As more and more people are living to old age, they often can no longer take care of themselves.The person who is hired to look after an old or infirm person at home is called la badante (the caregiver, the home-health aide). If the caregiver is a male, then it's il badante.

Sì, La moglie fa la badante a una signora. Si chiama Adele.

Yes. The wife is a home-health aide for a woman. Her name is Adele.

Caption 56, Il Commissario Manara S2EP10 -La verità nascosta - Part 5

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The verb this noun comes from is badare "to take care" or "to look after." 

We don't only use it with the old and infirm... 

Ci devo badare io a mio fratello Radu, ma io non volevo mancare [a] scuola e così l'ho portato.

I have to take care of my brother Radu, but I didn't want to be absent from school and so I brought him.

Captions 11-13, Provaci ancora prof! S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco - Part 2

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Guarda che io so badare a me stesso, eh.

Look, I can take care of myself, huh.

Caption 48, La Ladra EP. 7 - Il piccolo ladro - Part 1

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We also use it to mean "to pay attention."

Non ci badare, è matto.

Don't pay attention to him, he's crazy.

Caption 16, Psicovip Cappuccetto Rosso - Ep 7

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Ma, io non ci bado molto ai piedi.

Well, I don't pay much attention to feet.

Caption 12, Psicovip Cappuccetto Rosso - Ep 7

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Non ho badato se facevo del male a qualcuno.

I didn't pay attention to whether I was hurting someone or not.

Caption 62, Sposami EP 3 - Part 22

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For grammar nerds: If we look at the conjugation of badare, we see that the noun la badante is actually the present participle of the verb badare.

If you want someone to pay attention, be careful, or take note, you can say:

Bada bene...

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Places to Sit in Italian - Part 1

In a previous lesson we talked about sedie (chairs), panche (benches), and panchine (park benches). But now let’s examine some more comfortable places to sit.

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Normally, if there are arms on a chair, as in “armchair,” it’s una poltrona, for Italians, especially if it’s got padding and is comfortable. A smaller armchair, that is, a chair with braccioli (arms or armrests), may be called una poltroncina. It’s not necessarily comfortable. Il bracciolo (arm, armrest) comes from il braccio (the arm).

If we want to seat two people, we can talk about un divanetto. It is usually smaller in size and importance than a proper divano (sofa, couch) where you can usually lie down, put your feet up,  and take up space.

Mi distendo sul divano, guardo un po' di televisione.

I stretch out on the couch, I watch a little TV.

Captions 41-42, Adriano - Giornata

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Sometimes people have a divano letto (a sofa bed) for guests, or even for themselves, if they lack space.

What you sit on in a car, train or plane, or other means of transport is un sedile (a seat). They are often called posti a sedere (places to sit).

In prima classe, i sedili sono più comodi.
In first class, the seats are more comfortable.

Babies and young children need special seats in a car.

È passeggino per i bambini molto piccoli, oppure seggiolino auto.

It’s a stroller for very small babies, or else a little car seat.

Caption 42, Anna presenta - Attrezzature per un neonato

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Babies eat in special chairs called seggioloni (highchairs).

If you go skiing in Italy, you may want to travel up the slopes on a seggiovia (chairlift).

And if you really want to get comfortable, you can stretch out on un letto matrimoniale (a double or king-size bed) or un lettino (usually a single bed), or if you go to the doctor’s or to see a massage therapist, or even a psychoanalyst, you might also find yourself lying on un lettino.

Si metta sul lettino e mi parli del Suo rapporto con i piedi.

Get on the couch and tell me about your relationship with your feet.

Caption 7, Psicovip - Cappuccetto Rosso

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Un lettino may also be seen at the edge of pools or at the beach.

E quanto costa affittare un lettino?

And how much does it cost to rent a sunbed?

Caption 7, Una gita - al lago

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Another comfortable seat is uno sdraio (a deck chair, a recliner).

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Sdraio comes from the verb sdraiare (to lay down) or its reflexive version, sdraiarsi (to lie down, to recline). The plural is the same as the singular as we see in the following example.

Vengono messi ombrelloni, sdraio.

Beach umbrellas, beach chairs will be installed.

Caption 5, Antonio - e il Lido Costa Blu

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