or the wife or daughter of a prince, is principessa (feminine, plural: principesse) in Italian. The last Crown Princess of Italy to become Queen of Italy was the famously beautiful and rebellious Marie José of Belgium, wife of King Umberto II. She reigned alongside her …
Are you wondering what the best Italian word is to describe that Scrooge in your life, the one who wouldn’t part with a penny if his or her life depended on it? Well, you’re in luck! 😉 The word for stingy in Italian is tirchio. According to Treccani, it likely comes from the old dialectal …
The word for uncle in Italian is zio (masculine, plural: zii). It comes from the Latin word thius and, as in English, is used to describe the brother of one’s mother or father, or the husband of one’s aunt (zia). Mio zio abita in Canada da dieci anni. My uncle has lived in Canada for …