Good-to-know Italian Adjectives Describing Someone’s Mood or Feelings
31) felice (happy)
Apart from its most common meaning, felice can also mean “fitting” or "well-chosen.” We can also make this adjective into its opposite by adding the prefix in: infelice = unhappy.
Sono felice di averLa conosciuta.
I'm happy to have met you.
Caption 48, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 1
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32) triste (sad)
Il canile è un luogo molto triste per un cane.
The dog pound is a very sad place for a dog.
Caption 11, Andromeda La storia di Ulisse
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Whereas infelice is a general state, triste more often describes a momentary feeling or something that brings on feelings of sadness, such as a sad story.
33) arrabbiato (angry)
When you eat in an Italian restaurant, you often find penne all’arrabbiata on the menu. The color is red, and it’s hot with peperoncino (hot pepper). The color red is associated with anger. The adjective comes from the verb arrabbiare (to get angry).
È arrabbiato con la moglie, allora se la prende con tutti.
He's angry with his wife, so he takes it out on everyone.
Caption 18, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 1
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34) fiducioso (hopeful, confident, optimistic, trusting)
Italian doesn’t have a cognate for “hopeful,”— or rather, it does — speranzoso, but it is rarely used. As a result, fiducioso is a good bet, especially when you are optimistically hopeful. Fiducioso comes from the reflexive verb fidarsi (to trust) and the noun la fiducia (the trust).
Ma io sono fiduciosa.
But I am confident.
Caption 17, Sei mai stata sulla Luna? film - Part 13
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35) volenteroso (willing)
Non l'ho fatta io questa palla di neve, ma sicuramente qualcuno molto più volenteroso di me.
I didn't make this snowball, but for sure, somebody much keener than me.
Captions 39-40, Francesca neve - Part 3
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This adjective is used to describe a person who pitches in and helps, or is willing to learn. It comes from the verb volere (to want, to want to). Someone who is volenteroso will likely offer his or her services as a volunteer, a cognate to help you remember its meaning. See this Yabla lesson: Being Willing with Volentieri. When someone asks you to do something you would like to do, you can answer, Volentieri (I'd love to).
36) scoraggiato (discouraged, disheartened)
The s prefix turns incoraggiare (to encourage) into scoraggiare (to discourage), and the adjective scoraggiato comes from the past participle of the verb scoraggiare.
Sì, ma guarda, ne ho sentiti trentadue, un disastro. Sono veramente scoraggiata.
Yes, but look, I have heard thirty-two of them, a disaster. I am really discouraged.
Captions 9-10, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3EP4 Lo stagno del ranocchio - Part 10
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37) stufo (fed up, sick and tired)
This is a great adjective to have in your toolbox, and comes from stufare (literally, “to stew”). It’s commonly used in the reflexive — stufarsi (to get fed up with) — but the adjective is good to know, too.
Fabrizio, basta. Basta. Sono stufa delle tue promesse.
Fabrizio, that's enough. Enough. I'm sick of your promises.
Captions 67-68, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 5
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38) svogliato (unenthusiastic, listless)
Svogliato has the s prefix, indicating the opposite of the original word (often making it negative) and comes from the verb volere (to want). This is a great word for when you really don’t feel like doing what you have to do.
Oh, guarda un po' se c'è un programma per riattivare un marito svogliato?
Oh, look and see if there's a program for reactivating a listless husband.
Caption 49, Il Commissario Manara S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu - Part 5
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39) nervoso (tense, irritable, stressed out)
False friend alert! Nervoso really seems like a great translation for “nervous,” and it does have to do with nerves, but when you are nervous, there’s a different word (next on our list). Nervoso is more like when your kids are acting up and you have work to do and you are having trouble staying calm and collected. Irritable is a good equivalent. Stressed out works, too. See this Yabla lesson: Emozionato or Nervoso? What’s the Difference?
Non ti innervosire, mica... -No, non sono nervoso, Toscani.
Don't get stressed out... it's not as if... -No, I'm not stressed out, Toscani.
Caption 14, Il Commissario Manara S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso - Part 1
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40) emozionato (nervous, excited, moved, touched, thrilled).
Diciamo, adesso sono un po' emozionato, è la prima volta, vedo la cinepresa, registi, ciak, cose, insomma per me è una grande emozione questo momento.
Let's say, right now, I am a bit nervous. It's my first time. I see the camera, the directors, the clapperboard, in short, for me this is a moment of great excitement.
Captions 14-16, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 7
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Learn more!
Practical examples of these adjectives can be found throughout Yabla videos. Yabla offers you the possibility of learning at your own pace through videos pertaining to your interests. Expand your horizons by learning one of the most romantic languages in the world.
In a recent segment of Meraviglie, Alberto Angela uses a verb that looks familiar: sistemare. It must have something to do with "system," right?
The noun il sistema certainly exists, and is a true cognate of "the system" in English.
E allora con un ingegnoso sistema di raccolta delle acque,
And so with an ingenious system for collecting water,
riuscì a riempire ben sette cisterne che sono sparsi [sparse] per tutto il territorio.
he managed to fill a good seven cisterns that are scattered around the whole area.
Captions 36-37, In giro per l'Italia - Asciano - S. Giuliano Terme: Villa Bosniascki
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A detail to remember is that although it has a typically feminine ending, sistema is a masculine noun. In English, too, “system” has any number of connotations.
So the noun sistema is fairly straightforward, but English doesn't really have a corresponding verb to go with sistemare. Sistemare might even fall into the category of untranslatable Italian verbs, although it's an easy-to-figure-out untranslatable verb. Sistemare is a general, catch-all type of verb that can mean any number of things, depending on the context.
When Alberto Angela tells us the fascinating story of a huge underground cistern in the city of Matera, what does he mean by sistemare? Good question.
Quando si è sistemata la piazza nel millenovecentonovantuno…
When the piazza was renovated in nineteen twenty-one…
Caption 12, Meraviglie - Ep. 1 - Part 15
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We see from the translation that the piazza was renovated, and we get this from the context of the documentary itself. But sistemare could also have referred to it being "neatened up," "cleaned up," "put in order," "put to rights."
When you want to fix something up, make improvements, put things right, make minor repairs, put things in a certain place, make preparations, or even get your pet ready for the night, sistemare is a good verb.
In the following examples from Yabla videos, sistemare is used to mean "to work out," "to set up," and "to fix up."
Note that in the first example, the reflexive form sistemarsi is used.
Mi dispiace molto, Marika, e spero che tutto si sistemerà al più presto.
I'm really sorry, Marika. And I hope everything will work out as soon as possible.
Caption 41, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti
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Valter arrivava sempre prima per sistemare l'attrezzatura per gli allievi.
Valter always came early to set up the equipment for the students.
Caption 52, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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Adesso hai quest'impressione perché lo vedi così tutto in disordine,
Now you have that impression because you're seeing it all messy,
quando sarà sistemato vedrai...
when it's fixed up, you'll see...
Captions 35-36, Un medico in famiglia - S1 EP1 - Casa nuova
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One general way of thinking about the verb sistemare is with "to take care of".
You took care of an unpaid bill? L'hai sistemato. You took care of it.
Your plumber fixed that leaky faucet? L'ha sistemato. He took care of it. He fixed it.
You wrote a draft of an article? Lo devi ancora sistemare. You still have to fine-tune it.
We can also turn sistemare into a noun: una sistemata. In English, we might use a gerund for this, as in the first example below.
You don't really want to give your kitchen a thorough cleaning at the moment, but you want it to look nice. Ci dai una sistemata (you give it a neatening up).
You ask your hairdresser, Mi dai una sistemata ai capelli (Will you give me a little trim)?
With the noun sistemata, we often use the verb dare (to give), which can also be used reflexively.
Dopo il viaggio, mi sono data una sistemata prima di presentarmi agli suoceri (after the trip I freshened up before meeting my in-laws/I gave myself a freshening up).
Practice:
As you go through your day, as you take care of one problem after another, try using sistemare when you have succeeded, or when you haven't yet. Maybe you will even have fun taking care of these problems!
L'ho sistemato! Menomale. (I took care of that. Whew!)
Questo lo devo sistemare (I have to take care of this).
Ask someone else to help you take care of something — something that needs fixing, or a situation that needs resolving.
Me lo puoi sistemare (can you take care of this for me)?
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