In a previous lesson, we talked about votare, a verb that has an additional meaning we rarely think of. Another verb that can bring some surprises (and confusion) is confondere (to confuse, to confound). If we think about it, we can break down confondere into two pieces. Fondere is "to melt," "to meld"; con is “with.”  Thoughts, sensations, or things mix together and become unclear. We can no longer distinguish or understand individual elements.

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The English verbs "to confuse" and "to confound" clearly have the same root: And we can also see "to fuse" and "fusion" in the noun "confusion."  And we now know that con means "with." You might never think of the word "confusion" the same way again. 

The cognate confusione exists in Italian. Sometimes it's equivalent to the English "confusion." 

Perciò quando i soggetti sono diversi, questo potrebbe portare un po' di confusione.

So when the subjects are different, this could bring about a bit of confusion.

Captions 25-26, Corso di italiano con Daniela 3) Proposizioni subordinate finali - Part 2

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But often confusione means something more akin to "chaos" "fuss," "mess," or "commotion."

E, soprattutto, nella confusione nessuno si accorgerebbe di nulla.

And above all, in the chaos, nobody would notice anything.

Caption 16, Il Commissario Manara S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 11

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Lupo ha detto che c'aspetta in palestra e poi era troppa confusione per lui.

Lupo said he'd be waiting for us at the gym and besides, it was too much commotion for him.

Captions 56-57, L'oro di Scampia film - Part 19

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Knowing these little connections may help you find the words when you need them, or at least recognize them when you see them. Or you might just enjoy being aware of the connections (or you might not care at all). 

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We often translate confondere as "to mix up."

The verb confondere can be used as a normal transitive verb: to confuse.

Tu mi sa che confondi la cocaina con l'aspirina.

I think you are confusing cocaine with aspirin.

Caption 10, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 11

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The same past participle, confuso, can mean "confused." We can use the past participle of confondere as an adjective when we are confused — confuso. The ending has to agree in gender and number with what or who is being described.

Sei confusa, addolorata, ma lo sai che lui ti merita.

You're confused, aggrieved, but you know that he deserves you.

Captions 85-86, Il Commissario Manara S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 8

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When we get confused or mixed up, it's a process, and we go the reflexive route with the reflexive form of the verb: confondersi.

Sì, sì, è probabile, perché i nomi sono molto simili, Renzo, Gaetano... uno si può confondere.

Yes, yes. That's likely, because the names are very similar, Renzo, Gaetano... someone can get mixed up.

Captions 57-58, Provaci ancora prof! S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 13

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...e se di me non parlo e non mi ascolto, succede che poi mi confondo.

...and if I don't talk about myself and I don't listen to myself, it happens that then I get confused.

Captions 56-57, Rosalba al parco della donna gatto - Part 2

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There's an expression in Italian: confondere le acque (to muddy the water). In this case, you are not confused, but you are making something confusing on purpose. Here, confuso can be translated as "confusing."

 Hanno fatto un racconto un po' confuso.

They gave a somewhat confusing account.

Caption 16, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP2 Rabbia - Part 3

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When we use the passato prossimo (which works like the present perfect), the past participle is the same as the adjective form, but the verb essere (to be) is present, too, as well as the reflexive pronoun, as opposed to a subject pronoun. 

Che fai, parli ternano pure tu, adesso? -Perché mi so' [sono] confuso,

What are you doing? Are you talking Terni-ese, too, now? -Because I got confused,

Captions 59-60, Sposami EP 5 - Part 16

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So if I want to say, "You got confused," I would say, "Ti sei confuso/a".

When, in La Ladra, Eva uses the verb to talk about a spice she can’t distinguish, she uses the verb confondere but she might have meant confondersi, which can also mean "to blend in." If we want a transitive verb as a translation, "muddle" might work, too. 

C'è una spezia che confonde il quadro di insieme, non so, non riesco a percepirla.

There's a spice that muddles the whole picture. I don't know, I can't manage to perceive it. 

There's a spice that makes the whole picture confusing, I don't know, I'm not able to perceive it.

There's a spice that blends in with the whole picture, I don't know, I'm not able to perceive it.

Caption 32, La Ladra EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 3

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We hope you are not more confused than when you began reading this lesson!

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A Yabla subscriber has asked us to shed some light on the difference between noioso and annoiato. They are both adjectives and can be used to describe a person. There are some intricacies involved with these words, which we'll get to, but let's start out with the noun: la noia.

Che noia!

What a bore!

Caption 9, Acqua in bocca - Un amico per Pippo

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What is tricky about this noun (and its related adjectives) is that it can indeed imply boredom, but it can also mean "the bother" or "the nuisance." In fact, in the previous example, we don't know the context, but the meaning could also have been "what a nuisance," or "what a pain." The noun noia rarely refers to a person him- or herself, as "bore" would in English.

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Noia

The following example is from Tuscany where noia is used a great deal to mean "bother." And it's often used with the verb dare (to give) — dare noia (to be a bother, to be annoying, to be in the way).

Erano alberi che davano noia e basta,

They were trees that were a bother and nothing more,

Caption 30, Gianni si racconta - L'olivo e i rovi

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So che noia can mean "what boredom" or "what a pain!" And dare noia can be interpreted as bothering, or being a bother, or being in the way.

Annoiare

We also have the verb annoiare that does remind one of the verb "to annoy." Indeed, that is one of the meanings and comes from the Latin "inodiare" — avere in odio (to have hateful feelings for).

Mi disturba, mi annoia,

You're bothering me, you're annoying me,

Caption 11, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sul Piemonte

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But it is much more common for this verb to be used in its reflexive form annoiarsi. In this case it's always about being bored or possibly fed up.

Io non mi annoio mai quando sto con lui, mai.

I never get bored when I am with him, ever.

Caption 34, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita

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Noioso

We've seen that noia isn't just about boredom, so likewise, noioso can mean boring, but not necessarily. Let's look at some examples of the different nuances.

Noioso can describe a person who is not very interesting, a dull person:

Abbiamo solamente avuto un piccolo flirt.

We just had a little fling.

Genere depresso e noioso, capisci?

Depressed and boring type, you understand?

Captions 9-10, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale

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It can also describe a movie, for example: 

Il film era noioso, purtroppo (the movie was boring, unfortunately).

Here's a perfect example of something that is not boring. It's annoying. And in fact, the N and O sounds can hint at that.

Eh, povero Dixi, il singhiozzo è noioso

Oh, poor Dixi, the hiccups are bothersome

Caption 15, Dixiland - Il singhiozzo

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Annoiato

Annoiato can be used as the past participle of annoiare, or more often, as we mentioned above, the past participle of the reflexive verb annoiarsi. In this case, it means "to get or to be bored."

Oppure: "No, non andrò alla festa di Marcello.

Or: "No, I won't go to Marcello's party.

Ci sono già stato l'anno scorso e mi sono annoiato".

I already went to it last year and I got bored."

Captions 48-49, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne

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But as often occurs, past participles are also used as adjectives. With annoiato, this can describe one's state of being.

Ciao. Sei annoiato o annoiata

Hi. Are you bored (m) or bored (f)

e ti vuoi divertire e rilassare?

and you want to have a good time and relax?

Captions 3-4, Marika spiega - Il cinema

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Just for fun:

Let's try using all these forms in a silly, made-up dialogue.

Lei: Sembri annoiato, è così? (You seem bored. Are you?)

 

Lui: No, ho solo sonno (No, I'm just sleepy.) E inoltre, come posso annoiarmi ad ascoltare i tuoi racconti per l'ennesima volta? (And besides, how can I get bored listening to you tell your stories for the umteenth time?)

 

Lei: Beh, so che posso essere un po' noiosa a volte, scusami (Well, I know I can be a bit boring at times, sorry.) Allora smetto di darti noia, e me ne vado (I'll stop bothering you, then, and I'll leave.)

 

Lui: No, aspetta, se vai via mi annoierò davvero (If you leave, I will get bored for real.) E tra l'altro, ho dei lavori noiosissimi da fare e non ne ho nessuna voglia (And besides, I have some really tedious jobs to do and I have no desire to do them.)

 

Lei: OK, so che sono noiosa, ma non sarebbe meglio fare quei lavori dato che siano anche urgenti (OK, I know I am being a pain, but wouldn't it be better to do those jobs, given that they're urgent?)

 

Lui: OK, ora sei noiosa davvero. Mi sono ampiamente annoiato con questa storia (OK, now you are really being boring/irritating. I'm pretty sick of this thing), quindi forse è meglio se te ne vai... (so maybe it's better if you do leave.)

 

OK, ciao. Non ti voglio annoiare con un'altra delle mie storie noiose. (OK, bye. I don't want to bore you with another of my boring stories.)

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