We all struggle with lots of things in different ways. In Italian, there's a combination of two words we commonly use for this: fare fatica. Literally, it's "to make effort or exertion." It can mean "to make an effort," but "to struggle" is closer to the idea. Lots of times you make an effort because you are trying hard, and that's when we can use impegnarsi (to make an effort). It's easy to get confused.
Let's look at some examples from Yabla videos of fare fatica. In our first example, the meaning is literal. The speaker has Covid-19!
Faccio fatica ad alzarmi dal letto.
I have a hard time getting out of bed.
Caption 15, Fuori era primavera Viaggio nell'Italia del lockdown - Part 4
Play Caption
The meaning can be mental, too.
Fai anche fatica a trovare anche [sic] lavoro.
You also struggle to find work, too.
Caption 17, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 17
Play Caption
When you are trying to understand someone, but you fail or almost, you can say.
Faccio fatica a capire il tuo inglese. Parliamo italiano (I'm having a hard time understanding your English. Let's speak Italian).
When you exert yourself, you can also use the verb faticare (to toil, to labor).
So you could also say,
Fatico a capire il tuo inglese (I struggle to understand your English).
Il bisnonno credo che lavorasse sulle navi ospedale, durante la guerra, e loro avevano un orto a Procida per cui campavano delle cose dell'orto e hanno faticato sempre a mettere insieme il pranzo.
I think her great-grandfather worked on hospital ships, during the war, and they had a vegetable garden in Procida so they lived on things from the vegetable garden and they always struggled to pull lunch together.
Captions 7-10, Vera e Giuliano Montaldo - Part 5
Play Caption
When you are just trying hard or working hard, then the reflexive verb impegnarsi works well.
Hai visto che quando ti impegni le cose le sai fare?
You see that when you make an effort, you are able to do things?
Caption 10, Sposami EP 2 - Part 17
Play Caption
Impegnarsi can also mean to commit, such as when you promise to do something.
La ditta Soleri si era impegnata a comprarlo, per almeno cinque anni.
The Soleri company had committed to buying it, for at least five years.
Caption 15, Il Commissario Manara S2EP6 - Sotto tiro - Part 3
Play Caption
When we use impegno as a noun, it can mean a commitment, as something you have committed to doing, or it can mean you have a prior commitment, such as an appointment or errand.
No, domani avrei un impegno.
No, tomorrow, I have a commitment.
Caption 54, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 6
Play Caption
As in any language, there are different ways to say the same thing, or something similar. Keep your eyes and ears open so you can expand your vocabulary, and choose just the right word when the time comes.
When we talk about learning a language, we use the word fluency or fluent in English, but finding the right Italian word for this can be tricky. Fluency is all about speaking a "foreign" language with ease and confidence.
Let's look at the dictionary definitions or translations. The dictionary translation of "fluency" is fluidità, and "fluent" is fluido. Both words come from the Latin "fluere" or fluire (to flow) in Italian. And let's keep in mind that we also have "fluidity" and "fluid" in English.
Così ho una conversazione più fluida, senza ripetizioni di parole, OK? -Sì.
That way I have a more fluid conversation, without the repetition of words, OK? -Yes.
Captions 26-27, Corso di italiano con Daniela Pronomi oggetto diretto - Part 2
Play Caption
In Italian, fluido can describe someone's way of speaking, but there are other words, too.
One great Italian word that can describe someone's degree of ease in speaking a different language is: con scioltezza (with ease, with fluency).
Più sciolto, dai!
More relaxed, come on!
Caption 10, L'oro di Scampia film - Part 2
Play Caption
An interesting adverb to describe how someone speaks is correntemente (fluently, with ease).
Sì, piccione poliglotta, per quanto possa sembrare assurda questa cosa, pare che sia stato avvistato un piccione che è capace di parlare cinque, sei lingue, correntemente.
Yes, a polyglot pigeon, as absurd as this thing may seem, it appears that a pigeon was sighted that is capable of speaking five, six languages fluently.
Captions 26-28, Anna e Marika in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo - Part 4
Play Caption
Correntemente should not be confused with correttamente (correctly), which refers to someone speaking with correct grammar.
Il nostro amico si chiede che consigli puoi dare a chi vuole imparare l'italiano e parlarlo correttamente.
Our friend asks himself what advice you can give to someone who wants to learn Italian and speak it correctly.
Captions 54-56, Adriano Risposte agli amici di Yabla
Play Caption
Another word for fluido is scorrevole, from the verb scorrere (to flow). And of course, we notice the S prefix! Scorrere is related to correre (to run, to flow) so you might want to check out this lesson.
In the following example, the use of scorrere is metaphorical. The speaker is from L'Accademia della Crusca, an important linguistic institution based in Florence (see this lesson). He is talking about the changing Italian language (ever flowing and changing). The Accademia watches the language evolve and tries to document it, understand it, and share the knowledge gained.
Noi non miriamo a raccogliere un materiale immobile. Noi contempliamo un fiume che scorre e ci limitiamo a sorvegliare che non vada al di là degli argini.
We don't aim to gather immobile material. We contemplate a river that flows, and we limit ourselves to making sure that it doesn't overflow its banks.
Captions 40-42, Me Ne Frego Il Fascismo e la lingua italiana - Part 14
Play Caption
Mia figlia parla italiano in modo scorrevole, cioè con scioltezza, anche se non è madre lingua.
My daughter speaks Italian fluently, in other words, with ease, even though she's not a native speaker.
Some of the words described above have other meanings as well, so it's good to be mindful of the context! Thanks for reading!
Spring might be a great time for learning Italian. You might be thinking of a vacation in one of the beautiful spots in Italy. The days are getting longer, so there's more time to do things before wanting to climb into bed for the night. You can even study outside if the weather is nice. Spring is a time of growth. So why not cultivate your language skills too?
Let's have a look at some vocabulary related to spring, gardening, and growing vegetables. Even if you are not into plants, some of the words we look at have other, non-gardening meanings that are useful to know.
➡️ Need some basics? The Italian word for spring is la primavera. For more about the 4 seasons, see this lesson.
Spring is one of the seasons that are best for visiting Italy. The weather tends to be nice and it's not too hot.
Il periodo dell'anno migliore per venire in questo luogo incantato è senza dubbio la primavera.
The best time of year to come to this enchanted place is undoubtedly the spring.
Captions 64-65, In giro per l'Italia La Valle del Sorbo
Play Caption
There is already a lesson about orto vs giardino, but we'll mention the difference here, too. In English, we use the word "garden" to mean a garden with flowers or a vegetable garden. But in Italian, there are two distinctive terms. Il giardino is for flowers and plants, and can also refer to the "backyard," or "yard," a space outside a house where you can enjoy the outdoors. When it comes to fruits and vegetables growing in the ground, we talk about l'orto. An orchard or grove (of fruit trees), on the other hand, is il frutteto, with its -eto ending. The shop or department of a supermarket where fruits and vegetables are sold is often called l'ortofrutta.
Spring is when we plant things, or sow seeds. We tend to use the verb "to plant," even when we are talking about sowing seeds. In Italian, too, there is a difference.
Mangiamo le mele... -E usiamo i semi. -Questa idea mi piace. -Eccoli qui, Mirò, sono pronti da seminare.
Let's eat the apples... -And we'll use the seeds. -I like this idea. -Here they are, Mirò. They're ready to plant [to sow].
Captions 41-44, Gatto Mirò EP 10 Piantiamo un albero
Play Caption
➡️ Seminare can also mean to lose someone who is following you:
Ce l'abbiamo fatta, prof. Li abbiamo seminati!
We did it, Prof. We lost them!
Captions 30-31, Provaci ancora prof! S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 13
Play Caption
Here is the literal meaning of piantare (to plant):
Gli ho chiesto quando voleva piantare i nuovi vitigni,
I asked him when he wanted to plant the new vines,
Caption 35, Il Commissario Manara S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva - Part 5
Play Caption
➡️ Piantare can also mean to leave, to ditch, to quit on someone.
Però lei qualche giorno prima delle nozze l'ha piantato.
But a few days before the wedding she ditched him.
Caption 64, Il Commissario Manara S1EP9 - Morte in paradiso - Part 10
Play Caption
➡️ Piantare can also mean to quit doing something. In this case, it is combined with la (it).
E piantala, dai, con quella telecamera.
Come on, quit it with that video camera.
Caption 32, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 11
Play Caption
La pianta (the plant) is a noun related to the verb piantare.
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.
Captions 36-37, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 1
Play Caption
When we buy seedlings to plant, we can use the diminutive form of pianta, la piantina.
1
Questa zappa serve per rimuovere la terra e non fare una crosta intorno alla piantina in modo e maniera che non abbia la forza di crescere, e serve anche per non far nascere l'erba tutta intorno a queste piantine.
This hoe is used to move the soil around and not form a crust around the young plant in such a way that it doesn't have the strength to grow, and it's also used to prevent the grass from growing all around these little plants.
Captions 20-23, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 1
Play Caption
For more examples, see this lesson that also talks about seeds and plants.
In the previous example, the speaker mentions l'erba. L'erba is the grass, but he might be implying crabgrass or weeds, commonly called erbaccia. See this lesson about l'erba (the grass), le erbe (the herbs) and l'erbaccia (weeds).
When we go to a vivaio (nursery, greenhouse), we might see a sign that says piante e fiori. When we're just learning, it might be tricky to remember that plants are feminine but flowers are masculine. Go figure! And let's not forget the noun il pianto (the crying), a whole different thing. The verb form is piangere.
...in cui si distingueva chiaramente il pianto di una bambina.
...in which he could clearly distinguish the crying of a little girl.
Caption 65, Il Commissario Manara S2EP10 -La verità nascosta - Part 6
Play Caption
With all this green vocabulary, are you ready to meet the moment? il momento perfetto per piantare… e imparare (the perfect moment for planting and learning)!
This week's canzone (song), from the recent Festival di Sanremo has some words and grammar points that are worth taking into consideration. And, even if you aren't a Yabla subscriber, you can find the song on YouTube. Of course, with Yabla, you can take advantage of the extra features such as toggling Italian and or English subtitles on and off, looking up the word with a click, and games or exercises such as Scribe, Speak, and Recall to enhance your experience and help you learn.
For starters, the title of the song seems like a contradiction in terms. But that is the point, which becomes clear, little by little, as the song goes on.
In English, we usually say something like, "when you grow up," "when you're big," or "when you're grown up." In Italian, we say, Quando sarai grande. But here in this song, it's just the opposite: Quando sarai piccola (when you're grown down), or "when you're small." Admittedly, it's tricky to translate. Why? Because in English, in a 2-clause construction, we only use the future tense in the independent clause: When you're grown up, you'll be able to drive. We don't say, "When you'll be grown up, you'll be able to drive." But in Italian, we use the future tense in both clauses! Quando sarai grande, potrai guidare. It's just something to remember.
As the song goes on, it becomes clear that the singer is not referring to the little girl on the swing, but to his mother, who probably has dementia or Alzheimer's disease and has lost much of her memory thus needing some help, just as children do.
Now let's look at some of the vocabulary in the lyrics.
🇮🇹 a malapena (adverb) – barely, hardly
This phrase means that something happens with great difficulty or just barely.
Preparerò da mangiare per cena
Io, che so fare il caffè a malapena
I'll prepare food for dinner
I, who barely knows how to make coffee
Captions 19-20, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
📚 For more about a malapena, see this lesson. Malapena never stands alone and is always preceded by the preposition a.
🇮🇹 la fatica (noun, feminine) – the effort, the struggle, the fatigue. It can refer to both physical and mental effort or exhaustion.
C'è quella rabbia di vederti cambiare
E la fatica di doverlo accettare
There's that anger of seeing you change
And the effort of having to accept it
Captions 29-30, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
→ fare fatica means "to struggle." The verb faticare also means "to struggle," "to work hard."
→ a fatica means "with difficulty."
The lyrics are interesting from a learning point of view, as we have 3 related words: dimenticare, scordare, and ricordare. They all have to do with memory.
🇮🇹 scordare vs. dimenticare
Both verbs mean "to forget," but there are nuances:
Dimenticare is used in more neutral or general contexts.
Ci sono pagine di vita, pezzi di memoria che non so dimenticare
There are pages of life, parts of memory that I can't forget
Caption 31, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
If we take a closer look at dimenticare, we can see there is a kind of prefix (di-) that is often a negation. We also see the root, ment- from mente meaning "mind." So we could say that dimenticare is the act of something being removed from one's mind. And as a matter of fact, according to L'Accademia della Crusca, the term existed in late Latin as "dementicare" (to exit the mind), derived from "dimentire" (to lose one's senses" with its prefix "de-" (to deprive) and "mens" (mind).
Scordare is used in a more personal or emotional sense and is frequently used in its reflexive form: scordarsi.
Ti ripeterò il mio nome mille volte perché tanto te lo scorderai
I will repeat my name to you a thousand times because, anyway, you will forget it
Caption 11, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
Here is a link to a very famous emotional song, titled, "Non ti scordar di me" (don't forget me), sung by Luciano Pavarotti. Here are the Italian lyrics.
🇮🇹 scordare and ricordare: What's the connection?
Ricordare means "to remember." It comes from the Latin "recordari," meaning “to bring back to the heart” (cor, cordis = heart).
Ti ripeterò il tuo nome mille volte fino a quando lo ricorderai
I will repeat your name a thousand times until you remember it
Caption 21, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
Scordare, as mentioned above, means "to forget." The S-prefix (often from Latin ex- or dis-) can indicate a reversal, opposition, or removal. So, literally, scordare suggests losing one's memory or removing something from the heart. When you learn something by heart, you remember it.
🇮🇹 lo sguardo
This noun begins with an s, so it might look like an S-prefix word. It isn't quite, because there is no noun guardo. But it is close, because there is a verb guardare, and the words both deal with looking (guardare) or giving someone a look (uno sguardo).
Ci sono sguardi pieni di silenzio
There are glances full of silence
Caption 27, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
🇮🇹 sconfiggere means "to defeat."
This is another S-prefix word, derived from the verb (practically obsolete) configgere (to strike, to fight), with the S-prefix altering the meaning to "to overcome" or "to defeat."
E sconfiggere anche il tempo che per noi non è passato
And also to defeat time that has not passed for us
Caption 24, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
🇮🇹 sapere (to know, to be able to)
We have already seen this verb in a previous example. Interestingly, sapere usually means “to know” (facts, skills, or how to do something),
Io, che so fare il caffè a malapena
I, who barely knows how to make coffee
Caption 20, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
but it can also mean "to be able to" in certain contexts:
Ci sono pagine di vita, pezzi di memoria che non so dimenticare
There are pages of life, parts of memory that I can't forget
Caption 31, Simone Cristicchi Quando sarai piccola
Play Caption
📚 For more about the verb sapere, see this lesson.
We hope these vocabulary tips will help you appreciate the lyrics of this song. Many of us have family members or relatives with dementia and so we'll be able to relate to what's expressed in the song. Thanks for reading!
Who decides whether a word exists or not? There is the dictionary of course, and associations like L'accademia della crusca. But language is fluid, and it's ordinary people, in the end, who decide what's in and what's out. If "most" people use a word that might not be in the dictionary, it will likely be mentioned in a future edition. But things change so quickly that it's hard to keep up, and printed classical dictionaries are way behind. Let's look at a word that has cropped up in a Yabla video. It has the famous S prefix: Sporzionare.
If we know the word "portion," we can guess that porzione is the Italian noun. In English, we sometimes say "to portion out" or "to portion up" when talking about something like a pie or cake. The more formal term would be "to apportion." We usually say "to divvy up," informally, or "to divide something into portions." Or, just "to cut."
Getting back to Italian, Italians love to make verbs out of nouns, and sometimes, in order to give more clarity to an action that goes in a certain direction, an S will be added. One example that comes to mind is sdoppiare, when talking about duplicating a cassette or media platform, even though sdoppiare means "to split up" or "to divide."
In a recent episode of JAMS, Davide, a cook at a local bistro, who helps the kids out with their cooking projects, has to come up with a last minute birthday cake because Joy forgot the cake she had made at someone's house (a whole other story!). Alice blows out the candles, but then Davide takes the cheesecake away to cut it into portions.
{Dove} vai con la torta? -{La} devo sporzionare.
Where are you going with the cake? -I have to portion it out.
Captions 27-28, JAMS S1 EP8 - Part 7
Play Caption
It's kind of fun to come across new words with an S prefix. For more about the S prefix, see this lesson. Meanwhile, let us know if you find any we haven't talked about. We're interested! Write to us at [email protected]
Over time, we've looked at various Italian prefixes and here is one more: pro-. We often don't think about it because pro- can simply be part of a word. But in many cases, there is a good chance the root exists as a word on its own. In a recent video on Yabla, the verb provenire came up. A reader asked: "What's the difference between venire and provenire?" Great question.
The answer is that provenire (while technically an action verb) has to do with the origin of something, whereas venire is an action, a movement in the direction of the speaker, writer, or interlocutor. In English, we do have the noun "provenance," from the Latin meaning "to come forth," but we usually translate provenire as "to come from," or "to originate from." So if we think of the prefix pro- meaning "forward" or "forth," it might help us remember these words.
Penso che non ho tempo per fare la badante a nessuno, quindi tu organizza gli incontri e io vedo se riesco a venire.
I think I don't have time to be a babysitter for anyone, so you organize the meetings and I'll see if I can come.
Captions 56-57, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 2
Play Caption
Ora stanno cercando di capire da dove provengono...
Now they are trying to figure out where they come from...
Caption 49, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 22
Play Caption
E be', non fargli vedere il tuo libretto degli esami perché...
Well, don't let her see your exam record because...
Caption 27, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 6
Play Caption
We can now see the connection between "provide" and provvedere, but we can also see the word vedere (to see), and so it makes sense to translate provvedere as "to see to." It can also be "to take care of."
Lo so, ho avuto tanto da fare. Domani provvedo, va bene?
I know. I have had a lot to do. Tomorrow I will see to it, all right?
Caption 39, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP1 I Bastardi - Part 17
Play Caption
Sei capace di studiare, sacrificarti, passare le notti insonni, mettere tutta la tua vita a servizio della musica, sei capace?
Are you capable of studying, sacrificing yourself, spending sleepless nights, putting your whole life at the service of music, are you capable?
Captions 31-33, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 7
Play Caption
Ma Lei mi deve promettere una cosa.
But you have to promise me one thing:
Caption 23, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 18
Play Caption
The noun form is la promessa (the promise).
Dobbiamo porre nella teglia il pollo con le patate a spicchi,
In the pan, we have to place the chicken with the potato wedges,
Captions 6-7, JAMS S1 EP7 - Part 3
Play Caption
Porre can also be reflexive, with a more figurative meaning of considering something.
Seconda cosa, visto che una è partita e l'altra si è fidanzata, io non mi pongo il problema, capito?
Second of all, since one is gone and the other is engaged, I don't consider the problem, you understand?
Captions 5-7, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 11
Play Caption
Proporre is to put forth, as with an idea.
Bene. Cosa propone?
Good. What do you propose?
Caption 43, Il Commissario Manara S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi - Part 10
Play Caption
The noun form is la proposta (the proposal, the suggestion).
Although trarre is another word for tirare (to pull) it's frequently used in a figurative sense, as in drawing a conclusion or gaining an advantage.
Ma stavolta proprio il senso di colpa gli ha fatto trarre delle conclusioni affrettate,
But this time his guilty conscience made him draw hasty conclusions,
Captions 73-74, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 20
Play Caption
Protrarre is used to refer to prolonging something over time.
La costruzione della Fortezza di Fenestrelle, iniziata nel millesettecentoventotto, si protrarrà per centoventi anni.
The construction of the Fenestrelle Fortress, begun in seventeen hundred and twenty-eight, would continue on for a hundred and twenty years.
Captions 14-16, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 4
Play Caption
The reflexive form of the verb muovere is used here: muoversi.
Non ti muovere.
Don't move.
Caption 47, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP4 Gelo - Part 13
Play Caption
When you move forward in school, from one grade to the next, the verb is promuovere. It can be used as well, just as in English, when you promote someone or something, giving them publicity.
Com'è andata? -Mi hanno promosso.
How did it go? -They promoted me.
Caption 2, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 23
Play Caption
We talk about these verbs in this lesson.
The prefix pro- can also mean "entirely" — interamente. In the case of prosciutto (cured ham), it has to do with salting and drying: pro - asciutto (dry). The verb is prosciugare, to dry entirely. Prosciogliere is "to dissolve completely."
Thanks for reading. We hope you've gotten the idea of the prefix pro-. If you think of other words with this prefix, please let us know, and we'll add them to the lesson.
After someone says grazie (thank you) or grazie mille (many thanks/a thousand thanks), what do you say? There are various choices, so let's take a look. Here is the most basic answer, and it's the one you might already have learned.
Per festeggiare, ti offro un gelato. Grazie! -Prego.
To celebrate, I'll treat you to an ice cream. Thanks! -You're welcome.
Captions 36-37, Francesca alla guida - Part 3
Play Caption
The only tricky thing about prego is that it can mean a host of things, such as "this way," "go ahead," "after you," "here you are." See this lesson about pregare, the verb from which prego (the first person singular of pregare) stems.
Another common way to say "You're welcome!" is di niente or di nulla. They both mean, literally, "of nothing." This response implies that granting whatever is being thanked for was not a burden or problem.
Grazie per l'assistenza. Di niente.
Thanks for your help. Think nothing of it.
Captions 53-54, La Ladra EP. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 1
Play Caption
These days in English, some people say, "No problem."
Yet another way of saying "You're welcome" is to question why someone would feel the need to thank you. The full version of the expression is di che cosa (for what [thing])?
È bellissimo! Grazie. -E di cosa?
It's beautiful! Thank you. -And for what? [it was nothing]
Captions 27-28, JAMS S1 EP8 - Part 6
Play Caption
This can be shortened to e di che (for what)? In other words, what are you thanking me for or why are you thanking me?
Here is a variation, except it's not in the form of a question.
Non c'è di che.
Don't mention it. (there's nothing to thank me for or "It was nothing."
Caption 74, Sposami EP 4 - Part 7
Play Caption
When you want to be really clear that you were glad to do the favor, you can say, ci mancherebbe! or ci mancherebbe altro.
Io gli dico: "Grazie mille!" "È stato gentilissimo". E questo signore mi risponde: "Ci mancherebbe altro".
And I say, “Many thanks!” “You've been very kind.” And this man responds to me with: “It's the least I could do.”
Captions 36-38, Marika spiega Il verbo mancare
Play Caption
See also Marika's video where she talks about the verb mancare. It's a tricky verb in Italian and used in many situations. See also this lesson about ci mancherebbe.
Yet another response when someone says grazie is: figurati. This is the informal. In our example, before saying "thank you," Pietro's saxophone teacher says, "You shouldn't have." which stands in for "thank you."
Ciao. -Cinzia. [Ho] Portato una bottiglia. Ma non dovevi. Figurati. Grazie mille, eh.
Hi. -Cinzia. [I] brought a bottle. But you shouldn't have. It was nothing. Thanks, a lot, huh.
Captions 1-5, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP5 Rione Serra Venerdì - Part 29
Play Caption
Here is an example of the same thing, using the polite form.
Ecco. -Grazie. -Si figuri.
Here. -Thanks. -Don't mention it.
Captions 24-25, Il Commissario Manara S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva - Part 13
Play Caption
Both ci mancherebbe and figurati/si figuri can also be appropriate responses when someone apologizes for something, using, for example, mi scusi (polite) or scusa (informal singular).
There are undoubtedly other ways to say "You're welcome" in Italian, but this list is a good start. Feel free to let us know if you hear others. We'll add them to this lesson. Thanks for reading!
When you know enough Italian to communicate with Italians, there is still something that might stump you. In the midst of a sentence in Italian, you might hear a word you don't recognize. Often, it is an English word being pronounced in a strange way, or maybe it's being used to mean something different from what it means in English. We're not prepared for it, either. We expect an Italian word! Let's look at a few of these words.
Il catering (the catering service, the caterers)
The usual Italianized version of this word is a noun: il catering. In English we're used to saying "the caterers" but in Italian, it's all about the catering service, shortened to "the catering", or rather il catering.
Se agiamo subito possiamo disdire, limitare i danni e pagare meno penali possibili. Il fioraio, il catering. -Perché?
If we act right away we can cancel, limit the damage, and pay as few penalties as possible. The florist, the caterers. -Why?
Captions 46-48, Sposami EP 4 - Part 10
Play Caption
Nella mia vita mi ero occupata molto di rapporti educativi, mi ero occupata di sociale, e tra le varie occupazioni, io ho avuto anche per dieci anni un catering che avevo creato io.
In my life, I had been very involved with educational relationships, I had been involved in social work, and among the various occupations, I had also had a catering company for ten years, which I had created.
Captions 3-6, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 5
Play Caption
If you listen to these 2 examples, you will hear the A in "catering" pronounced 2 different ways. In our first example, Nora uses the common Italian pronunciation. She pronounces the A like the a in padre. In the second example, the speaker, who has a completely different accent, uses the English pronunciation of the A, a "long" a, but she uses "catering" as a noun, as is common for Italians. We can surmise that she knows some English and therefore knows that A) catering is an English word, and B) that the A is pronounced with a long A (by English standards). In English we typically refer to "the caterers."
Fare footing (to go running or jogging)
For sure, the English word "jogging" can present challenges of pronunciation for Italians. The J is generally pronounced the same way the letter i is pronounced, and a g followed by an i is usually pronounced like a J. It's a nightmare. No wonder they found an easier way to describe the activity of moving one's feet along a road or path. Of course "footing" is a real word in English, but we use it to mean "a firm placing of one's feet."
Scusa, non hai sempre detto che sono patetici quelli che fanno footing a una certa età?
Excuse me, haven't you always said that pathetic are those who go running at a certain age?
Captions 38-39, Provaci ancora prof! S2E3 Dietro la porta - Part 1
Play Caption
Since English is popular in Italian, "running" is used a lot in stores that sell sports equipment. "Footing" has probably gone out of style for young folks.
Un toast (a grilled cheese sandwich [of sorts]).
For Italians, un toast is a sandwich of pan carré (packaged square sliced bread, often with the crust removed). So it is toasted, hence the name, but it is also filled with a combination of prosciutto cotto (cooked ham), formaggio (cheese that melts), and sometimes also giardiniera (pickled vegetables). There may also be a mayonnaise-based sauce in there, too. It's the kind of snack you can get in many bars and is one of the cheaper things you can order and satisfy your appetite.
Perché ho pensato, allora, ci sarebbero le uova strapazzate con il bacon o i muffin oppure un buonissimo toast con prosciutto e formaggio...
Because I had thought, then, there would be scrambled eggs with bacon or muffins, or else a very good grilled cheese [sandwich] with ham...
Captions 23-25, JAMS EP 6 - Part 5
Play Caption
Toast, as English speakers know it, is something else altogether and needs no explaining. If you want to talk about toast to an Italian, you'll call it pane tostato, and it might be made in il tostapane (the toaster).
Let us know if you think of other English words that have different meanings when spoken by an Italian. And thanks for reading!
Write to us at [email protected].
We're talking about the expression: sbarcare il lunario. At first glance, it isn't easy to figure out.
Let's begin our discussion with the noun la luna (the moon). That may help us guess that lunario has something to do with the moon. Originally the month was the interval between one new moon and the next (a sense gleaned from late Old English). The Italian word for "month" is mese from the Latin "mensis," which signified both "month" and "moon."
Il Lunario is well known in Italy as a kind of almanac, aimed at an agricultural readership, providing the phases of the moon of a given year and information about when to plant certain crops, when to cut one's hair to make it grow faster, according to the phases of the moon. Il lunario could be bought at any newsstand and likely still is. There are different editions of the Lunario, each appropriate to the region, since the planting seasons differ from area to area. A famous lunario in Florence is Il vero sesto Cajo Baccelli, named after a 16th-century astrologist. The almanac covers an entire year, month by month, and by extension, the phases of the moon. Loosely interpreted, il lunario is a period of time.
We need another piece of the puzzle to fully understand sbarcare il lunario. The verb sbarcare comes from the noun la barca (the boat). Sbarcare is what can be called "a parasynthetic verb," or un verbo parasintentico because it comes from a different part of speech (in this case, the noun la barca) and has a suffix or prefix (in this case, S) and becomes a verb, in this case, sbarcare.
These days, we use the verb sbarcare to mean the opposite of imbarcare (to board), in other words, to disembark or to go ashore. That implies you have reached the shore. In the context of the expression, you make it to the end of the year or month (and give a sigh of relief). You have made it.
That is certainly one interpretation of sbarcare, and the one found in dictionaries. But there is another interpretation, which took a bit of hunting. This interpretation first came up in a search for the expression sbarcare il lunario. The Accademia della Crusca answers questions, and apparently, plenty of people wanted to know about this expression. But then, Wiktionary also gave this alternate definition of sbarcare.
Sbarcare can also be used in its reflexive form: sbarcarsela, and as a pronominal verb, sbarcarla, to mean cavarsela (to manage, to get by), to overcome an obstacle or critical moment, to survive, more or less. Other similar expressions are:
tirare a campare (to take it one day at a time)
tirare avanti (to hobble along)
riuscire a campare a stento (to barely manage, with great effort, remaining poor)
tirare avanti la baracca or, more commonly mandare avanti la baracca — Here is the Italian explanation from Accademia della Crusca with an English translation following it, and connecting it to our expression:
...dove ‘baracca’ “ha il significato di famiglia, impresa, amministrazione mal organizzata, in cattive condizioni economiche. La baracca infatti è una costruzione provvisoria, di legno o metallo, per ricovero di persone, animali, materiale, ed anche, in senso spregiativo, una casupola, una casa malandata”, proprio come la vita di chi sbarca il lunario. (...where baracca (shack) has the meaning of poorly organized family, business, or administration, in poor economic conditions. In fact, the shack is a temporary construction, made of wood or metal, for sheltering people, animals, material, and also, in a derogatory sense, a shack, a run-down house," just like the life of those who have trouble making ends meet.)
In the expression sbarcare il lunario, the sense of sbarcare is this: trascorrere per lo più stentatamente e faticosamente, vivendo di espedienti, un periodo di tempo, l’esistenza stessa (to laboriously scrape through, living by expedients, a period of time, existence itself).
In English, we talk about living paycheck to paycheck. That's the idea.
For a more-in-depth explanation of sbarcare il lunario (in Italian), see this article from the Accademia della Crusca.
Finally, here is the clip from Provaci ancora, Prof. It's part of a news broadcast on TV that Renzo is listening to as he cooks dinner.
Il commissario Gaetano Berardi, che conduce l'inchiesta {è...} -Ehm... risalito a lui dopo un'attenta indagine tra un gruppo di aspiranti attori... -Ah. -che sbarcano il lunario vestiti da antichi Romani... -Ciao amore, dov'è papà?
Chief Gaetano Berardi, who is leading the investigation, has... -Um. traced it to him, after a careful investigation into a group of aspiring actors... -Ah. -who make ends meet dressed as ancient Romans... -Hello love, where's Dad?
Captions 3-6, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP1 - Due americane a Roma - Part 17
Play Caption
Thanks for reading. Write to us at [email protected].
When we're talking about animals, we use the noun "paw," rather than "foot" for certain animals, such as dogs, cats, and bears. In Italian, this is la zampa. When used in its diminutive form, it's often figurative and can mean a couple of different things, depending on the surrounding words.
In our first example, we can interpret lo zampino to mean "the fingerprint." Imma's figurative fingerprints appear to be all over the hiring of her secretary, since they had been classmates at school.
Secondo me c'è il Suo zampino nell'assunzione della signora Sigillino in procura.
In my opinion, there's your pawprint in the hiring of Mrs. Sigillino in the prosecutor's office.
Captions 9-10, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 17
Play Caption
Mettere lo zampino is an expression that means "to interfere." To have a hand in something.
The Italian description of a Luca Manara video is as follows:
Le indagini sono ormai cominciate e già c'è il sentore che ci sia lo zampino di qualcuno.
The investigation has begun by now, and there is already the inkling that someone has had a hand in it.
In this next example, we can interpret lasciare lo zampino to mean something like "leaving one's paw [caught] in a trap." Eva is dealing with her son who has gotten caught stealing a CD.
Non è che hai rubato pure te[tu]? -Io? Eh! Magari da giovane... -No, io no... però ho conosciuto un ragazzo che c'ha lasciato lo zampino.
It's not that you robbed as well? -Me? Yeah! Maybe when you were younger... -No, not me... but I knew a boy who left his little paw there (who got caught).
Captions 14-17, La Ladra EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 7
Play Caption
The traditional saying is:
Tanto va la gatta al lardo che ci lascia lo zampino (the cat goes so often (or so far) into the lard that she leaves her paw in it).
In other words, "curiosity killed the cat."
Thanks for reading. Write to us at [email protected]
Let's look at an expression often used by Italians to mean "on the other hand," "besides," "then again," "after all," and more. If you learn this expression by listening and repeating it when appropriate, that's perfect. But just for fun, let's take it apart.
Come a Lei d'altronde, se no non faremmo questo mestiere.
As you do too, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this job.
Caption 29, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 15
Play Caption
Questa è una battuta più da Rambo che da centurione, d'altronde vuoi fare l'attore.
This is more of a Rambo line than a centurion one, after all, you want to be an actor.
Captions 34-35, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP1 - Due americane a Roma - Part 15
Play Caption
As mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, there are a few ways to translate this expression. The funny thing is, none of them reflect the individual words making up d'altronde.
on the other hand
after all
then again
for that matter
besides
otherwise
D'altronde
-We start out with a contraction: d' The non-contracted word would be the preposition di or da (of, from).
-Then we have the adjective altro meaning "other." This is also "contracted" with the word following it, but there is no apostrophe. It's likely that it was two words at the outset but later, it might have had an apostrophe — altr'onde — because of the o at the end of altro and the beginning of onde. Over time, it became one word, altronde. This is called univerbazione, when two words become one.
-Onde is interesting, too. It is a very archaic word meaning "hence" or "whence," or in other words, "from where," or da dove in Italian.
Onde is also part of a common expression you might hear, with archaic roots: onde evitare (in order to avoid). Of course, Italians just know the expression. They for sure do not think about where it comes from. Le onde is also the plural of l'onda (the wave).
Other expressions used to mean the same thing (or similar) as d'altronde:
d'altra parte (on the other hand, besides)
Perché, d'altra parte, per diventare un grande regista devi stare per strada.
Because, besides, in order to become a great director, you have to be on the street.
Caption 39, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 7
Play Caption
del resto (besides)
Del resto anche i fascisti, come i socialisti, dicono di marciare verso l'avvenire: perpetua e universale illusione.
Besides, the fascists as much as the socialists say they're marching towards the future. A perpetual and universal illusion.
Captions 8-9, Me Ne Frego Il Fascismo e la lingua italiana - Part 1
Play Caption
in fondo (after all, in the end)
Ma neanche questa è, in fondo, una spiegazione totale.
But not even this, after all, is a total explanation.
Caption 17, La super storia Via Pasolini - Part 5
Play Caption
Thanks for reading. We hope you get the idea and that you can begin using d'altronde in conversation. or at least understand it when you see or hear it.
In English, we have the noun "fruit." It's a collective or uncountable noun, so we rarely use an indefinite article or number before it. When we want to count fruit, we either refer to the fruit in question, for example, an apple or a peach, or we talk about "a piece of fruit."
Things are a little different in Italian. There is an analogous noun to "the fruit," la frutta, which is collective and uncountable.
Io mi ricordo che a casa mia si mangiava, allora, il, a mezzogiorno si mangiava: il primo, la carne, il contorno e la frutta, e la sera si mangiava la minestra.
I remember that at my house we'd eat, then, the, at noon we'd eat: the first course, meat, vegetable [side dish] and fruit, and the evening we'd eat some soup.
Captions 33-36, L'arte della cucina La Prima Identitá - Part 14
Play Caption
When we want to talk about "fruits and vegetables," we say la frutta e la verdura. We're talking about two categories of plant food. Note that we use the singular in Italian. Sometimes an article is used, but not always.
Ci troviamo al piano inferiore, al piano terra del Mercato Centrale di Firenze. Qui, di solito, tutti i giorni si vendono frutta e verdura e anche altre cose.
We're on the lower level, on the ground floor of the Central Market of Florence. Here, usually, every day, fruits and vegetables are sold, along with other things, too.
Captions 26-28, In giro per l'Italia Firenze - Part 2
Play Caption
Just as in English we can say "some fruit," in Italian we use un articolo partitivo (a partitive article) which combines a preposition and an article to mean "an indefinite quantity of something." In the example, la frutta is a feminine noun, so we use della.
"Della": devo comprare della frutta.
"Della": I have to buy some fruit.
Caption 18, Marika spiega Articoli partitivi - Part 2
Play Caption
For more about partitive articles, see Marika's video lessons.
When we do want to talk about a piece of fruit in Italian, we turn to another noun, il frutto. It also means "the fruit," but this time it's countable and refers to one exemplar or specimen. Here, we can also use an indefinite article, or a number. We can form the plural.
Per capire se l'anguria è pronta da gustare, basta bussare sulla buccia. Un suono cupo e basso è il segnale che il frutto è maturo.
To figure out if the watermelon is ready to eat, just knock on the rind. A dull, low sound is the signal that the fruit is ripe.
Captions 5-8, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 3
Play Caption
In the previous example, a particular watermelon exemplar has been singled out, so il frutto makes sense. In the following example, the kind of fruit is not mentioned. It could be any fruit, such as una mela (an apple), una pesca (a peach), una pera (a pear), or un'albicocca (an apricot).
"Le guardie sono cadute a terra", scrive Roberto Longhi, come quattro spicchi di un frutto tagliato di netto e sono sprofondate in un sonno pesante".
"The guards fell to the ground," writes Roberto Longhi, like four wedges of a cleanly cut piece of fruit, and sank into a heavy sleep."
Captions 7-9, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 10
Play Caption
While the plural of frutta doesn't exist, we can use the plural of frutto, in other words, frutti.
E poi perché le olive vengono più piccole, le piante tendono, quando si inselvatichiscono, a fare i frutti molto più piccoli.
And also because the olives come out smaller. Plants tend, when they become wild, to produce much smaller fruit.
Captions 16-18, Gianni si racconta L'olivo e i rovi
Play Caption
Frutto is also used figuratively to mean "result," just as in English.
È il frutto di una generazione artistica geniale e audace.
It is the result of a brilliant and daring artistic generation.
Caption 14, Meraviglie S2 EP3 - Part 1
Play Caption
It's often employed with no article at all.
...perché tutto quello che vedete è frutto di un lavoro lentissimo.
...because everything you see is the result of a very slow process.
Caption 18, Meraviglie S2EP1 - Part 8
Play Caption
Note: Frutta is not used figuratively in the same sense as frutto, and would not be appropriate here.
In a future lesson, we'll talk about different kinds of fruit and their peculiarities.
A subscriber asked: "What's the difference between tra and fra? The simple answer is "no difference." They both mean "between," "among," "in," (when talking about time), and more.
But they do sound different at the beginning with two different consonants, and to make a sentence flow better, Italians will choose one over the other, instinctively. If the noun following tra or fra starts with T or F, Italians will instinctively avoid weighing down the sentence with too many F's or too many T's. Or it might just be a personal preference that determines which version someone will use in a given situation. Let's look at some examples from Yabla videos to see if there are any patterns in choosing fra over tra and vice versa.
Our first example is from a video about prepositions, including tra and fra.
Compagnia: "Mi piacerebbe organizzare una cena tra amici".
Company: "I'd like to plan a dinner among friends."
Caption 37, Marika spiega Preposizioni semplici - Part 3
Play Caption
Tra l'altro, da quello che si sa, tra poco qui arriveranno le forze dell'ordine
By the way, from what we know, the police will be arriving here in a little while,
Caption 23, Liberi tutti EP 5 Cosa c'è sotto? - Part 6
Play Caption
Tra l'altro is a turn of phrase people use a lot to resume a conversation or to add some information. It can mean "by the way," or "besides," and more literally means, "among other things." In the same sentence, the speaker uses tra poco to mean "in a short while." Both tra and fra combine with adverbs to mean "in" in terms of time:
Io fra cinque minuti torno.
I'll be back in five minutes.
Caption 35, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 5
Play Caption
While tra and fra mean the same thing, one might sound better than the other depending on the words following the preposition. In the following example, fra is preferred because the noun following it begins with t. Tra would sound "bad" coming before another word starting with t.
Ecco, prof, io fra tutti ho scelto "L'amico ritrovato" di Uhlman.
OK, professor, out of all of them, I have chosen Uhlman's "The newfound friend" [EN title: "Reunion"]
Caption 1, Provaci ancora prof! S2E4 L'amica americana - Part 7
Play Caption
Fun Fact:
In the TV series "Imma Tataranni sostituto procuratore," the title of one episode is Come piante fra i sassi (like plants between the rocks). But the title of the book that the show is based on is Come piante tra i sassi (like plants between the rocks). In other words, one uses fra and one uses tra.
Communication is the most important aspect of speaking a language, so don't worry about getting this "wrong." Nobody will fault you if you choose fra over tra (or vice versa). But you might have fun doing a search of both words (on the videos page) to see how the characters in Yabla videos handle this essential preposition in either of its spellings and pronunciations. It's something to put in your stylistic toolbox if you want to refine your language fluency. When you listen to native Italians speak, pay attention to how they use tra and fra.
There are certain moments in life, and January is often one of them, when we reassess things, we try something new, or we turn over a new leaf. Did you ever wonder if there is an equivalent expression in Italian for turning over a new leaf? There is! It's voltare pagina (to turn the page). It's not exact, but it's close. Turning over a new leaf looks to the future with the adjective "new," and it implies getting a fresh start, whereas voltare pagina might imply leaving the past in the past. It can mean "to move on." It all depends on the context. Turning over a new leaf is usually applicable to one individual, whereas voltare pagina can be general or specific.
When you turn over a new leaf, it's like turning the page. Back in the day, at school, we would use loose-leaf notebooks, also called "ring binders." In Italian, these are called either raccoglitori ad anelli or quaderni ad anelli. So "leaf" is another word for "page" (or more precisely, "sheet of paper or parchment"), even though when we hear, say, or read the word "leaf," we usually think of a tree or plant with leaves. In Italian, a leaf is una foglia.
Fun fact: 2 Italian nouns, la foglia (the botanical leaf) and il foglio (page, leaf, sheet of paper including back and front) come from the same Latin word "folium," meaning "leaf" or "sheet of paper."
Il mese di gennaio è un buon momento per voltare pagina.
(The month of January is a good opportunity for turning over a new leaf.)
Il passato non torna, Albe'. Dobbiamo voltare pagina.
The past doesn't come back, Albe'. We have to turn the page.
Captions 4-5, Non è mai troppo tardi EP1 - Part 5
Play Caption
Sì, lo so che non me ne dovrebbe fregare più niente, che... che dovrei andare avanti, ma, ma... non ci riesco.
Yes, I know I shouldn't give a damn anymore, that... that I should move on, but, but... I can't.
Captions 8-9, Sposami EP 3 - Part 20
Play Caption
In the previous example, the speaker could have said:
Sì, lo so che non me ne dovrebbe fregare più niente, che... che dovrei voltare pagina, ma, ma... non ci riesco.
Yes, I know I shouldn't give a damn anymore, that... that I should move on, but, but... I can't.
For more about the verb voltare (to turn) and its origins, and about other related words and topics, see this lesson, especially the section titled:
"When manuscripts had leaves, not pages."
Here are two examples contrasting foglia and foglio.
Allora qua abbiamo un pittore, come vedete, che disegna foglie secche e frutta marcia.
So here we have a painter, as you see, who designs dry leaves and rotten fruit.
Captions 40-41, Caravaggio EP1 - Part 6
Play Caption
Se vuoi fare contento un bambino, dagli un foglio bianco e una matita colorata.
If you want to make a child happy, give him a white sheet of paper and a colored pencil.
Captions 7-8, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 1
Play Caption
Have a little fun with words that have different meanings depending on whether they end in a or o.
Thanks for reading! You can write to us at [email protected].
Sorting out the parts of speech in a new language can be tricky. You don't necessarily need to be able to memorize what part of speech a given word is, but it's handy to be able to figure it out. Native speakers just know, but learners need some cues sometimes. We're going to discuss the word fidanzato/a because it crops up as a past participle, adjective, or noun, and it can be challenging to figure out which it is. We'll try to make some sense out of it.
We have talked about the fine line between adjectives and nouns in another lesson, but it's a topic that comes up frequently, so we'll explore it again from another angle.
The caption that sparked this discussion is from the popular crime drama Imma Tataranni. Imma, the deputy prosecutor, is interviewing the parents of a girl who had been murdered.
Era fidanzata?
Did she have a boyfriend?
[Was she engaged/attached?]
Caption 17, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 4
Play Caption
Our translation caused some confusion because it's neither parallel nor word-for-word. But it opened up a discussion about adjectives and nouns, and how to tell the difference. It also opened up a discussion about what words to use when referring to relationships. But we'll talk about that in another lesson. Let's look at what questions to ask to find out whether a word is a past participle, adjective, or noun.
The word fidanzata ends in a so it is likely feminine. The masculine would be fidanzato. Adjective or noun? There is no article in this example, so the best guess is "adjective." If it were a noun (something that is possible), it would likely have an article and possibly an adjective or possessive adjective before it.
Ci vorrebbe una bella fidanzata.
You need a nice girlfriend.
Caption 75, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 2 - Part 17
Play Caption
Eh, c'ho Giampi, ma è un fidanzato, non è un amico.
Uh, I have Giampi, but he's a boyfriend, not a friend.
Caption 45, Sposami EP 2 - Part 17
Play Caption
And we can look at the verb. Italian's two main verbs, essere (to be) and avere (to have) are used as auxiliaries, but not exclusively. Avere is also a transitive verb meaning "to have," where as essere is not. Here is an example from another crime-show interview about a murder. This time the detective used the verb avere (to have), which makes things much simpler. We assume from the context that it's about a guy, but it could also be "Did she have a girlfriend?".
Aveva una fidanzata?
Did he have a girlfriend?
Caption 45, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP4 Gelo - Part 7
Play Caption
But here, we see the verb essere (and no article) so we can tell that fidanzata is an adjective.
Io vado, ciao. -Allora, questa amica mia è fidanzata da otto anni
I'm going, bye. -So this friend of mine, she's been engaged for eight years
Captions 75-76, Stai lontana da me Rai Cinema - Part 2
Play Caption
Here, too, there is no article.
Devo dirti una cosa, Teresa. -Dimmi. -Io sono fidanzato, Teresa.
I have to tell you something, Teresa. -Tell me. -I'm engaged, Teresa.
Captions 42-44, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 19
Play Caption
Here's how it works in the plural.
Per un po' siamo anche stati fidanzati.
We were also boyfriend and girlfriend for a while.
For a while, we were even engaged.
Caption 10, La Ladra EP. 11 - Un esame importante - Part 2
Play Caption
When we talk about the process of getting engaged, then fidanzata/o is no longer an adjective. It's the past participle of the verb fidanzare (to get engaged). We use the reflexive particle si (oneself) and the auxiliary verb essere (to be).
Mi sono fidanzata. Evviva! -Che bello, la nonna si è fidanzata!
I got engaged. Yay! -How nice that Grandma has gotten [herself] engaged!
Captions 30-31, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 17
Play Caption
We hope we've cleared up some doubts about fidanzato/a and given you some tips for determining whether a word is a past participle, adjective, or noun.
In this lesson, we're going to talk about an adjective and a noun stemming from the common verb portare. Portare comes from the Latin "portāre," meaning "to carry" or "to bear" (as does the Italian verb portare). It originally referred (and still does refer) to physically carrying or bearing objects or people. One of the 2 words came up in a Yabla video, so it seemed like a good opportunity to shine a light.
Logically, the past participle portato is used in the past tense to mean "carried" or "brought." For example:
Infatti ho portato i soldi.
In fact, I brought the money.
Caption 66, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 20
Play Caption
Portare takes avere as an auxiliary, a cue telling us portato is a past participle, not an adjective. It's not unusual for past participle forms of verbs to become adjectives or nouns. They are usually related in basic meaning. But in the case of portato, the meaning strayed a bit from the original one. It took on a more figurative sense. "Carrying something" was extended to mean "having an inherent tendency or suitability for something," as if the trait were "carried" within a person. Portato began to describe someone with a natural inclination toward a specific activity or field. We can imagine someone "carrying" a predisposition or "bearing" a natural gift, to go back to the meaning of portare.
In a previous lesson, we talked about being talented or not, using dotato or negato. Portato fits in as a synonym for dotato (gifted) with a slightly different vibe. Dotato might be thought of in terms of being a gift from God or some higher power, and portato, in terms of coming from within, an innate predisposition. But they are often used interchangeably.
In the following example from an Italian TV series about the Milan music conservatory, a violin student has been yelling over some drum riffs in order to hide the sound of his letting off steam. His friend compliments him on his yelling.
E bravo, sei portato.
And well done, you're a natural.
Caption 52, La compagnia del cigno EP 2 - Part 8
Play Caption
If I say: Sei portato per la musica, I am saying, "You are gifted." "You're a natural." We might use it to describe someone good at learning languages, good at fixing cars, good at cooking, etc.
Invece ha detto che nostra figlia è molto portata per la danza.
But she said our daughter is very gifted in dance.
Caption 25, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 9
Play Caption
Per cosa si sente portata?
What do you feel you're good at?
What's your strong suit?
Caption 28, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 11
Play Caption
Let's remember that, as adjectives, portato, portata, portati and portate have to agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
The feminine past participle of portare evolved into the noun portata, whose core meaning relates to "that which is carried" or "the act of carrying." You might be familiar with the noun una portata in the context of courses of a meal, brought or carried to the table.
La portata evolved into meaning "the extent" or "the range," referring to the span or scope something can reach, carry, or bear, such as physical reach or figurative impact.
Sono pienamente d'accordo sulla portata metaforica del Suo discorso,
I am in full agreement about the metaphorical impact/magnitude of what you are saying,
Caption 14, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 23
Play Caption
Finally, we have the expression a portata di mano (literally, "within reach of one's hand"). We can shorten it to "within reach."
In inverno consiglio sempre di tenere a portata di mano un ombrello.
In winter I always recommend keeping an umbrella handy.
Caption 22, Adriano Le stagioni dell'anno
Play Caption
As we see, it can mean "handy," but it can also mean "at hand," or "close at hand" in a figurative sense.
Sarebbe atroce morire proprio ora che la salvezza è a portata di mano.
It would be awful to die right now when salvation is at hand/within reach.
Captions 57-58, Vivere Un'avventura di Vittorio De Sica - Part 1
Play Caption
We hope you will now know what people mean when they say someone is portato or portata, and if they ask you Hai carta e penna a portata di mano? you will know they're asking if you have paper and pen handy to write something down.
In this lesson, we're going to talk about two verbs that have to do with getting from one place to another, at least in their simple, literal meaning. Arrivare is the verb whose meaning we can guess most easily, since it has an English cognate, "to arrive."
We also might recognize the noun form in its plural: gli arrivi. We see this on signs at train stations and airports and can guess it means "arrivals." The opposite is partenze (departures).
Ah, il mio volo arriva un'ora dopo il tuo. Aspettami agli arrivi, eh.
Ah, my flight arrives one hour later than yours. Wait for me at "arrivals," huh.
Captions 60-61, Sei mai stata sulla Luna? film - Part 2
Play Caption
While the basic meaning of arriving somewhere is pretty clear, Italians also use the verb arrivare in a slightly different way, which is good to know about. It's used in the present tense to mean one's arrival is imminent. In English, we use the future tense: "I'll/we'll be right there."
Sì, arriviamo. Arrivo. Arrivo.
Yes, we'll be right there. I'll be right there. I'm coming.
Captions 28-29, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 1
Play Caption
Used in the present progressive or continuous, it means "I'm on my way."
Sto arrivando, apparecchia per due.
I'm on my way, set the table for two.
Caption 62, Il Commissario Manara S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 11
Play Caption
This can be frustrating for the person waiting because it is very vague, sometimes purposely so. Sometimes the person hasn't left yet. It would be clearer to say:
Sto partendo (I'm leaving).
Arrivo tra una mezz'ora (I'll arrive in a half an hour).
Giungere has to do with completion. It comes from a Latin word meaning "to unite." An attentive reader might think of the English words, "junction," "conjunction," and even "to join." In fact, the Italian verb congiungere means "to join," or "to connect."
"Vedere la luce" vuol dire nascere e, in senso figurativo, significa giungere a compimento di qualcosa.
"To see the light [of day]" means being born and, in a figurative sense, it means reaching the completion of something.
Captions 81-82, Marika spiega Il verbo vedere - Part 1
Play Caption
È giunto il momento di lasciare questo luogo, un luogo meraviglioso.
The time has come to leave this place, a wonderful place.
Captions 1-2, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 11
Play Caption
In the previous two examples, the verb arrivare could have been used, but giungere is more archaic and more formal, as well as being more specific in referring to a destination or goal.
On the other hand, we also have the verb raggiungere, which is used very often to mean "to join," "to catch up with," "to reach." It's transitive, therefore taking a direct object, whereas giungere needs the preposition a (to).
Non è facile raggiungere Borgo Sansepolcro.
It is not easy to reach Borgo Sansepolcro.
Caption 4, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 1
Play Caption
Sì, tu vai. Io ti raggiungo tra una mezz'ora.
Yes. You go. I'll join you in a half an hour.
Caption 40, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 12
Play Caption
When raggiungere means "to join," it is usually directed towards a person as in the previous example. Join can't always be translated as raggiungere.
If you want to talk about catching up with someone, raggiungere can work.
Vai avanti tu, che io ti raggiungo.
You go on ahead, I'll catch up with you.
Caption 31, Ma che ci faccio qui! Un film di Francesco Amato - Part 8
Play Caption
If you do a search of raggiungere (or any of its conjugations), you will find plenty of examples on the videos page. It is a verb you will want in your toolbox.
We often want to comment on another person, animal, or object regarding their appearance (or demeanor), either someone we are talking to or someone we are talking about. One word we can use for this is sembrare "to seem." It can be used by itself:
'Sti [questi] baffetti quando ti sono usciti? Sembri un uomo, eh?
When did you grow this moustache? You look like a man, huh?
Captions 46-47, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 3
Play Caption
Although sembrare (to seem) can be used by itself, it's often personalized with an indirect object pronoun such as mi (to me), ti (to you), ci (to us), etc.
Mi sembri nervoso (you seem irritable to me).
Tu sei perfettamente vestito per questo posto e mi sembri molto a tuo agio.
You are dressed perfectly for this place, and you seem very at ease to me.
Captions 67-68, Romanzo Italiano Lazio - Part 10
Play Caption
But it's also common to use the verb vedere (to see), thus shifting the focus to the speaker.
Mamma mia, come vi vedo nervosi.
My goodness, how nervous you seem.
My goodness, how nervous I see you [as being].
Caption 24, Liberi tutti EP 5 Cosa c'è sotto? - Part 3
Play Caption
Però... io ti vedo strana.
But... you seem strange (you're acting weird).
Caption 12, JAMS S1 EP 5 - Part 4
Play Caption
Using vedere can be connected with "looking." In English, we keep the focus on the person we're describing ("you"). In Italian, the grammatical focus is on the person commenting.
Ti vedo bene, Giorgio.
You look good, Giorgio.
Caption 2, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP2 Rabbia - Part 20
Play Caption
Let's look at some questions using these same formulas.
Che c'è, ti sembro troppo disinvolta forse?
What, do I seem too flippant to you perhaps?
Caption 36, La compagnia del cigno EP 2 - Part 6
Play Caption
Sara (the speaker) could have said,
Che c'è, mi vedi troppo disinvolta forse?
What, do you see me as too flippant, perhaps?
Dite la verità, come vi sembro?
Tell me the truth, how do I look (to you)?
Caption 40, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP1 I Bastardi - Part 16
Play Caption
She could have said:
Dite la verità, come mi vedete?
Tell me the truth, how do I look (to you) [how do you see me]?
The way you want to comment will vary according to context and personal preference. But now you can choose! For more about sembrare, see this lesson.
Spanish
French
German
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano