Marachella is a lovely-sounding Italian word that denotes a forbidden action, carried out in secret, that can be considered forgivable once discovered. In English, we can translate this word as mischief, prank or trick depending on the context.
marachella
mischief / prank / trick
Marachella is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
- la marachella = the trick
- le marachelle = the tricks
- una marachella = a trick
- delle marachelle = some tricks
According to Treccani, marachella is derived from the Hebrew meraggēl (explorer or spy). It is thought to be linked through the Triestine dialect to maraghèl, also meaning spy. Originally, it had the same meaning in Italian, but it has since come to signify mischief, prank or trick instead. Indeed, the original meaning survives in just one set phrase: fare la marachella (to be a spy).
Sono un po’ stufo delle tue marachelle!
I’m a bit tired of your tricks!
A few common synonyms of marachella are birichinata, bricconata and birbanteria.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
