When we try to speak Italian, but our thoughts are in English, it's hard sometimes to find the right word as well as remembering or learning how to use it. This is often because in one language we'd use a verb and in the other, we'd use a noun plus a different verb. 

An example that comes to mind is when you talk about someone hitting someone else. If we look up the verb "to hit," there are various choices, but the main one is perhaps colpire. If we look up colpire, there is a wide range of meanings, including figurative ones.

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One word Italians use a lot is the noun uno schiaffo. The sound of it kind of fits the action. But how do we turn that into a verb? We don't say schiaffare for this. The verb schiaffare does exist but it's about flinging something somewhere. When we really need a verb that means "to slap," we can use schiaffeggiare. That's good to know, but knowing how to use schiaffo is perhaps more important, given its popularity. For example, out of thousands of videos on Yabla, there are quite a few with schiaffo and none with schiaffeggiare. 

We turn to the verb dare (to give). You give someone a slap — dare uno schiaffo. A slap can be of various degrees, sometimes pretty mild. A woman might slap a man who tries to kiss her. It does the job but isn't necessarily violent. But lots of times uno schiaffo is much more serious and "giving a slap" doesn't really render the meaning. It's not always forceful enough. For Yabla videos, we usually translate dare uno schiaffo with "to give someone a slap," but it doesn't always fill the bill. Technically, uno schiaffo is understood to be given to someone's face, with one's open hand.

Let's look at a few examples from Yabla videos. 

Ci voleva [calabrese: gli volevo] dare tanti schiaffi, se li meritava tutti li [calabrese: gli] schiaffi.

I wanted to give him a lot of slaps. He [would have] deserved all those slaps.

Captions 34-35, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 15

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In English we might have said, I wanted to hit him. He deserved to be beaten up, to be smacked around.

Se mi facevi cadere ti davo uno schiaffo, ti davo.

If you had made me fall, I'd have given you a smack, I would have.

Caption 1, Il Commissario Manara S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 13

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What would we say in English? Maybe "I'd have hit you." "I'd have smacked you."

Dare isn't the only verb available for coupling with schiaffo.

We can also use the verb tirare  (to throw, to pull, etc) to give it more emphasis:

Le hai fatto una scenata al pub, le hai anche tirato uno schiaffo.

You made a scene over her at the pub, you also slapped her.

Captions 8-9, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 5

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Prendere a schiaffi (to slap around) is another variation, with the verb prendere (to take).

Senti un po', ma tu prendi a schiaffi tutti i tuoi ex compagni di corso, oppure è un trattamento speciale?

Listen up, do you slap all your former classmates around, or is it some special treatment?

Captions 4-5, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 5

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We can also add a modifier to make uno schiaffo into something more serious, with schiaffone. 

L'altra mattina stavo in cucina mangiandomi un panino, è entrata, mi ha dato uno schiaffone,

The other morning, I was in the kitchen eating a sandwich. She came in, she gave me a hard slap,

Captions 53-54, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP3 Un cugino in fuga - Part 7

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As we know, Italians love to use the number 2 to mean "some." And with schiaffo, too, it can be very effective.

Ce vorrebbero du sganassoni, ce vorrebbero [romanesco: ci vorrebbero due schiaffi]. -Cattivo.

He needs two smacks, he does. -Mean.

Caption 52, Un Figlio a tutti i costi film - Part 1

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So the upshot is to remember that in Italian, when slaps, smacks, or cuffs are called for, we give them by way of the verb dare (to give). As we can see, dare is a very powerful verb. Schiaffo does translate with slap, but it can be a bit more general. It's a great word to know!

A good remedy for assimilating phrases like dare uno schiaffo and its variations on it is to watch movies and TV shows (for example, on Yabla) where there's plenty of dialogue. Watch, listen, repeat, and then converse in Italian, even if it means talking to yourself in the mirror! Reading comic books in Italian is a good idea, too. 

In future lessons, we'll look at other ways of hitting someone (or rather, talking about it), just because sometimes we need to understand these things, not because we are in favor of violence in any form. We are not!

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La commedia all'italiana (Italian-style comedy) is created to makes us laugh. But for those of us learning Italian, it's also a great opportunity to learn a lot of new expressions and plays on words that lace most Italian comedies. 

One of these comedy films on offer at Yabla Italian is Un figlio a tutti costi (a child at all costs). The first segment of the movie is short on dialogue because it contains i titoli di testa (the opening credits): But at a certain point, there is a great idiomatic expression that is worth knowing about and — why not? —memorizing. A couple is complaining about their financial situation to their accountant or attorney.

Qua tra IVA, Irpef e bollette,

Here, what with VAT, personal income tax, and bills,

praticamente siamo alla frutta.

we are basically at the bottom of the barrel.

Captions 14-15, Un Figlio a tutti i costi - film

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As many of us know by now, Italian meals, the main ones anyway, feature all or some of the following courses:

antipasto
primo piatto
secondo piatto
contorno
dolce 
frutta
caffè 
ammazzacaffè

Although not last on the list, la frutta is the last thing we eat (although it can also come before the dessert, as well). 

This tells you where the expression got its content. It implies "the end, the last thing." When, at the end of the meal, la frutta è arrivata alla tavola (the fruit has been served), the meal is, for all intents and purposes, over.
 

Siamo alla frutta!

Somehow, the idea of the fruit at the end of a meal has been adopted into Italian colloquial speech as a way of saying, "I'm on my last legs," "We're scraping the bottom of the barrel," "I'm done for (I can't continue)." Although it may be used in the singular: Sono alla frutta, it is more common to hear it in the plural, as a very general comment: Siamo alla frutta! 

Here are some situations in which essere alla frutta is the perfect expression to use.
 

You are just about out of gas in the car.
Your wallet is empty, or just about.
You have been working on something for hours and need a break.
You have to come up with an idea, you've been trying, but at this point, the ones you come up with are really stupid.
You are hiking with a friend but can't keep up. Maybe you need some fuel.
You are trying to make a relationship work, but it might be time to call it quits.
Your computer is about to give up the ghost, it's so old.

So, things are not quite over, but just about. 

Fun fact:
Siamo alla frutta!  is a common expression to use when you are having money problems but in the scene in question, there's an additional implication in the use of an expression having to do with fruit. The man speaking is calling attention to the voluptuousness of the woman at his side. He calls her fragolina (little strawberry). There's nothing innately Italian about that allusion, but now that you are more familiar with the expression siamo alla frutta, the scene will make a bit more sense and perhaps make you chuckle. The man wanted to keep the "fruit" image in the forefront.

If you feel adventurous, send us your Italian sentences with, as a tag: Siamo/sono alla frutta!

Example:
 

Ho pagato tutte le bollette e l'affito per questo mese,

I paid all the bills and the rent for this month,

e ora sono alla frutta.

and I am high and dry / scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Or you can put it at the beginning: 
 

Sono alla frutta. Vado a prendermi un caffè.

I'm wiped out. I'm going to get some coffee.

Divertitevi! (Have fun!)

We'll publish your sentences (with corrections). Let us know if you want your name associated or not! Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.