Hand in hand with mano

By Sigrid Lee

La mano ("the hand") is one of the first Italian nouns you'll learn. It has a small surprise: although it ends in -o, like many masculine nouns, it is feminine (la mano, le mani).

But that's not the only interesting thing about this word. It has also given rise to a whole family of everyday Italian words—from maniglia (handle) and manuale (manual) to manette (handcuffs) and manodopera (workforce, labor). Once you see the common thread, they're much easier to remember.

Che tenerezza. -Sta in buone mani, dai.

How sweet. -She's in good hands, come on.

Caption 63, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S2 EP1 Cuccioli - Part 1
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We can use it literally, as in shaking hands. Italian uses the singular: stringere la mano.

Avanti, sii sportivo, stringile la mano.

Come on, be sportsmanlike, shake her hand.

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One important way to use mano is when you lend a hand. Italians use the verb dare (to give).

Intanto ti do una mano a finire le fettuccine.

In the meantime, I'll give you a hand finishing the fettuccine.

Caption 77, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 30
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There are physical nouns that have man- within the word. In many cases, Italian and English are somewhat parallel. The actual word might not come to mind, but recognizing one of these words is somewhat self-explanatory if the context is there.

The handle of a door (or many other items) is una maniglia. Do we ever think of the hand in handle?

E sotto la maniglia abbiamo la toppa delle chiavi.

And beneath the door handle we have the keyhole.

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Un manubrio can either be a weight, a dumbbell you use when you're working out, or it can be the handlebars of a bicycle or motorcycle.

Può pesare da uno a venti chili o di più. Si solleva con le braccia. Cos'è? Il manubrio [sic: bilanciere].

It can weigh from one to twenty kilos or more. One lifts it up with one's arms. What is it? A dumbbell [barbell].

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Note that in referring to a bike or motorcycle, in Italian, manubrio is singular (representing the entire "set" of handlebars), whereas in English we think of the bars for our hands.

È Lei che se prendeva una botta di manubrio sulla schiena, non avrebbe certo giovato alla sua lombalgia, eh.

You are the one who, if you had gotten hit by the handlebars in your back, for sure, it wouldn't have done your lumbago any good, huh.

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Let's hope you never have to use this next word:

Ti devo mettere le manette o stai tranquillo?

Do I have to put handcuffs on or will you stay quiet?

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Finally, we have il manuale, which is a cognate of manual. A handbook. A book you can hold in your hand.

Il problema è che non esiste un vero manuale su che cosa è corretto e cosa non è corretto.

The problem is that there is no real manual on what is proper and what is not proper.

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And when we want to distinguish between doing something with a machine or by hand, we use the preposition a (to, at, in the manner of).

I pomodori si staccano dalla pianta rigorosamente a mano, seguendo il grado di maturazione dei frutti.

The tomatoes are detached from the plant strictly by hand, according to the degree of the ripening of the fruit.

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When you go to Italy and want to buy a mug to take home, it might say: dipinto a mano (hand-painted).

Some verbs have man- as the root too.

Eh, questo è uno strumento tipico per maneggiare gli spaghetti o la pasta lunga.

Uh, this is a typical instrument for handling spaghetti or long pasta.

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Mantenere has a cognate in English: to maintain. Historically, it comes from Latin words meaning "to hold in the hand" (manu tenere), which helps explain why it can mean "to maintain," "to keep," or "to support," depending on the context.

Io non posso fidarmi di chi non può mantenere le promesse.

I can't trust someone who doesn't keep his promises.

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But we also use mantenere to mean "to support," as in parents supporting their children.

Ma come faccio a mantenere un figlio?

But how can I support a child?

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If you do a search of mantenere (and the different conjugations, too), you will find a myriad of examples, with different contexts and nuances.

If mantenere means "to maintain" or "to keep," you won't be surprised to find the noun manutenzione ("maintenance"). It's a useful word you'll often see on signs, bills, rental agreements, and public notices.

Per salire si paga un ticket, che serve per la bonifica e la manutenzione del sentiero.

To go up one buys a ticket, which is used for the reclaiming and maintenance of the trail.

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When you tip someone you typically give them cash in the hand.

Paolo, stavi dando la mancia al direttore dell'hotel.

Paolo, you were giving a tip to the hotel manager.

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When you have work done at home, it's typical to divide the bill into i materiali (the materials) and la manodopera (the labor). The word is made up of mano (hand) (that does the work) and d'opera (of the work, the job). It has become one word (univerbazione) but clearly was 3 separate words at one time.

Chi la paga la stoffa e la manodopera?

Who will pay for the fabric? And the labor?

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Italian is full of word families like this one. The more you notice the connections between related words, the easier it becomes to guess meanings and build your vocabulary naturally.

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