One of the most basic things we need to know as we venture into the world of speaking Italian is how to ask about a word we don't understand.

There are a couple of ways to do this.

Significare

One way is to use a verb we can easily understand, even though we don't use its English equivalent the same way, or very often in conversation. The Italian is significare. It kind of looks like "signify." Of course, in English, we would sooner use the adjective "significant" or the adverb "significantly."

Cosa significa (what does it mean)?

"Pilazza" in italiano significa "vasca di pietra" o "lavatoio";

"Pilazza," in Italian, means "stone tub" or "washhouse."

è il posto in cui, anticamente,

It's the place where, in earlier times,

venivano i cittadini di Mazara del Vallo a fare il bucato.

the citizens of Mazara del Vallo would come to do the laundry.

Captions 15-17, In giro per l'Italia - Mazara Del Vallo - Sicilia

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

And if we want the noun form, it's il significato (the meaning, the significance).

Questo è un ottimo esercizio per ripassare alcune parole del video e il loro significato.

This is a good exercise for reviewing some words from the video and their meaning.

Caption 49, Italian Intro - Serena

 Play Caption

We can ask: Qual è il significato (what's the meaning)?

The other more common way with volere

The more common way to ask what something means is a bit more complex at first: We need 2 verbs to say it, but it's easy to say, and once you master it you will be all set.

The first verb is volere (to want). This is a very useful but tricky verb, as it is actually two verbs in one: It's a stand-alone transitive verb, as in: 

Voglio una macchina nuova (I want a new car).

We can also translate it as "to desire."

Volere is also a modal verb, basically meaning "to want to." The main thing to know about a modal verb is that it's followed by a verb in the infinitive, or rather it goes together with a verb in the infinitive, and can't stand alone. Just like some verbs in English, such as "to get," volere has meanings that go beyond "to want to." And just like "to get" in English, volere can pair up with other verbs to take on a new meaning. 

In the case of asking what something means, we add a second verb, in the infinitive: dire (to say). 

You know how in English we always say, "I mean..."? Well, Italians do this too, but they say, Voglio dire... (I mean to say, I mean).

Bene, forse è ancora in tempo.

Good, maybe there's still time for you.

Prima che distrugga anche la sua famiglia, voglio dire.

Before he destroys your family as well, I mean.

Captions 10-11, La Ladra - Ep. 2 - Viva le spose

Play Caption

The difference between "I mean to say" and "I mean" is minimal, right? If we take this one step further and put it into the third person singular, it's vuole dire, which commonly gets shortened to vuol dire. And there we have it. It means "it means."

Of course, it could also mean "he means" or "she means," but more often than not it means "it means."

Uso il termometro

I use the thermometer

e misuro la mia temperatura.

and I measure my temperature.

Se è superiore a trentasette e mezzo, vuol dire che ho la febbre.

And if it's above thirty-seven and a half (centigrade), it means that I have a fever.

Captions 25-27, Marika spiega - Il raffreddore

 Play Caption

Marika could also have said, Significa che ho la febbre (it means I have a fever).

Asking about the meaning of a word

Here's one way to ask what a word means:

Nell'ottocentocinquanta, i Saraceni gli diedero il nome di Rabat.

In eight hundred fifty, the Saracens gave it the name of Rabat.

Cioè, sai pure l'arabo ora?

So, do you even know Arabic now?

E che vuol dire Rabat? -Borgo.

And what does Rabat mean? -Village.

Captions 8-10, Basilicata Turistica - Non me ne voglio andare

 Play Caption

The answer is: Rabat vuol dire "borgo". "Rabat" means "village."

So when asking what a word means, we can either use cosa (what) or just che (what), which is a bit more colloquial.

Cosa vuol dire (what does it mean)?

Che vuol dire (what does it mean)?

If you are absolutely desperate, just say: Vuol dire... (that means...)? You'll get the message across.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Some learners like to know why we say what we say. It helps them remember. Others do better just memorizing how to say something and not worrying about the "why." Whatever works is the right way for you. We all learn in different ways, for sure. And if you need to know more, just ask. We at Yabla are pretty passionate about language and are happy to share the passion. This lesson, as a matter of fact, came about because a learner had trouble grasping why we use the verb "to want" when talking about the meaning of something. We hope that this has helped discover the underlying connection.

Ciao!

In a lesson with Daniela, we learn another way to set the scene of a story. We talked about using the presente (present simple) and passato prossimo (present perfect) in a previous lesson. Now we’ll talk about using the imperfetto (imperfect tense) to set the scene in the past without specifying the duration or pinpointing the moment in time of an action. We use the imperfetto to describe the characteristics of something in the past.

Allora, l'imperfetto viene usato per fare descrizioni di paesaggi, del tempo, delle qualità di una persona o di una cosa, al passato.

So, the imperfect is used to describe landscapes, weather, features of a person or a thing in the past.

Captions 30-32, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 2

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

In the following example, Lara, from the popular Commissario Manara TV series, is talking to an old classmate whom she met up with by chance. They are telling each other about their past feelings.

This is how she felt when she was younger:

Mi sentivo un brutto anatroccolo.

I felt like the ugly duckling.

Caption 4, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 14

 Play Caption

And this is how her friend Massimo felt about her!

Io ero innamorato pazzo di te!

I was crazy in love with you!

Caption 2, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 14

 Play Caption

The following example describes an ongoing condition in the past.

A scuola avevo sempre problemi con la matematica.

At school, I always had problems with math.

Caption 13, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri - Part 3

 Play Caption

The following example is interesting because we see the passato prossimo (siamo visti /we saw) used when pinpointing the moment (l’ultima volta / the last time). Still, the imperfetto (eravamo / were) sets the scene.

Ma lo sa l'ultima volta che ci siamo visti dove eravamo?

But you know where we were the last time we saw each other?

Eravamo al porto di Istanbul.

We were at the port of Istanbul.

Captions 23-24, La Ladra - Ep. 2 - Viva le spose - Part 6

 Play Caption

For how to form the imperfetto, please see Daniela’s previous lesson.

Practice: Try setting the scene in the past using the verbs Daniela talks about in the lesson, and other verbs you know. If you’re not sure how to form the imperfetto of the verb you wish to use, look it up in an online dictionary such as WordReference. Think about the place, how old the person was, what the person looked like, and what the person was wearing. How did the person feel?

Here’s something to get you started.

Quando ero giovane e andavo a scuola, suonavo il flauto nell’orchestra della scuola. Mi piaceva molto. Andavo a scuola in autobus tutte le mattine. Ci mettevo circa venticinque minuti per arrivare a scuola. Non era un’epoca molto felice per me. Non studiavo abbastanza, e quindi mi sentivo sempre a disagio in classe e avevo sempre paura delle interrogazioni. Preferivo stare nella sala di musica a studiare flauto. Cantavo anche nel coro. La maestra del coro era bravissima e tutti l’amavano.

When I was young and was going to school, I played flute in the school orchestra. I liked it a lot. I went to school by bus every morning. It took me about twenty-five minutes to get to school. It wasn’t a very happy time for me. I didn’t study enough so I was always afraid of being called on to answer the teacher’s questions. I much preferred hanging out in the music room to study flute. I also sang in the choir. The director was excellent and everyone loved her.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Of course, when we tell a story, we like to mix the tenses up to create interest and tension, but for now, let’s try to get to where we feel comfortable using the imperfetto and know more or less when and how to use it.