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 …
Whereas in English, we have separate words for grandson, granddaughter, grandchild, nephew and niece, in Italian, there is just one word that covers them all: nipote (plural: nipoti). In order to figure out which relative is being referred to, it helps to pay attention to the gender of the article or possessive adjective that precedes …
Today’s word of the day is part of our Italian Christmas Word Advent Calendar series. Each day throughout December, we’ll post a word that is related to the holiday season. Enjoy! The tradition of the Christmas elf has its origins in American, Canadian, Irish and British cultures, but due to globalisation, has since been incorporated into the …
Christmas is just days away, so it’s high time we mentioned the big man himself: Santa Claus, otherwise known as Babbo Natale in Italian! The word babbo (masculine, plural: babbi) is another term for father and is popular in certain regions of Italy such as Romagna, Toscana, Umbria, Marche and Sardegna. The closest translation in …
The Italian word for angel looks and sounds extremely similar to its English equivalent: angelo. Angelo is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: The word derives from the Latin angelus via the Greek angelos meaning messenger. Angeli play an important role in the Christian religion, as they are believed to …
If you aren’t an only child, chances are that you have either a sorella (sister) or a fratello (brother), or perhaps one of each, or maybe many of them. (My dad has nine siblings!) An older brother is called a fratello maggiore whereas a younger brother is a fratello minore. Alternatively, you can say fratellone …