This business of gender in Italian can be so tricky for non-native speakers. When we hear a word, we don't always pay attention to the ending of a noun. It can easily get lost, so when we then have to actually say the word, for example, when looking for something in a shop, the doubt surges up. Which is it: a or o? So yes, we basically know the word, but the gender, and thus, the ending, escapes us. It's a great reason to learn a noun with its article, as we try to help you do in our Yabla vocabulary reviews at the end of our videos.
Alas, even people who have been living in Italy for years and years still have these doubts from time to time and get it wrong sometimes.
Let's look at one such word, or rather two. Because the same word with a different ending can mean something quite different. At the same time, we can usually find a connection between the two words through its root, or through the verb the noun came from, and that's always kind of fun (for us nerdy-type learners among us).
I go into a shop to buy a new bathroom scale. Is it un bilancio or una bilancia???? There's that embarrassing moment when you can't remember which it is. At that moment, you desperately try a workaround, using a different word like una cosa per pesarsi (something for weighing oneself). In fact, we can also call a bathroom scale a pesapersone (which luckily, can be either masculine or feminine!).
To get to the root of a word, which can sometimes help us understand it, we look to Latin, the source of most Italian words. We often look to the verb, but it turns out that in this case, the noun came first.
We have the late Latin noun "bilanx," made up of "bi-," meaning "two" and "lanx" meaning "plate." Picture an old fashioned type of scale that is made up of precisely that: two suspended plates on which to place the weights and the items you want to weigh.
With this image, you can remember the feminine goddess of justice, holding up the scale. And that can help you remember that the word for scale is la bilancia and it's feminine.
Prego, alla bilancia.
Please, on the scale.
Bene, abbiamo finito. Rivestitevi.
Good, we're done. Get dressed again.
Captions 11-12, La Tempesta - film
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Certainly, Italians get on a bathroom scale just as often as anyone, but they also use a little scale in the kitchen, to weigh items like la pasta, la farina (flour), lo zucchero (sugar), il riso (rice), etc.
From the noun la bilancia, we derive the verb bilanciare (to balance). You can balance the books or accounts, or you can balance the weights on an old-fashioned mechanical scale. The following example is from an explanation of the economy with the board game Monopoly as a model. It's describing the role of the Bank.
Cioè, immette liquidità nella partita per
That is, it issues liquidity into the game
bilanciare la sfortuna dei giocatori
to balance the misfortunes of the players,
o semplicemente l'eventuale mancanza di contante.
or simply the potential lack of cash.
Captions 26-27, l'Economia Spiegata Facile - Perché le banche ci prestano i soldi?
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Bilanciare also has a reflexive form bilanciarsi. In this case it's intransitive. You might use this form if you are walking a tightrope, or carrying packages.
If it's about money, you are probably looking for the masculine il bilancio. It can mean the budget, the balancing of the budget, or the accounts.
This example is about cooking the books.
Che cosa ha fatto? Che cosa non ha fatto?
What did he do? What didn't he do?
Fallimento, falso in bilancio, bancarotta fraudolenta.
Bankruptcy, tampering with the books, fraudulent bankruptcy.
Captions 63-64, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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Here are some common phrases with bilancio, which is used a bit differently from English.
fare il bilancio, chiudere il bilancio (to draw up the balance sheet)
far quadrare il bilancio (to balance the books)
chiudere il bilancio in attivo/passivo (to make a profit/loss)
fare il bilancio della situazione (fig) (to assess the situation)
This lesson is dedicated to an old friend who had trouble with bilancia and bilancio. Are there words you have trouble remembering? Words that change meanings between masculine and feminine? The next lesson could be dedicated to you! Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
There are a lot of things to do in the summer, but Italians talk about them a bit differently than English speakers do. The word we will hear all the time in Italy, at least if we're within a two hour drive from the coast, is il mare.
As you can see from the following example, we talk about the beach, because for the most part, we have sandy beaches. But Italy, being a peninsula (penisola in Italian) is surrounded on three coasts by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, so it's a vital part of the country itself. The sea has different names depending on what part of Italy it touches on.
Infatti, io e Giorgia siamo andate insieme al mare.
In fact, Giorgia and I went to the beach together.
Caption 21, Francesca e Marika - Il verbo andare coniugazione
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For more vocabulary about the beach, check out these videos:
This one is about a beach very close to Pisa, something to keep in mind if you visit Pisa in the summer.
In giro per l'Italia - Pisa e dintorni - Part 3
Finalmente siamo arrivati al mare. [Marina di Pisa]
We've finally arrived at the seaside. [Marina di Pisa]
Caption 1, In giro per l'Italia - Pisa e dintorni
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Here's a wonderful series about the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily. They are breathtakingly beautiful and well worth a visit. If you can't visit, watch the videos!
https://italian.yabla.com/videos.php?program_id=1680
La località isolata e selvaggia di grande bellezza naturale,
The wild and isolated village, with its great natural beauty,
si può raggiungere solo via mare.
is only reachable by sea.
Caption 11, Linea Blu - Le Eolie
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But let's say you like to swim, but in a pool rather than in the sea.
When you go to a pool regularly, to swim laps, then you can say faccio nuoto (I'm a swimmer, I swim): In the following example, Annamaria Mazzetti trains for Olympic triathlons.
Facciamo nuoto, bici, corsa tutti i giorni.
We swim, cycle, and run every day.
Caption 14, Le Olimpiadi 2012 - Annamaria Mazzetti
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But let's say you want to go kayaking (andare in canoa), the instructor will ask you:
Sai nuotare?
Do you know how to swim?
Caption 68, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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If not, they will give you a life jacket or life preserver (un salvagente).
But let's say you're at the beach and you just want to go in the water and play in the waves. It sounds strange to us, because many of us have learned that bagno means bathroom...
Noi amici, trascorriamo il tempo giocando,
We friends pass the time playing,
oppure nelle giornate estive facciamo il bagno
or else, on summer days we go swimming
e... invece, in quelle invernali veniamo qui per chiacchierare.
and... and on winter ones we come here to talk.
Captions 16-18, Amiche - sulla spiaggia
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So if someone asks you: "Facciamo il bagno?" you will know they want you to go in the water at the beach or at the pool (in piscina).
Finally, one thing Italians say all the time during the summer is:
Ah, che caldo!
Oh, it's so hot!
Caption 1, Andromeda - in - Storia del gelato
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Caldo is an adjective meaning "hot", but also a noun meaning "heat": il caldo.
Enjoy your summer, or looking forward to summer, depending on where you are.
In a previous lesson, we looked at some Italian words that have to do with "right": retto and its feminine form retta. We mentioned that there are other words that can mean "right" and so in this lesson, we will look at two more: diritto, dritto. Sometimes they mean "right" and sometimes they don't, but they are very good words to know!
If we look at the dictionary entry for dritto, we also find diritto, so they are very closely related and can often be used interchangeably. And sometimes it's hard to tell if someone is saying one or the other. But there are cases where you can't swap them.
When you have rights (or not), then you use diritto as a masculine noun. Dritto won't work in this case!
Mi dice con che diritto ha fermato Stefano?
Will you tell what right you had to detain Stefano?
Caption 48, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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As in English, we can talk about rights in general: equal rights, civil rights, etc., thus using the plural.
Anch'io ho i miei diritti e la mia dignità di lavoratore.
I also have my rights and my dignity as a worker.
Caption 6, Ma che ci faccio qui! - Un film di Francesco Amato
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While a single law is una legge, law in general is referred to as diritto or giurisprudenza. Here, too, dritto won't do.
Mi sono appena iscritto alla facolta di Diritto.
I'm just enrolled in Law school.
Although dritta as a noun almost surely derives from the verb dirigere, it has become a colloquial but widely used feminine noun in itself. In this case, someone is heading you in the right direzione (direction) by giving you some good advice or a tip. Diritta doesn't work here.
Gli ho solamente dato qualche dritta su come tenere
I just gave him a few tips on how to keep
pulito il lastricato dalla gramigna. -Ah!
the flagstones free of weeds. -Ah.
Captions 53-54, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro
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We can use the noun form dritto/dritta to describe someone who is sly, a smooth operator.
La dritta can also indicate the right-[hand] side, the one used to direct (dirigere). On a ship, it's the starboard side. On a medal il dritto is the "front" side. In knitting, dritto is a plain stitch.
Just as with "right" in English, diritto can be either an adjective or a noun, but it can also be an adverb.
One thing a parent might tell a child is:
Valentina, sta dritta.
Valentina, stand up straight.
Caption 10, Fellini Racconta - Un Autoritratto Ritrovato
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As we found in the lesson on retto, "straight" and "right" are close cousins in English. Think of the word "upright."
One way we use the adverb dritto or diritto is when we give directions, so this is super important. Whether you say diritto or dritto, people will understand you just fine.
Here, Daniela is teaching us about giving directions.
OK? Allora, andare a destra, andare a sinistra,
OK? So, "to go to the right," "to go to the left,"
andare dritto, andare sempre dritto, andare tutto dritto.
"to go straight," "to go straight ahead." "to go straight ahead."
Captions 53-54, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Chiedere informazioni
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"Rigare dritto" vuol dire comportarsi bene.
"To toe the line" [to make a straight line] means "to behave."
Caption 14, Marika commenta -La Ladra - Espressioni idiomatiche
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Check out Marika's video where she says a bit more about the expression rigare dritto or filare dritto.
In the following example, we could also say the shot went right to the heart.
Un colpo di pistola dritto al cuore a distanza ravvicinata, ma...
A gunshot direct to the heart at close range, but...
Caption 16, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E2 - Un amore pericoloso
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There is certainly more to say about these fascinating and important words, but your head must be full by now. Keep your eyes and ears open as you watch Yabla videos. These words will be peppered all through them. Let us know your questions and doubts, and we'll get back to you. Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com
Now that we have talked about uno, here's another related word that's handy to know. It's a word you can guess one meaning of because it looks similar to an English word you know.
Oggi Matera è un sito unico al mondo...
Today, Matera is a site that's unique in the world...
Caption 46, Meraviglie - EP. 1 - Part 11
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So when you want to say something is unique, now you know how. Don't forget that the adjective unico has to agree with its noun. You have four possible endings to choose from: unico, unica, unici, uniche.
One way Italians like to use unico is to give someone a certain kind of compliment (which can be ironic, too).
Augusto, sei unico.
Augusto, you're one of a kind.
Caption 34, La Ladra - Ep. 6 - Nero di rabbia
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Again, if you are saying this to a girl or woman, you will want to use unica.
Maria, sei unica!
Maria, you're special!
But the main way Italians use the word unico is to mean "only."
È l'unico modo che ho per sdebitarmi.
It's the only way I have to settle my debt.
Caption 25, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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Questa scuola è l'unica cosa che ho.
This school is the only thing I have.
Caption 5, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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E saremo gli unici al mondo ad avere qualcosa di simile.
And we'll be the only ones in the world to have something like this.
Caption 18, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2
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Tutte le volte che veniva a pregare per le uniche persone che amava.
Every time she came to pray for the only people she loved.
Caption 17, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo
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If you travel to Italy and go clothes shopping, here's something you will definitely see on the racks or on a label.
taglia unica (one size fits all).
The noun La taglia comes from the verb tagliare (to cut).
The other very important expression with unico is what you might see while driving your macchina a noleggio (rental car).
una strada a senso unico (a one way street)
People also just call a one way street:
un senso unico (a one way street)
In these last two examples, we could say that unico stands for "one." The important thing is to understand what it means in the situation. You don't want to drive the wrong way down a road!
In English, we have the pronoun "one" and the number "one." They both refer to something single but do not mean exactly the same thing. We have a similar phenomenon in Italian, but it goes a step further. This lesson will explore the word uno in various contexts, and since this will take us to the subject of "indefinite articles," we'll take the opportunity to look at those, too!
Uno (one) can be the number "one":
Adesso proveremo noi insieme un passo base di Tango.
Now, together, we'll try out the basic steps of the Tango.
Uno, due, tre.
One, two, three.
Captions 38-39, Adriano - balla il Tango Argentino
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We can use uno as an adjective when we are talking about "how many?" One.
Ho trovato solo uno stivale. L'altro l'ho perso (I found only one boot. I lost the other one).
Uno is an indefinite article, "a", used only when followed by a Z or by an S + a consonant:*
Uno scontrino, perché?
"Uno scontrino." Why?
Perché la parola inizia per s più consonante.
Because the word starts with "s" plus a consonant.
Captions 55-56, Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo
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Uno scolapasta.
A colander.
Caption 27, Adriano - Pasta alla carbonara
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When the masculine word following the article begins with a vowel or single consonant (excluding Z) it's un.
Quello che è successo è un segnale.
What happened is a sign.
Caption 9, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 21
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This is the most common masculine indefinite article and as we mentioned above, it remains the same even when it comes before a vowel (no apostrophe).
Stiamo cercando un aviatore americano.
We're looking for an American pilot.
Caption 6, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 5
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When this article comes before a feminine noun (or the adjective that describes it), it's una.
Hai una bellissima voce.
You have a very beautiful voice.
Caption 9, Adriano - Fiaba
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If the feminine indefinite article una comes before a word that starts with a vowel, it becomes un' so as not to break the flow.
Magari sarà per un'altra volta.
Perhaps, another time.
Caption 7, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 12
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Here, instead of saying give me una borsa (a bag), Eva just says give me one of them.
Dai, dammene una. -No, no, so' [romanesco: sono] abituata.
Come on, give me one of them. -No, no, I'm used to it.
Caption 6, La Ladra Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 5
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Attenzione! In order to speak correctly, you have to know the gender of the noun you are replacing!
But uno can also mean the pronoun "someone."
Allora, innanzitutto, quando uno studia a uni'... a una università,
So, first of all, when someone studies at a uni... at a university,
eh, per esempio in Italia, eh, a Firenze...
uh, for example, in Italy, uh, in Florence...
Captions 17-18, Arianna e Marika - Il Progetto Erasmus
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Uno quando ha un talento, lo deve coltivare.
When someone has talent, he has to cultivate it.
Caption 73, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 12
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Generally speaking, the masculine form is used to mean "someone," however, if you want to specify that that someone is a female, then una can serve the same purpose.
For English speakers, getting the article right in Italian can be confusing, especially since in many cases, you have to know the gender of the noun you are using the article with and that can be daunting, too!
When translating, we often have to think twice. Does uno/un/una mean "one" or "a"? Since it's the same word in Italian, it's not always clear!
Doing the Scribe exercises at the end of the videos you watch can be a great way to learn how to use the articles — You ask yourself, "When do I use the apostrophe? And when not?" You'll make plenty of mistakes, but little by little it will sink in.
If you want more lessons about using articles, let us know at newsletter@yabla.com.
*Here are some of the video lessons that might be helpful for learning about using indefinite articles (called articoli indeterminativi).
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 1
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 2
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 3
We've talked about two words to use when we need something fixed: sistemare and riparare. Here's another: accomodare. This verb looks a lot like the English verb to accommodate and while they both come from the same Latin word "accomodare" they are not true cognates.
Questa bici è vecchia ma l'ho fatta accomodare da un amico esperto e sembra nuova.
This bike is old, but I had it fixed up by a friend who's an expert, and it's just like new.
It could be that the verb accomodare is used less frequently than some others to mean "to repair" but it's good to know it exists, as you might hear it and get confused if you hadn't read this lesson!
When getting something repaired, it's common to use the verb fare (to make, to do) and the infinitive form of the verb accomodare as in our example above: fare accomodare (to get repaired). Let's keep in mind that used this way, accomodare is a transitive verb, in other words, it takes a direct object.
As with sistemare, accomodare can be used to mean to tidy up, to arrange, as in getting a bedroom ready for someone.
Ho accommodato la stanza dove dormirai.
I got the room where you'll be sleeping ready for you.
As with many verbs, there is a reflexive form of accomodare, and in this case, it has come to mean something completely different from the normal verb. Here, we can also see a connection with the adjective comodo (comfortable, at ease).
This verb is very important when someone invites you into their house. Of course, when you enter, it is always polite to say permesso. You're asking permission to come in.
Con permesso? Permesso?
May I come in? May I come in?
Caption 31, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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One answer you might get is this, especially if you know the person well:
Posso? -Vieni. Accomodati.
May I? -Come in. Have a seat.
Ti ho portato i prospetti che mi avevi chiesto.
I brought the forecasts you had asked me for.
Captions 19-20, Questione di Karma - Rai Cinema
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In the example above, the reflexive accomodarsi is used in the second person singular imperative. It can mean "Have a seat" but can also mean, "Make yourself comfortable," "Get yourself settled."
If you are staying with someone, perhaps they will show you to your room. They might say:
Ti faccio accomodare qui.
You can get settled in here.
The same goes for when you have dinner.
Se ho degli ospiti a pranzo o a cena,
If I have guests for lunch or for dinner,
li faccio accomodare qui,
I have them sit here,
su [sic: a] questo tavolo.
on [sic, at] this table.
Captions 34-36, Marika spiega - Il salone
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Accomodarsi is used in the polite form as well, especially in offices, and is one way of inviting you in, but can also mean "please have a seat." In the following example, it's combined with venga — the polite singular imperative form of venire (to come).
Commissario, c'è la signora Fello.
Chief, Missus Fello is here.
Signora Fello, venga.
Missus Fello, come in.
-Permesso? -Venga, si accomodi.
-May I? -Come in, have a seat.
Captions 37-39, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP10 -La verità nascosta
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If you read our lessons regularly, you might have come across a lesson about the adjective comodo, which has a couple of different meanings. The lesson also discusses accomodarsi briefly, so check it out here.
Using accomodarsi in sentences can be challenging, but it's important to have the verb comfortably in your vocabulary toolbox. So if you have questions such as "How do I say __________ in Italian," we are here to help! Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
In some parts of the world, la bicicletta (the bicycle) has gained popularity lately because of the coronavirus. Some people like to avoid i mezzi pubblici (public transportation) and have begun opting for the bike. In Italy, bicycles have always been hugely popular, and la bicicletta is known affectionately as la bici. On weekends, you will see swarms of cyclists on country roads, so be careful if you're driving!
Per visitare al meglio il centro città di Lucca,
To best see the city center of Lucca,
ho deciso di prendere una bicicletta a noleggio.
I decided to rent a bicycle.
In questo modo, posso girare attraverso le vie del centro
That way, I can go around on the streets of the center
e addirittura pedalare sulle mura antiche.
and even pedal on the old walls.
Captions 13-16, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca
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Curiously, the preposition used for saying "by bike" or "on the bike" is in (in), as we see in the following example.
Ti prometto che vado a scuola in bici. OK?
I promise I'll go to school by bike. OK?
Caption 54, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo
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Il ciclismo (cycling) is also an excellent way to get exercise while being out in the fresh air and maintaining a certain distance from other people, so there's been a bit of a boom in recent months.
Let's take a look at some of the vocabulary that can be useful when talking about bikes.
The kind of bike that an older person would ride just to get around town, a bike that has just one gear, is called una bici olandese. Olandese means "Dutch — from Holland," and describes the kind of bike that works well on flat terrain (as in Holland), not hills. We'd probably describe this kind of bike as a clunker. Maybe it's been in the family for years. It's pesante (heavy), robusta (sturdy), there are parafanghi (fenders), and even a chain guard, so you don't get grease on your clothes while you're riding your bike to work. These bicycles usually have un cestino (a basket) and un portapacchi (a rack) on the back.
This is the kind of bike you would normally rent to get around a city, although these days, regular bikes have more gears and are more fun to ride. Cities can be a little hilly, so gears really help! When the bike has a comfortable seat and handlebars, but five or so gears so that you can do the hills and build up some speed on level terrain or descents, it's called a city bike, which needs no translation.
Now we get to bicycles that are made for appassionati di ciclismo (bike lovers), for people who like to ride for fun or sport.
Here, too, Italians have taken over the English term and call a mountain bike la mountain bike. So that's easy! These bikes are hugely popular with just about everyone, and can go everywhere, from normal roads to strade bianche (unpaved roads), strade sterrate (dirt roads), and ghiaia (gravel). People take them to the beach, too. They have a special kind of manubrio (handlebars) with il cambio (the gear shift) right there so you can switch gears without taking your hands off the handlebars.
Then we have road bikes: These are usually called bici da corsa because they are streamlined, made for going fast and are basically the kind of bike they use in races. They have curved handlebars that allow you to be aerodynamically positioned. These bikes have evolved over the years, but the basic design has remained the same.
Here are some of the words you might need when talking about bikes:
Nouns:
la sella (the saddle, the seat)
i parafanghi (the fenders)
il campanello (the bell)
il manubrio (the handlebars)
il freno (the brake)
la ruota (the wheel)
la gomma (the tire)
i pedali (the pedals)
la catena (the chain)
la pompa (the pump)
la camera d’aria (the tube)il cestino (the basket)
il portapacchi (the rack)
l’ingranaggio (the gear)
il cambio (the gearshifters)
i raggi (the spokes)
il cavalletto (the kickstand)
il gruppo* (the groupset) Note: the Italian word il gruppo means "the group" and has come to mean "groupset" — the mechanical parts of a bicycle. It's used in both Italian and English.
Verbs:
forare (to get a flat tire)
frenare (to brake)
salire (to get on)
scendere (to get off)
Other related words and phrases:
il ciclista (the cyclist)
noleggiare (to rent)
biciclette a noleggio (rental bikes)
il lucchetto (the lock)
alzare/abbassare la sella (to raise or lower the seat)
Quanto costa noleggiare una bici per un'ora (how much does it cost to rent a bike for an hour)?
Praticamente tutti i punti sono forniti di negozi
Pretty much all these points are equipped with shops
per noleggiare le biciclette.
for renting bicycles...
Caption 47, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca
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Let's look quickly at the verb noleggiare and its related noun il noleggio. Both of these words work when talking about renting a bike: noleggiare or prendere a noleggio. You might hear some people use another word for "rent" — affittare or prendere in aftitto. The meaning is the same, but affittare is used for things like an apartment or house, while noleggiare is used more for movable things. Affittare is never wrong, however, just less common in this context.
Infatti, ha affittato due biciclette,
In fact, he's rented two bicycles,
e così, andate in giro per la città.
and that way, you go around the city.
Captions 34-35, Marika spiega - I veicoli
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We hope this lesson will be helpful to you next time you travel to Italy, for either work or pleasure.
Some languages use one word to say something, another might need two or more to say the same thing. In the case of "living together," Italian has a word that sums it up nicely: la convivenza as a noun, or convivere as a verb. In modern English, we call it "living together," but a more official but perhaps outdated noun would be "cohabitation." The question comes up in the TV movie Sposami, where a young couple is having trouble planning their marriage in a way that will satisfy both sets of parents.
Perché non pensi a una bella convivenza, eh? Dai!
Why not think about just living together, huh? Come on!
Caption 58, Sposami - EP 1 - Part 18
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Taking apart this verb and noun makes it easy to understand:
vivere (to live) + con (with) = convivere (to live with, to live together)
The verb convivere is used to mean "to coexist." So not necessarily "together," but at the same time, in the same space.
Ora, i resti dell'antico tempio e della primitiva cattedrale sono
Now, the remains of the ancient temple and the early cathedral are
incastonati all'interno e all'esterno:
built-in on the inside and the outside:
elementi pagani e cristiani che si fondono, convivono...
pagan and Christian elements that fuse together, that coexist...
Captions 9-10, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Basilicata
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We also use convivere when we have to bear, endure, tolerate, accept, or live with a situation or condition. Right now people are "living with" the presence of the coronavirus.
Si convive (one lives with it).
Dovremo convivere con il coronavirus per parecchio tempo ancora (we will have to live with the coronavirus for some time yet).
People who are living together may be called conviventi. It describes the state
La parete divisoria è abusiva,
The dividing wall is illegal,
quindi per lo Stato noi siamo già conviventi.
so for the State, we're already living together.
Captions 6-7, La Tempesta - film - Part 16
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Conviventi is actually the present participle of convivere. We don't think about the present participle in English much, but it does exist. It is part of the present continuous or progressive tense and ends in "-ing." It looks just like a gerund but works differently.
We could put the previous example in the present continuous, but we would need a different verb (stare instead of essere, both translating to "to be").
La parete divisoria è abusiva, quindi per lo Stato noi stiamo già convivendo.
The dividing wall is illegal, so for the State, we are already living together.
Here's the difference:
A gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun, whereas a participle is a form of verb used as an adjective or as a verb in conjunction with an auxiliary verb. In English, the present participle has the same form as the gerund, and the difference is in how they are used.
Why is this important to know? In English it doesn't matter much--we know how to use these words and we don't much care what they are called. But it can help us understand the Italian present participle, which, unlike English, does have a different form, and often causes confusion for learners.
If you look at a conjugation chart, at the top you will see something like this:
convivereIt is conjugated like: vivereinfinite: conviveregerundio: convivendoparticipio presents: conviventeparticipio passato: convissutoforma pronominale: (n/a)
For those of you following Daniela's lessons, there is one about participles.
Il participio anche ha due tempi,The participle has two different tenses,
il presente e il passato.
the present and the past.
Al presente, il participio è "andante"
In the present, the participle is "going"
e al passato sarebbe "andato".
and in the past it would be "gone."
Captions 7-10, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Modi Indefiniti
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That's it for this lesson. We hope you have learned something useful, and we encourage you to write to us with questions, doubts or ideas. newsletter@yabla.com.
In the last lesson, we talked about the generic verb sistemare. Now, let's talk about a verb that is more specific when it comes to repairing things, but which has some surprising additional meanings.
This true cognate is an easy word to remember since it is so close to the English verb "to repair."
Io non ci metto le mani.
I'm not going to touch it.
La mandi a riparare in fabbrica.
You can send it to the factory to be repaired.
Caption 7, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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Ripara le ruote e le gomme delle automobili,
He fixes wheels and tires of cars,
delle biciclette e delle motociclette.
bicycles and motorcycles.
Caption 48, Marika spiega - Il nome dei negozi
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Riparo can be the first person singular of the verb riparare.
Venga, la riprenda.
Come, take it back.
Mi spiace, ma io questa non la riparo.
I'm sorry, but I'm not repairing this one.
Captions 4-5, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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But il riparo is also a noun. The following example gives us an idea of what it means.
Perché questo luogo è sempre stato in lotta
Because this place has always been fought over
con la sete dei conquistatori:
due to the thirst of conquerors:
Saraceni, Longobardi, Normanni.
Saracens, Longobards, Normans.
Ma è anche un luogo che ha offerto riparo,
But it's also a place that has offered shelter.
Captions 12-14, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Basilicata
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So riparo means "shelter," but what's interesting is that we can also use the verb riparare to mean "to shelter," "to protect." We can also use it reflexively ripararsi to mean "to take refuge." In this case, it's intransitive. This meaning is closely related to that of a similar verb, parare (to protect, to shield, to fend off).
Uè, però tirate piano, altrimenti non riesco a parare niente.
Hey, kick lightly though, otherwise I can't block anything.
Caption 41, L'oro di Scampia - film
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As a matter of fact, just as other Italian verbs with the prefix ri often have the same or similar meanings to the verb without the prefix (for example tornare, ritornare [to return]), sometimes, riparare and parare can mean the same thing. Parare is straightforwardly transitive.
Para, the third person singular of parare, is often used as part of the kind of compound noun that tells you what something does.
On a car, we have il parabrezza (the windshield). It fends off the wind.
We have parafanghi (fenders) on bicycles (fango = mud). It fends off the mud.
Un parasole (an awning, a parasol) helps to block the sunlight.
Riparare (when it means protection or shielding) is often used in the context of protecting things from the elements — things such as plants, animals, objects, people, houses, camping spots, etc. The preposition of choice is da (from).
L'ombrellone ti ripara dal sole. The beach umbrella protects you from the sun.
The following example has to do with an animated elephant who needed to do something in private. The past participle of riparare easily becomes an adjective!
C'era da trovare alla svelta un angolino riparato.
A sheltered corner needed to be found quickly.
Caption 13, Dixiland - La magia di Tribo
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Riparare can also mean "to remedy," "to make up for," "to put right." In English, we can use "to repair" in this case, too, but there are other, easier Italian verbs for these nuances.
What we have tried to provide here are the words you will most commonly hear in everyday speech, and the ones you will want to know if you need to choose a spot for a picnic in Tuscany, get your shoes fixed, or find some shelter when out hiking and it starts raining.
We often need to get things fixed, even if we happen to be on vacation. Things break: shoes, luggage, computers, etc. Let's look at some of the different words Italians use to fix things.
Sistemare is a great verb because it can be used in so many situations where you might not know a more technical or specific verb to use. It can mean "to make things right," as in sistemare una situazione (to resolve a situation), or "to take care of":
Certo, ma prima però ha il dovere di sistemare suo cugino Pino.
Of course, but first you have the duty of setting up your cousin Pino.
E poi c'è il massaro. -Chi?
And then there is the farmer. -Who?
Un vedovo che vive con il figlio nella dependance della fattoria.
A widower who lives with his son in an outbuilding of the farm.
Andrebbe sistemato anche lui.
He should get taken care of as well.
Andrebbe o va? -Va. Va.
He should be or he has to be? -He has to be. He has to be.
Captions 51-56, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film Part 4
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Sistemare can mean "to arrange," as in neatening up a room, or putting flowers in a vase:
Chiaramente dopo che avrai sistemato i tuoi fiori.
Clearly, after you have taken care of your flowers.
Caption 53, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia
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Here we have an example using the reflexive form of the verb. It can mean "to settle in" as in the example. It often means "to find a good job" or even "to find a husband/wife." It can also mean "to freshen up."
Ti sei sistemata? Sei in clinica?
Did you settle in? Are you at the clinic?
Caption 16, Sposami - EP 1 - Part 8
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Sistemare can also be used for large-scale jobs like renovations:
Quando si è sistemata la piazza nel millenovecentonovantuno,
When the piazza was renovated in nineteen ninety-one,
ci si è accorti che il palombaro,
they noticed that the "palombaro",
cioè questa grande cisterna, era colmo fino all'orlo.
that is, this large cistern, was full to the brim.
Captions 12-13, Meraviglie - EP. 1 - Part 15
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Here the passive voice was used perhaps because we don't really know who renovated the piazza. They could have said:
Quando hanno sistemato la piazza... (when they renovated the piazza...)
I might have a lawnmower that no longer works. I take it to be repaired. La porto a far sistemare. You ask the repairman,
Mi puoi sistemare questo tosaerba (can you fix this lawnmower)?
You go to the hairdresser:
Mi potresti dare una sistemata ai capelli (can you give my hair a trim)?
In this case, you are not asking for a major change. You just want your hair to look nice. And we've turned the verb into a noun, something Italians do all the time!
You bring some broken shoes to the calzolaio.
Mi potrebbe sistemare questo paio di scarpe (could you fix this pair of shoes)?
There might be more specific words to use in any of these situations, but sistemare is a go-to verb to have in your vocabulary toolbox.
In future lessons we will look at some other verbs we can use when we want to fix something. Stay tuned for:
accomodare
aggiustare
riparare
mettere a posto
rammendare
ricostruire
Let's talk about how we use adverbs in Italian.
Adverbs are easy because they don't change according to gender or number, as adjectives do. Knowing a few basic adverbs can help you ask and answer questions in general conversation with strangers or new friends. Adverbs in Italian (gli avverbi) are used to modify, clarify, qualify, or quantify the meaning of a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs can be categorized according to what they describe, or what questions they answer: Read more about Italian adverbs.
avverbi di modo (how?)
avverbi di quantità (how much or many?)
avverbi di luogo (where?)
avverbi di tempo (when, how often?)
Here's a list of some of the common adverbs you need to know:
Let's concentrate on two adverbs that often go hand in hand, but for now, we'll look at them separately:
Leonardo, molto spesso, nelle sue opere,
Leonardo, very often in his works,
faceva le figure centrali quasi fossero delle piramidi.
made the central figures almost as if they were pyramids.
Captions 10-12, Meraviglie - EP. 3 - Part 12
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Spesso is a great adverb to know. Just tack it on to a verb and you're all set.
Vengo spesso in questo posto (I often come to this place).
Non viaggio spesso in treno (I don't often travel by train).
Volentieri is also a wonderful adverb to have in your toolbox. When someone invites you to do something, you can answer with one word: Volentieri! (I'd be happy to, I'd love to). It may be helpful to consider that this adverb comes from the verb volere (to want). We can also translate volentieri as "willingly." For more about volentieri, read this lesson.
This is an expression you will hear now and then, and it's an Italian favorite. Although we have looked at the two adverbs making up this expression, we might still be perplexed about what it might mean, exactly. "Often and willingly"??? It's not something we say, or not often anyway.
Although it can mean "often and willingly," it usually means "more often than not!" So when you are thinking about how to say "more often than not" in Italian, you might be tempted to translate each word: più spesso che non... but you might want to try to resist that temptation. Italians prefer to say spesso e volentieri. So we have two adverbs: one is an adverb of time: spesso = often. The other is an adverb of manner: volentieri = willingly.
In the following example, Marika and Anna are making a wonderful frittata out of leftover spaghetti! Non si butta via niente (nothing gets thrown away)!
Tutto si ricicla e, spesso e volentieri,
Everything gets recycled and, more often than not,
è più saporito, no, il piatto riciclato che quello originale.
the recycled dish — you know? — is tastier than the original one.
Captions 8-10, L'Italia a tavola - Frittata di spaghetti
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One thing to keep in mind is that in this case, volentieri doesn't necessarily refer to anyone being willing or glad to do something, although it might. It's that something happens easily, without extra effort: often and easily. In the following example, Daniela is talking about the special past tense, il passato remoto, which has gone out of fashion in many parts of Italy, but is still used, a lot of the time, in the south of Italy.
Se vi piace l'Italia del Sud, quindi Napoli...
If you like the south of Italy, in other words: Naples...
la Sicilia, la Sardegna, la Puglia, la Calabria,
Sicily, Sardinia, Apulia, and Calabria,
dovete conoscere il passato remoto
you should know the remote past
perché nel sud Italia si parla molto spesso e volentieri
because in the south of Italy people speak using, more often than not,
al passato remoto.
the remote past tense.
Captions 21-24, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto
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In the following example, it is a matter of preference and willingness.
Lavo i panni spesso e volentieri a mano
(I often prefer to wash my laundry by hand).
Spesso e volentieri, mia mamma fa la spesa nelle botteghe
(My mom often prefers to shop in the small grocery stores).
We hope you enjoy using this new expression, and that we have given you some insight into it. Let us know if you have any questions! Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
We looked at the noun torto in a previous lesson. We can say hai torto (you're wrong). But what about when you're right? Being right uses the noun ragione, but let's first take a closer look at this versatile noun and related forms.
In Italian, la ragione is a partial true cognate. When used to mean "the reason," it makes sense to us because it's a true cognate:
E c'è una ragione molto precisa.
And there is a very precise reason.
Caption 21, Meraviglie - EP. 2 - Part 2
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We also have a verb form: ragionare (to reason, to think, to reflect):
Cerchiamo di ragionare con calma.
Let's try to think about this calmly.
Caption 28, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP1 - Casa nuova
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We have an adjective, too: ragionevole (reasonable):
Siccome mi sembra anche una persona piuttosto ragionevole,
Since you also seem like a rather reasonable person,
io spero non ci saranno problemi, ecco.
I hope there won't be any problems, that's it.
Captions 55-56, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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But we also use the noun ragione (without the article) together with the verb avere (to have) to mean "to be right."
avere ragione (to be right) -- literally, it would be "to have right."
In Italian, aver ragione has come to mean "to be right." And people use this expression countless times every day, so it's great to have it in your toolbox. The verb you need to conjugate is avere (to have), which is probably one of the first verbs to learn in Italian. Here's the conjugation chart for avere. But you don't need an article for ragione in this case, so it couldn't get much easier than that. Abbiamo ragione (are we right)?
Avevi ragione tu. Gabriele s'era messo nei guai.
You were right. Gabriele got into trouble.
Gare di cross illegali.
Illegal dirt bike racing.
Captions 18-19, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 8
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Il cliente ha sempre ragione?
The customer is always right?
Caption 70, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 2
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Sono stufa delle tue promesse.
I'm sick of your promises.
Sono anni che aspetto che lasci tua moglie...
I've been waiting for you to leave your wife for years...
-Hai ragione. -e io non...
-You're right. -and I won't...
Hai ragione, hai ragione. Va bene.
You're right, you're right. All right.
Captions 68-71, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 5
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"To prove someone right" can be dare ragione,
Non ti interessa il parere di nessuno.
You're not interested in anyone's opinion.
-Ma poi i risultati mi danno ragione.
-But afterwards, the results prove me right.
Captions 21-22, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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But we can also use dare ragione when we admit or agree that someone else is right. It's just an additional nuance to saying "you're right."
Su questo, ti dò ragione.
About that, I agree you're right.
Do a search of ragione on the videos page and you will get plenty of examples in various conjugations and contexts, where ragione might mean "right" and where it might mean "reason." It's a great way to get lots of different examples all at once. Try repeating some of them out loud.
And remember: The trickiest thing to remember is that the verb to use is avere (to have), not essere (to be).
We will close with a little expression that's also the title of this lesson:
a torto o a ragione (wrong or right), rimango della mia idea (I'm not changing my mind).
In English, we would start with "right," but you get the idea!
That's it for this lesson, and we hope that when someone else is right, you will be able to tell them so in Italian! If you have questions about this, just write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
One of our Yabla learners has asked about what to say when someone has died, or what to write in a condolence note. There have been so many deaths from the coronvirus that expressing condolences is an important thing to be able to do.
The most important word is condoglianze, from con (with) and doglianza (lament). In other words, you are mourning with the person to whom you express your condolences. You feel their sorrow. The English cognate is a true one, which makes it easy to remember.
In the following example, the condolences are expressed as part of a conversation, and the person talking is not a close friend -- he's a sort of lawyer (and note that in Italian, a person's professional title is often used by itself to address him or her), so the condolences are very basic and quick, but perfectly acceptable and polite. The adjective to know is sentito. This comes from the verb sentire (to feel, to hear, to sense). Sentito can mean "sincere," "heartfelt," or "deep."
Buongiorno notaio, piacere.
Hello, Notary, pleased to meet you.
-Condoglianze sentitissime.
-My deepest condolences.
-Grazie tante, tante grazie.
-Thanks very much, many thanks.
Captions 30-32, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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Le mie condoglianze, dottor Del Serio. -Grazie.
My condolences, Doctor Del Serio. -Thank you.
Caption 26, La Tempesta - film
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So really, just two words were used, and it could have been just one: condoglianze. It's enough, especially when you don't really know the person who passed away.
If we're talking to a friend who has just lost a family member, for example, we can use the informal verb fare (to make, to do). You might not know the person who died, but you know that your friend is grieving:
Ti faccio le condoglianze per la perdita di tuo padre/nonno/tua madre/nonna.
I'm sorry for the loss of your father/grandfather/mother/grandmother.
You can also keep this short and just say:
Ti faccio le condoglianze.
I'm sorry for your loss.
But if we want to say more, here's a common way to do it. It employs the verb porgere, to extend, to offer.
This first example is if you are speaking or writing formally to one person you aren't on a first-name basis with.
Le porgo le mie più sentite condoglianze.
I extend my deepest condolences to you.
If you are talking or writing to more than one person, say, parents, or a couple, or an entire family, then it's:
Vi porgo le mie più sentite condoglianze.
I offer you my deepest condolences.
You can also leave out mentioning the person:
In questa triste circostanza porgiamo sentite condoglianze.
On this sad occasion, we offer heartfelt condolences.
Another word people use when sending a condolence note is cordoglio (grief, sorrow, mourning, condolences).
Esprimiamo con grande dolore il nostro cordoglio.
We would like to express, with great sorrow, our condolences.
Another important word to know is il lutto (the mourning, the bereavement, the grief). This example describes an ancient Roman sarcophagus of a child.
E i due genitori sono affranti, di lato c'è la mamma
And the two parents are overcome. At the side there's the mother
che sembra ormai avvolta in un dolore profondo, irrecuperabile.
who by now seems to be shrouded in deep, hopeless sorrow.
E poi c'è il padre.
And then there is the father.
Entrambi hanno il capo coperto con un velo in segno di lutto,
Both have their heads covered with a veil as a sign of mourning.
non guardano più neanche il bambino.
They no longer even look at the child.
Captions 37-40, Meraviglie - EP. 2 - Part 6
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You can use lutto in a condolence note:
Partecipiamo commossi al vostro lutto.
We take part, emotionally moved, in your grief [we feel/join in your grief].
A shop or restaurant, where a family member or employee has died, might have a sign that says:
Chiuso per lutto
Closed for bereavement
One more word you might see, for example, on the signs we see around in Italian towns, announcing the death of a citizen, is addolorato (aggrieved, distressed). It comes from the verb addolorare (to sadden) or addolorarsi (to be saddened).
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
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You can use addolorato in a condolence note:
Sono addolorato per la tua perdita.
I am saddened by your loss.
We hope you won't need these words, but if you do, they're here. Feel free to send us questions or requests for further information.
When you're wrong you're wrong. There are various Italian words connected with being wrong or making a mistake. Let's look at the various ways to be wrong and the nuances that set them apart.
Fare un errore. This works fine when you need a noun. If you have trouble with rolling your r's, this word can be a challenge.
Fai errore dopo errore.
You make mistake after mistake.
Caption 53, Stai lontana da me - Rai Cinema
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The verb sbagliare (to make a mistake) plus reflexive form sbagliarsi (to be mistaken), and its noun form lo sbaglio (the mistake, the error) are very common.
Io c'entro, c'entro eccome, perché lei è una mia allieva.
I'm involved, I'm absolutely involved because she's my student.
E se lei sbaglia, vuol dire che anche io ho sbagliato qualcosa con lei.
And if she makes a mistake, it means that I also made a mistake with her.
Captions 46-47, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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There's a fine line between the normal verb and its reflexive form. One reason for this is that sbagliare as a normal verb can either be transitive or intransitive.
Ho sbagliato strada (I took the wrong route, I went the wrong way).
Ho sbagliato (I made a mistake, I made a wrong move, I did something wrong).
Sbagliare è umano (making mistakes is human).
Tutti sbagliano (everyone makes mistakes).
Piove, o sbaglio (It's raining, or am I mistaken)?
The reflexive form sbagliarsi, tends to be more about being wrong than making a mistake — a bit less active, we could say — and the sentence structure changes as well. The reflexive form is intransitive, so we need a preposition between the verb and the indirect object. As a result, it's a bit more complicated to use.
Mi sono sbagliato (I was wrong, I was mistaken).
Mi sbaglio o sta piovendo (am I mistaken or is it raining)?
In the following example, the preposition is a (to) and rather than "being wrong," it's "going wrong."
Mi creda, a puntare sul pesce non si sbaglia mai.
Believe me. With fish you can never go wrong.
Caption 2, La Ladra - Ep. 6 - Nero di rabbia - Part 1
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This is a great expression to have in your collection:
Non si sbaglia mai (one can't go wrong).
Non ti puoi sbagliare (you can't go wrong).
As you watch Yabla videos, you will see countless instances of sbagliare, sbagliarsi and lo sbaglio. See if you can sense when people use one or the other. In many cases, there are multiple possibilities.
Some of us may recognize the cognate: "tort." When you study law, one course you take is "torts." In English a tort is simply a civil wrong.
How to use the Italian noun torto, however, is a different story.
In a recent episode of Sposami, a divorcing couple is forced to get along and work together, even though they can't stand each other. But each of them wants to keep the dog, and therefore they each have to be on their best behavior. They go crying to their divorce lawyer each time the other does something wrong. And in one such conversation, the word torto comes up.
Ugo, cerca di essere collaborativo,
Ugo, try to be collaborative,
se no, tu capisci, mi passi dalla parte del torto.
otherwise, you understand, you'll end up being in the wrong.
Captions 68-69, Sposami - EP 1
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So this is a lawyer talking, but we also use torto or its plural torti in everyday conversation. A son is complaining to his mother, and her boyfriend chimes in:
A ma' [mamma], ti prego.
Oh Mom, please.
Ce tratti come du [romanesco: ci tratti come due] ragazzini!
You treat us like a couple of little kids!
-Va be', non ha tutti i torti.
-Well, he's not totally wrong.
Io alla loro età, nemmeno lo chiedevo più il permesso.
At their age, I no longer even asked for permission.
Captions 69-72, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro - Part 2
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Here are some other expressions with torti. Remember that we use the verb avere (to have) in this expression.
Avere torto (to be wrong).
With all these word choices for making mistakes and being wrong, non ti puoi sbagliare!
In a previous lesson, we talked about the popular pronominal verb cavarsela (to get by), and the verb it comes from, cavare (to extract, to get something out of something). Consider the noun il cavatappi. It's a corkscrew for extracting the cork from a bottle.
We also have scavare (to excavate, to dig, to dig up). The s- prefix often gives an opposite meaning to a word. In this case, we are extracting the soil or rock by digging.
Il primo passo consiste nel scavare una cavità nella pietra, nella roccia.
The first step consists of digging a cavity in the stone, in the rock.
Caption 6, Meraviglie - EP. 2 - Part 13
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Naturally, there are other words related to cavare that can be easily understood:
una cavità (a cavity)
concavo (concave)
la cava (the mine, the quarry)
You might be asking yourself: What about the English word "cave?" There are a few choices.
Allora, questa casa, questo ambiente, in realtà è per il settanta percento
So, actually, seventy percent of this house, this space,
costituito da una grotta.
consists of a cave.
Captions 8-9, Meraviglie - EP. 1 - Part 12
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la caverna (the cave, the cavern)
la grotta (the cave, the grotto)
la spelonca (the cave)
Have any of you ever gone spelunking?
But we also have ricavare as a common verb. Sometimes this ri- prefix means "again," just as "re-" in English can mean that, as in rifare (to re-do).
Sometimes this prefix does double duty and may or may not mean "to do something again," if we consider verbs like tornare - ritornare (to return), suonare - risuonare (to sound, to resound), chiedere - richiedere (to ask - to request). There are subtleties.
Ricavare can mean a couple of things. It might be helpful to think of "carving out," as in making a cave. Often ricavare is used when you are carving out material to make something new, especially if we think of the second meaning of ricavare: "to obtain." The following example gives us an image of what ricavare can mean in a concrete sense. Surely a lot of rocky material was extracted (cavato, scavato) to build the amphitheater.
Fra gli edifici per lo spettacolo,
Among the buildings for events,
l'anfiteatro ricavato nelle pendici est della Collina di San Pietro
the amphitheater built into the eastern slopes of the Hill of Saint Peter,
occupava un'area a sud della città.
occupied an area south of the city.
Captions 41-43, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Abruzzo
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One meaning of ricavare is "to obtain," as in making a profit: The past participle is often used as a noun: il ricavato.
L'avrei costretto a dividere il ricavato con me.
I would have forced him to share the proceeds with me.
Caption 39, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP10 -La verità nascosta
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Current context:
It's easy to envision a situation in which you have to work from home. But you might have to carve out a space in your small apartment. Ricavare is a great verb for this, and it can be used figuratively, too, as you can see in the final example.
Devo ricavare uno spazio in questo apartamento per lavorare tranquillo (I need to carve out some space in this apartment to work in peace).
Ho ricavato una stanza in più, trasformando questo locale di sgombro (I built an additional room by transforming this storeroom).
Mia sorella è riuscita a ricavare un po' di tempo la sera per fare yoga (My sister managed to carve out some time in the evening to do yoga).
Carving out and obtaining something "new."
Credere is a very common verb. It basically means "to believe," but not 100% of the time. There are some sfumature (nuances) to this verb, and it so happens that in a recent episode of Sei mai stata sulla luna, it's used in 2 ways that deviate from the norm.
In one scene of the segment of Sei mai stata sulla luna, we see a single father (Renzo) having a conversation with his son. His son wishes he had a mother, and Renzo is downplaying it.
It plays out like this:
No, per starci insieme.
No, to be together.
-Ma perché non stiamo bene insieme io te?
-But aren't we fine together, you and me?
-Sì, ma magari staremmo meglio.
Yes, but maybe we'd be even better.
-Non ti credere, eh.
-Don't be so sure, huh.
Una fidanzata ti manderebbe tutte le sere a dormire presto.
A girlfriend would send you to bed early every night.
Captions 38-42, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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At the beginning of the segment, the townsmen are hanging out in the piazza and Guia is there, too. Someone says to her, being polite:
Comunque, signora, Lei faccia come crede.
In any case, Ma'am, you do as you think best.
Caption 1, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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If it were an informal situation, it would be fai come credi. It can mean "do as you think best" or "do as you wish." It's often said when there is a disagreement about what to do or how something should be done. The person who says it doesn't think it's a particularly good idea. It's a little different from, fai come vuoi (do as you like), where the verb is volere. Credere gives the person a bit more credit for thinking things through. Fai come vuoi (or in the polite form faccia come vuole) can also come off as judgmental, depending on the tone with which it is said.
A common variation on this expression is with the verb parere (to seem, to appear):
Noi ci sposeremo e soprattutto divorzieremo.
We'll get married and above all we'll get divorced.
Tu stasera vai in albergo, da tuo fratello,
This evening, you will go to a hotel, to your brother's,
dove ti pare, lontano da me.
wherever you want, far from me.
Captions 32-33, La Tempesta - film
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Note that parere is one of those verbs, like piacere, where the subject is not the person doing the liking or the wanting. So, thinking literally, the gist would be "go where it seems to you that you should go."
Dove ti pare is a very common way to say dove vuoi (wherever you like).
Come ti pare is a very common way to say come vuoi (however you like).
It's interesting that both parere and piacere are also commonly used nouns: il parere and il piacere.
Parere (both the noun and the verb) come from the verb apparire (to appear, to emerge).
For more about piacere see this lesson:
and see this video:
It's true that asking questions in Italian can be as easy as changing your inflection. Part one of this lesson discusses that. Nonetheless, there are times when you need question words (and we'll get to that in a future lesson). But even more basically, how do we talk about asking questions?
Good question!
While the cognate questione exists, it's not the word we are looking for right now. We'll talk about questione further on. In English, we have the noun "the question" and we ask a question.
In Italian, it's a little different. "The question" is often translated into Italian as la domanda and rather than using a verb that means "to ask," Italians usually "make" a question with fare (to make, to do):
Quando io conosco una persona, prima la saluto.
When I meet a person, first I greet him or her.
Abbiamo imparato: buongiorno, buonasera,
We learned "good morning" — "good evening."
poi faccio la seconda domanda importante: come ti chiami?
Then I ask the second important question: What's your name?
Captions 9-11, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Tu o Lei?
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More often than not, we ask someone a question, so we may need an indirect pronoun: "I ask you/him/her/them/myself a question." In Italian, this indirect pronoun often comes before the verb, as in the following example.
Ma, ci torneresti con tua moglie? -No.
But would you go back to your wife? -No.
Perché mi fai questa domanda?
Why are you asking me this question?
Captions 33-34, Sposami - EP 1
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The previous example was a question, but even in a statement, the indirect pronoun will come before the verb.
Ti faccio una domanda semplice (I'm going to ask you a simple question).
There is another verb we can use in place of fare. It's a little more formal, it has an English cognate, and it often indicates that some thought is needed in the asking and the answering. The verb is porre (to put, to place, to pose).
Daniela talks about this verb in a lesson:
"Porre": io ponevo, si usa spesso con "domanda".
“To pose.” I was posing, it's often used with "question."
"Scusi, posso porre una domanda?"
“Sorry, may I pose a question?”
Al posto di "fare" — "posso fare una domanda?"
Instead of using “to ask” — "may I ask a question?"
— dico: "Posso porre una domanda?"
— I say: “May I pose a question?”
Captions 33-37, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto
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We use the reflexive for this in Italian:
Allora, pur con la testa tra le nuvole,
So, even with his head in the clouds,
cominciò a porsi qualche domanda.
he began to ask himself a few questions.
Ma, ma il resto di me c'è ancora?...
But, but is the rest of me still here?...
Captions 13-15, Dixiland - Testa tra le nuvole
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You can also use the verb fare reflexively for the same purpose — farsi una domanda (to ask oneself a question).
La domanda has a verb form as well, and we can use it both reflexively and not: domandare (to ask).
Of course, sometimes we don't need to ask a question. We can just ask someone something. Domandare (to ask).
Perché non mi lasci in pace?
Why don't you leave me in peace?
-Eh, me lo domando anch'io.
-Yeah, I ask myself that, too.
Captions 7-8, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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Just as in English we have the noun and verb "to request," Italian has the cognate richiedere (to request, to require) and la richiesta (the request) but it also has chiedere (to ask, to request), which is used a lot, in many different contexts.
Dal momento che il progetto del tuo muro
Since your wall project
taglierebbe fuori la mia zona di cucina,
would cut off my kitchen area,
avresti dovuto chiedere il mio parere.
you should have asked for my opinion.
Captions 22-24, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro
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In the following example, we can see the relationship between chiedere and richiesta.
Lorenzo ti ha chiesto di dargli un po' di tempo, no?
Lorenzo asked you to give him a little time, right?
Fossi in te, rispetterei la sua richiesta.
If I were you, I would comply with his request.
Captions 33-34, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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Making sense of the different ways to use richiedere will have to wait for another lesson. It can get kind of complex.
Let's remember that in English, "question" can also mean "matter." For example in this book title: A Question of Integrity by Susan Howatch. In this case, it's not a question we ask. With that in mind, we can easily transfer the idea to Italian. In fact, we have a movie on Yabla: Questione di Karma.
Sono dieci giorni che aspetto, è diventata una questione di vita o di morte.
I've been waiting ten days. It's become a question/matter of life or death.
Caption 5, Questione di Karma - Rai Cinema
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What we hope you take away from this lesson is that for normal questions you ask, the noun is la domanda (the question) and that we "make" a question: fare una domanda (to ask a question). Using porre works, too, but it's a little more serious: porre una domanda (to pose a question). Both fare and porre can be used reflexively when we ask ourselves a question: porsi una domanda (to ask oneself a question, to wonder), farsi una domanda (to ask oneself a question). We can talk about asking with the verbs domandare (to ask) and chiedere (to ask).
To get a feel for all these words, we suggest doing a search on the videos page to find examples of these words. Don't forget to use singular, plural, masculine and feminine where applicable, and different conjugations of verbs. Searching and reading all the instances will give you an overview of real people using these words. Repeat the sentences to yourself, and if you get confused, drop us a line — chiedere! — in the comments tab or by sending an email to newsletter@yabla.com. We are happy to help.
When you want to say that something is watertight, that you have no doubt about it —in other words, there is no use in discussing it further —there is a great Italian expression at your disposal. Even if you don't understand why people say it, you can start noticing when people say it and imitate them. And you will soon start sounding like a native as you say it.
Ragazze, la C sta per Catullo
Girls, the "C" stands for Catullus,
e su questo non ci piove.
and the rain can't touch it [there is no doubt about it].
Captions 71-72, La Ladra - EP. 9 L'amico sconosciuto
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It means there is no hole in the argument, but that's not so easy to figure out from the expression, especially since it uses that pesky particle ci that means so many things. It's kind of fun to figure out, or at least imagine why Italians use this colorful expression, and where it comes from.
In Italy, roofs are often made of tiles or tegole. If you move a tegola around, the rain might leak into the house. This can happen accidentally, with high winds, or if someone walks on the roof for some reason, like to clean out the gutters or adjust an antenna. If it rains into the house, ci piove (it rains there, it rains in it).
So besides being a great expression, when talking about leaky roofs, it usually means the rain comes in. It's not easy finding a literal translation that makes sense, which is why we've talked about it here.
When the leak has to do with a pipe or a faucet, we talk about it losing water. We use the verb perdere (to lose, to leak).
Ma... questo non perde più! -No!
Well! This no longer leaks! -No!
Non mi dire che l'idraulico s'è degnato?
Don't tell me the plumber deigned?
Eva, stamattina qua è passato un vero uomo, eh?
Eva, this morning a real man came here, huh?
Che oltre ad aggiustà [aggiustare] i rubinetti così, proprio tà tà tà l'ha fatto eh!
Who besides fixing the faucet just like that, he did it really fast, huh!
Captions 11-14, La Ladra - Ep. 1 - Le cose cambiano
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See this lesson about the verb perdere.
Another thing to say when an argument is airtight is: Non fa una piega (there isn't even one wrinkle).
È evidente che avrebbe dovuto vincere Fabiola Alfieri.
It's clear that Fabiola Alfieri should have won.
Allora perché non ha votato per lei?
So why didn't you vote for her?
-Perché il direttore di un giornale può essere
Because the director of a newspaper can be
molto utile alla carriera di un marito come il mio.
very useful to the career of a husband like mine.
-Non fa una piega, però non mi convince.
That a perfect argument, but it doesn't convince me.
Captions 34-37, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma
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Practice commenting inside your head with su questo non ci piove or non fa una piega when people are justifying, explaining, arguing, debating.
Note that another way to say non fa una piega is non fa una grinza. They both mean the same thing. There's a lesson about this!
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