Niente is an indispensable word to have in your basic Italian vocabulary. It's a noun, it's a pronoun, it's an adjective, it's an adverb, and it can even be a simple filler word that doesn't mean anything in particular. This highly useful word can mean various things, but they all have some connection with "no," "nothing," or "not."
Let's remember that in Italian, the double negative is totally acceptable. It gets the meaning across! So, as opposed to English, we will often see non and niente in the same sentence expressing something negative. For example:
Pronto? Non sento niente.
Hello? I can't hear anything.
Caption 11, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 20
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Of course, when we translate, we try to use correct English, so with the presence of non, we avoid a double negative and transform "nothing" into "anything."
We use niente to mean "no" or "not any" before a noun (or verb in the infinitive that is functioning as a noun).
Buoni! -E sì, invece di prendertela col buio, accendi la luce, sennò niente biscotti!
Good! -Oh yes, instead of getting upset with the darkness, turn on the light. Otherwise, no cookies!
Captions 61-62, Dixiland Buio mangiabiscotti
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If we see the little preposition di (of) before the word male (bad), then we're saying "nothing wrong," "not anything bad,"
Allora, insomma, erano un po' preoccupati, ma in realtà non ho fatto niente di male.
So, basically, they were a bit worried, but I didn't actually do anything wrong.
Captions 91-92, Che tempo che fa Raffaella Carrà - Part 3
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But when we have niente followed by male (with no preposition), then it means "not bad." This is an important distinction. Niente male is a wonderful alternative to "great!" We say something similar in English, too.
Anche a me sono successe un paio di disavventure niente male!
I also had a couple of things happen to me that weren't bad at all [pretty incredible]!
Caption 56, Francesca e Marika Gestualità
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In Italian, we can either say non male (not bad) or niente male (not bad at all), which is a bit stronger towards the positive end of the spectrum.
One way to say, "nothing at all," is niente di niente.
No, no, io non ho sentito niente, niente di niente.
No, no, I didn't hear anything — nothing at all.
Caption 18, La Ladra EP. 6 - Nero di rabbia - Part 8
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Another way to say "nothing at all" is un bel niente.
No, abbiamo un caso di suicidio e stiamo ce'... -Abbiamo, abbiamo. Lei non ha un bel niente, Manara, finché non l'autorizzo io, ha capito?
No, we have a case of suicide and we're lo'... -We have, we have. You have a big nothing Manara, until I authorize it, understand?
Captions 24-25, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 3
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But to say, "not at all," it's per niente.
E a me non piacciono per niente.
And I don't like them at all.
Caption 43, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 15
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OK, e niente, avevo portato qualcosa da mangiare,
OK, and nothing more. I had brought something to eat,
Caption 7, Il Commissario Manara S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 4
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We translated niente here as "nothing more," but actually, it could mean something like "that's all."
There are undoubtedly other ways to use niente, such as:
Fa niente (it doesn't matter).
Di niente (you're welcome, don't mention it).
Non ho capito niente (I didn't understand anything).
Keep your eyes and ears open for the word niente as you watch Yabla videos, or any other videos. It's really all over the place!
Let's look at 4 more ways to use the noun il conto in everyday conversation. The first two involve prepositions:
When we do something on someone's behalf, we use per conto di.
La leggenda racconta di miniere dove a scavare erano dei nani
The legend tells of mines where dwarfs were excavating
per conto del re Laurino.
on behalf of the king Laurin.
Captions 23-24, Meraviglie - EP. 5 - Part 10
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Oltre a questo lavoro giornalistico più specifico,
Besides this more specific journalistic job,
lavoro anche come, come responsabile di uffici stampa
I also work as head of press offices
per conto di varie realtà.
on behalf of various organizations.
Captions 1-3, Francesca Vitalini - Fare la giornalista pubblicista
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An expression we might see in a contract about power of attorney is:
agire in nome e per conto di (to act in the name of and on behalf of)
This expression can also mean "of one's own" and is used quite frequently as in the following example.
Perché la mi' figliola [mia figlia] c'ha già tanti problemi per conto suo.
Because my daughter has enough problems of her own.
Caption 37, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP9 - Morte in paradiso
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It can also mean on one's own:
Non faccio in tempo a venire a casa per pranzo. Mangio per conto mio.
I don't have time to come home for lunch. I'll eat on my own.
If we use the preposition su (on) then it can mean "about." We usually use it in reference to people.
No, io devo smentire delle cattiverie che girano sul mio conto.
No, I have to prove wrong the maliciousness that's circulating about me.
Caption 11, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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Anche se ultimamente si dicono un sacco di cose sul suo conto...
Even though lately they've said a lot of things about her...
Caption 30, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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These next examples involve a verb plus conto:
Mah, la libertà è una grossa parola,
Well, freedom is a strong word,
perché bisogna sempre tener conto
because we always have to take into account
delle persone che abbiamo intorno.
the people we're surrounded by.
Captions 22-23, Che tempo che fa - Monica Bellucci
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Here's an example using the particle ne (about it, of it) as well. It takes the place of di qualcosa (about/of something):
Tu vedrai che i giudici ne terranno conto, ascoltami.
You will see that the judges will take it into account, listen to me.
Caption 23, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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When someone is telling you to listen to how things add up, or how things fit together, they might say:
Fai conto... (take this into consideration, do the math..., let's see... figure this in...)
Like many expressions, there are some people who use this expression regularly, and others who never use it. It can be added into a sentence as is, on its own. Instead of doing the math oneself, the speaker is having you participate. It's a modo di dire.
Ci vogliono, fai conto, tre ore per andare da Pisa a Bologna in macchina.
It will take — you should count — three hours to go from Pisa to Bologna by car.
Cammina, cammina. Sai quanti chilometri faccio io al giorno?
Yeah, walk. You know how many kilometers I do per day?
-Quanti? -Fai conto tre pedinamenti, per dire, eh.
-How many? -Figure three tails, to give you an idea, huh.
Captions 14-15, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP6 - Sotto tiro
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Fare conto can also be used with che (that) to make a more complex sentence.
Fai conto che io faccio tanti kilometri al giorno.
Take into account that I do three kilometers per day.
Fare conto doesn't necessarily have to do with numbers or counting. It can also mean "to assume that" or even "to pretend that" in certain contexts and in this case it takes the subjunctive.
Fai conto che io sia tua madre (anche se sono la zia), e devi fare quello che dico io.
Think of me as your mother (even though I am your aunt) and you have to do as I say.
We hope these ways for using il conto will be useful to you. Maybe you will hear them used in a movie, or when an Italian is explaining something to you. Now you know!
Can you think of other ways this noun is used? Let us know at newsletter@yabla.com.
A current episode of Provaci ancora prof brings to mind a noun that is easily mixed up with a similar one, by non-native speakers of Italian.
These are nouns Italians use a lot in day-to-day conversation. One is about money and one is about health (and money too, in a roundabout way), both very common topics of conversation. They're also hard to guess the meaning of.
This is a word you need if you want to buy a house, or just take out a loan from the bank. If you're buying a house, then people will understand you're talking about a mortgage. For any other use, it's the equivalent of a loan. We also notice that when mutuo means mortgage, we often use a definite article (il) and when we mean "loan," we'll likely use an indefinite article (un). To mean "loan," you can also use un prestito or un finanziamento.
Roberta mi ha aiutato quando ho fatto il mutuo sulla casa
Roberta helped me when I took out a mortgage on the house
e sa... insomma, dovrà, dovrà riavere.
and she knows... basically, she should, she should get it back.
Captions 36-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 1
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Io ho ancora da parte millecinquecento euro,
I still have fifteen hundred euros put aside,
però dovrei pagare il mutuo alla banca.
but I should pay the mortgage to the bank.
Captions 54-55, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E2 - Un amore pericoloso
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Il parrucchiere, quello più caro, quello in fondo al paese.
The hairdresser, the most expensive one, the one at the edge of town.
Una messa in piega ci vuole un mutuo, eh.
To get one's hair done, you need to take out a loan, huh.
E poi non solo...
And not only that...
Captions 37-39, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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If you hang out in Italy long enough, like many ex-pats, you will get to know another important noun, la mutua. This is the national health service. You can benefit from this service if you are a legal resident. You don't need to be an Italian citizen.
Here's a scenario.
Devo fare un intervento al femore (I have to get my hip operated on).
-Costerà caro, no? (That will be expensive won't it?)
No. Per fortuna, paga la mutua (No, fortunately national health insurance will pay for it).
Here's another scenario.
Non vado al lavoro oggi. Sono alla mutua.
I'm not going to work today. I'm on sick leave.
This is an informal noun, and may not be used all over Italy, but it the common name Italians give to this service. There are rules for different kinds of jobs (state or private) whereby your sick leave is paid for if you are an employee, but you need a certificate signed by your doctor (il medico della mutua, or il medico curante) and you have to make sure to be home during certain hours of the day, such as from 10 AM to 12 PM, and 5 PM to 7 PM. That way, the health authorities can check to see if you are really sick.
Getting sick and making mortgage or loan payments are never divertenti (fun), but at least you know the words to describe these things now!
P.S. mutuo is also an adjective corresponding to "mutual."
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