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Lattina or Scatola?

Although lattina and scatola can both mean "can," it's worth taking a look at the differences in usage between these two nouns.  

 

Note we say in scatola to mean "canned," in other words, "in a can." We're talking about how these goods are packaged, not where they are at the moment.   

E puoi trovare tutto quello che non ha una scadenza breve, come sale, pasta, olio, salsa di pomodoro, legumi in scatola, farine,

And you can find everything that doesn't have a short shelf life, like salt, pasta, oil, tomato sauce, canned beans and lentils, flour,

Captions 48-51, Vocaboliamo Supermercato - Part 4

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If, while I am cooking, I can't find the beans to add to my soup. 

Dove sono i miei fagioli (where are my beans)?

 

The answer does not use in scatola in this case, but rather nella scatola. We're not talking about how they are packaged, we're talking about where the beans are. 

I fagioli sono ancora nella scatola (the beans are still in the can). 

—because I haven't taken them out yet. 

 

Sometimes a can is small, such as those for tuna or cat food. In the example below, Marika tells us the tuna is canned (in scatola) to distinguish it from tonno fresco (fresh tuna). Then she mentions it being small and uses a diminutive: scatoletta

Del tonno, semplice tonno in scatola sottolio. Questa è una scatoletta di duecentocinquanta grammi...

Some tuna, simple canned tuna, in oil. This is a small can of two hundred and fifty grams...

Captions 45-46, Marika spiega L'insalata di pasta - Part 1

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Although, as we mentioned above, una scatola can be a can, especially when referring to canned goods, it's also, or even primarily, "a box." In the next example, scatola means "box," We can imagine a box, such as a cereal box. But it could also be one of those round (or square) tins of butter cookies. 

Quantità: "Abbiamo mangiato una scatola di biscotti in due".

Quantity: "We ate a box of cookies between us."

Caption 14, Marika spiega Preposizioni semplici - Part 2

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 In this next example, la scatola is a large, oblong cardboard box that contains a wedding gown.  

Quando lo metti nella scatola, lo devi stendere... -Permesso?

When you put it in the box, you have to lay it flat... -May I come in?

Caption 1, Sposami EP 5 - Part 10

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Scatola is a fairly generic term. 

Non facevamo prima a prendere una scatola di cioccolatini?

Wouldn't it have been quicker for us to get a box of chocolates?

Caption 33, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP5 Lele, ti presento Irene - Part 2

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Speaking generically, we might use the noun scatola for a cardboard box, but we can also say una scatola di cartone, because cartone means cardboard. But sometimes, we just say un cartone to mean "a cardboard box." 

 

The noun la lattina comes from la latta (the tin [the metal], the metal sheet). These days, una lattina is usually made of aluminum and is very lightweight compared to una scatola for beans or tuna. For items such as bulk olive oil, we can talk about una latta da 3 kg (a three-kilo can).

 

In this next example, the speaker uses the noun latta to let us know that the jingles on a tambourine used to be made from the top of a can, but especially that the can was made of metal, likely tin, since she is talking about earlier times.  

 

E questo perché, eh, viene applicate... vengono applicati i sonagli, o cimbali, detti, eh... che una volta originariamente, pensate, erano proprio presi per... dalla latta per le sardine.

And that's because, uh, jingles, or so-called cymbals are attached, uh... that at one time, originally, imagine, they were actually taken for... from a tin for sardines.

Captions 8-10, Eleonora suona il Tamburello

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The upshot is that if you are looking for a soft drink or a beer, la lattina is the word you are looking for.  If it's beans, then you'll want una scatola or una scatoletta if it's on the small side. And it's good to keep in mind that una scatola is not necessarily made of metal.

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In a future lesson or video lesson, we'll discuss other types of containers. 

Vocabulary

Che ne so: Let's take it apart

We see the word che meaning "that" or "which" all the time in sentences. It's a very common conjunction. 

Ad Ercolano, c'è un pomodoro che è diventato simbolo di un'importante voglia di cambiamento.

In Ercolano, there is a tomato that has become a symbol of an important desire for change.

Captions 21-22, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 7

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But che does more. Here is a lesson about using che to say things with simplicity, a great asset when you're just learning. It helps make conversation. Here, it means "how."

Che carino, Però adesso devo scappare, altrimenti mio fratello mi uccide.

How sweet. But now I have to run, otherwise my brother will kill me.

Caption 29, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 11

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Che can also mean "what." See this lesson

Scusa, ma io che ci faccio qui? Non conto niente.

Sorry, but what am I doing here? I don't count for anything.

Caption 3, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 2

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In our featured expression che ne so?, che basically stands for "what." We can often translate che ne so as "What do I know?" Sometimes we might translate it as, "How should I know?" It's often a rhetorical question. 

Nilde, ma che mangia il bambino la mattina? -Ma che ne so?

Nilde, but what does the child eat in the morning? -How should I know?

Captions 2-3, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3 EP1: Ciao famiglia - Part 3

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We've taken care of che. But what about that little word ne? Ne is a particle, called una particella in Italian, and if we look ne up in the dictionary we see it means several things. But mostly, it encompasses both a preposition and the indirect object pronoun "it" or "them." See this lesson about ne.

 

As mentioned in the lesson, we often don't even notice the word ne because it's so short and because we are not looking for it if we're thinking in English. Once you start thinking in Italian, it will become easier to use and notice. Italians will be very tolerant and understand you anyway, even if you don't use it, so don't worry about it too much. But learning an expression with ne will already make you sound more fluent. 

 

In our expression, ne means "about it." The tricky thing is that we don't bother with "about it" in English, but in Italian, not always, but in general, we will hear that little ne in there. 

Che ne so? What do I know [about it]?

 

Finally, we get to so, which is simply the first person singular of the verb sapere (to know).

 

You might have already learned how to say "I know" and "I don't know" in Italian. Italians add the direct object pronoun lo ("it" or "that").

Sì, lo so (yes I know [that].

Non lo so (I don't know [that]).

 

But che ne so can also be used in the middle of a sentence, as we would use "I don't know." It's a kind of filler phrase. We can leave it out and the meaning doesn't change much. 

perché, diciamo... -comunque devono sostenere il peso. -Devono sostenere il peso, più che altro devono fare, che ne so, la stessa cosa per un'ora.

because, let's say... -anyway they have to support the weight. -They have to support the weight, more than that, they have to, I don't know, do the same thing for an hour.

Captions 50-51, Francesca Cavalli - Part 2

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Ma tu ti devi aggiornare, sarai rimasto sicuramente, che ne so, ai Pooh.

But you have to get up to date. You must have remained, I don't know, at Pooh.

Caption 66, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP5 Lele, ti presento Irene - Part 2

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Allora, due colleghi decidono di scambiarsi il posto, firmano un modulo, e se non ci sono problemi, ma gravi, eh, tipo, che ne so, uno deve essere sotto inchiesta.

So, two colleagues decide to switch places, they sign a form, and if there are no problems, but serious huh, like, I don't know, one [of them] has to be under investigation.

Captions 38-40, Il Commissario Manara S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 12

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Dice, chissà se c'ha un lenzuolo da piegare, se ti manca... che ne so? C'è un tubo che perde acqua...

Saying, who knows if she has some sheets to fold, if you're out of... I don't know... There's a pipe that leaks...

Captions 39-40, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 1

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For more about particles ci and ne, see Daniela's video lessons (in Italian)

In this video, Marika explains the particle ne.