Italian Word of the Day: Impiccio (mess / hindrance)

While watching the Italian Netflix drama Suburra, I couldn’t help but notice how many times the word impiccio (masculine, plural: impicci) came up in conversation, probably because the main characters always seem to be in a mafia-related bind of some sort!

/im·pìc·cio/
Italian word "impiccio"

Impiccio can be translated in many ways in English including hindrance, mess, nuisance, trouble or tight corner. The important thing to know is that it denotes anything that gets in the way, bothers or disturbs.

Quella sedia mi è d’impiccio.

That chair is in my way.


Ci siamo trovati in un bell’impiccio!

We got ourselves into a real mess!


Suo fratello è riuscito a tirarlo fuori dagli impicci.

His brother managed to get him out of trouble.


messy office desk
Quando hai finito, sgombra la scrivania da tutti questi impicci per favore. = When you’re done, clear the desk from all this mess please.

It comes from the verb impicciare which means to hinder or to obstruct.

Below are a few verbs you’ll often see paired with impiccio:

  • trovarsi in un impiccio = to find oneself in a bind
  • mettersi in un impiccio = to get into a mess
  • cavarsi d’impiccio = to get out of a fix
  • liberarsi da un impiccio = to get out of a fix
  • tirarsi fuori dagli impicci = to get out of trouble
  • dare impiccio (a qualcuno) = to bother (someone)
  • essere d’impiccio (a qualcuno) = to be in the way (of someone)

Synonyms of impiccio you’ll likely to hear in Italian are impedimento (hindrance), ingombro (encumbrance), intralcio (hindrance, obstacle) and ostacolo (obstacle).


Ethics statement: Below you will find affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking the link, we will receive a small commission. To know more about our ethics, you can visit our full disclosure page. Thank you!

Lingopie (affiliate link) is the Netflix of language learning application that uses real TV shows and movies to help you learn a new language. You can choose a show to watch based on your fluency level, and use the interactive subtitles to get instant translations to help you learn quickly.

Are you interested in improving your Italian in a fun and stress-free manner? Then we highly recommend Serena Capilli's short stories in Italian (affiliate link), designed for beginners, advanced beginners, and lower intermediate learners (A1-B1 CEFR). These stories have been optimised for English speakers in search of a fun, laid-back learning experience! Read our full review here.