The plural noun paletti came up in a recent video on Yabla, leading to thoughts about palo and pala (paletti is the plural diminutive of palo). They have similarities that can truly confound. Let's go through these words, one by one, to make sense of them.
Un palo is a pole, post, or mast. It's a masculine noun.
Però mi ricordo soltanto che era piccola e scura, perché quando è uscita dal garage, ha urtato contro un motorino che era legato a un palo.
But I just remember that it was small and dark, because when it left the garage, it hit a scooter that was locked to a post.
Captions 19-21, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 21
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It's also used to mean "goal post."
Quando un giocatore fa gol, si può dire anche "rete!". Ma se sbaglia e prende un palo, si dice solo "palo".
When a player scores, you can also say "Net!" But if the player makes a mistake and hits a goal post, you just say "goal post."
Captions 19-22, Marika spiega Gli sport
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One more figurative meaning of un palo is "a lookout."
Gina è rimasta fuori in macchina a fare il palo. Se vede movimenti sospetti, ci avverte subito.
Gina stayed out in the car to act as the lookout. If she sees any suspicious movements, she'll warn us right away.
Captions 12-13, La Ladra EP. 6 - Nero di rabbia - Part 11
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When un palo is small, it's un paletto. So if you are building fences, such as to keep chickens and foxes out of your vegetable garden, you might use the small size of this item: un paletto. We're using the word literally. And we often find the plural used, so it's good to remember i paletti.
Si coltiva su una trama di paletti di legno e fil di ferro,
It is grown on a framework made up of wooden stakes and wire,
Caption 26, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 4
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But paletti is used figuratively quite often when referring to restrictions, obstacles, or boundaries in human interaction and endeavors.
Era dico, perché oggi ci sono molti più paletti per chiunque vada negli Stati Uniti. -Sì. Ah no, per chi va negli Stati Uniti,
It was, I say, because, today there are many more restrictions for anyone going to the United States. -Yes. Oh no, for those who go to the United States,
Captions 40-43, Professioni e mestieri La chef Sandra Stefani - Part 3
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In a new relationship, or when raising children, you might put up some boundaries... mettere dei paletti.
Una pala, on the other hand, can be a shovel, a blade, or even an altarpiece! It's a feminine noun.
La preparazione del terreno per la semina, il contadino la fa con una vanga, che è una specie di pala ma fatta apposta per il terreno, fatta a punta per entrare bene nella terra.
The preparing of the ground for sowing, the farmer does with a spade, which is a kind of shovel but made especially for the ground, made with a point to enter nicely into the earth.
Captions 24-28, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 2
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From the RAI biopic about the famous early Baroque painter, Caravaggio:
Presto potrete ammirare la sua pala d'altare nella chiesa del Gesù.
Soon you will be able to admire his altarpiece in the Church of Jesus.
Caption 63, Caravaggio EP1 - Part 16
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Wind turbines are found on tall cement poles, which could be thought of as pali, but the proper term for the tall, vertical part of the structure is la torre (the tower). Pala, in this case, actually refers to the blade of the turbine. It would be correct to say la turbina eolica to mean "the wind turbine," but the everyday term is la pala eolica or le pale eoliche (in the plural) to refer to the entire structure. There are usually more than one, so we've included the plural.
È il rumore di una pala eolica, me lo sono ricordato, si trova vicino a una stalla abbandonata.
It's the sound of a wind turbine. I remembered it, it's near an abandoned barn.
Captions 13-15, Il Commissario Manara S2EP12 - La donna senza volto - Part 10
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Another confusing moment for la pala is when it is included in the common pairing: pail and shovel. We hear "pail" and it sounds kind of like pala, but la pala is the shovel! The pail is il secchio. When it's about kids at the beach, it's la paletta e secchiello.
The diminutive of pala, paletta, can be a number of things: a dustpan, a small shovel, a fly swatter, a scoop, a spatula, a trowel, a paddle...
Per pulire il pavimento, userò una scopa e una paletta.
To clean the floor, I'll use a broom and a dustpan.
Caption 13, Marika spiega Le pulizie di primavera - Part 1
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In this next example, la paletta represents a sign on a stick.
Signori, siamo pronti per votare, siamo pronti per votare. Tutti pronti con le palette.
[Ladies and] Gentlemen, we're ready to vote, we're ready to vote. Everyone ready with their signs.
Captions 56-57, Fellini Racconta Un Autoritratto Ritrovato - Part 17
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And this same name is given to the "paddle" the police or carabinieri use to wave a car down on the side of the road.
Just for fun:
Quando Marco era bambino, passava le estati al mare con la sua famiglia. Sulla spiaggia giocava per ore con la pala e il secchio, costruendo castelli di sabbia. A volte perdeva la sua paletta, e allora ne chiedeva un’altra ai genitori.
When Marco was a child, he spent his summers at the beach with his family. On the beach, he played for hours with a pail and shovel, building sandcastles. Sometimes he lost his little shovel, and then he would ask his parents for another one.
Un giorno, tornando a casa, vide per la prima volta delle pale eoliche sulle colline. Gli sembravano enormi girandole che giravano lentamente nel vento, molto diverse dalla sua piccola paletta da spiaggia.
One day, on the way home, he saw wind turbines on the hills for the first time. They looked like enormous pinwheels turning slowly in the wind, very different from his small beach shovel.
Anni dopo, Marco comprò una casa in campagna. Per sistemare il giardino, usò una grande pala per piantare alcuni pali di legno e costruire una recinzione. Aggiunse anche dei paletti per segnare il sentiero tra gli alberi.
Years later, Marco bought a house in the country. To do some work on the garden, he used a large shovel to put in some wooden posts and build a fence. He also added some small stakes to mark the path among the trees.
Nel lavoro, però, Marco doveva anche “mettere dei paletti”: doveva essere chiaro con i colleghi e stabilire dei limiti. “Qui bisogna mettere dei paletti,” diceva spesso, “altrimenti non potremo lavorare bene insieme.”
At work, however, Marco also had to “set boundaries”: He had to be clear with his colleagues and establish limits. “We need to set some boundaries here,” he often said, “otherwise we won't be able to work well together.”
Così, tra pale, palette, pali e paletti, impariamo che piccole differenze nelle parole possono cambiare molto il significato.
Thus, from shovels to signs, to posts and boundaries, we learn that small differences in words can significantly change their meaning.
Thanks for reading. Still confused about palo, pali, pala, pale, paletto, paletti, paletta, and palette? Write to us at [email protected].
It can be hard to remember whether an Italian noun ends in o or a. Sometimes it doesn't really matter, and people from different regions will express the noun one way or the other. An example of this is il puzzo/la puzza. They both mean "a bad smell" "a stench."
Beh, è bello sentire gli odori, ma noi sentiamo gli odori, ma sentiamo anche le puzze. Ecco infatti, senti questa puzza?
Well, it's nice to smell odors, but we smell scents, but we also smell bad odors. There you go, in fact, do you smell this stench?
Captions 12-14, Daniela e Francesca Il verbo sentire
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They're both associated with the verb puzzare (to stink).
But often, the ending does make a difference in meaning: It might be a small difference, where you'll likely be understood even if you get it wrong:
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
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una spolverata de [di] parmigiano e 'na [una] foglia di basilico a crudo sopra.
a sprinkling of Parmesan and a raw basil leaf on top.
Caption 9, Anna e Marika Un Ristorante a Trastevere
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Both sheets of paper are flat and thin, and in English a leaf can be a sheet of paper. We might use this term when talking specifically about books, but normally a leaf is a leaf and a sheet of paper is a sheet of paper.
Of course it's better to get it right!
But what about palo and pala? Actually, if we think about it, they both have similar shapes, but their function is completely different.
Il problema era, era un palo, un palo che stava proprio lì. Un palo di ferro
The problem was, was a post, a post that was right there. An iron post
Captions 83-85, Provaci Ancora Prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 1
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La preparazione del terreno per la semina, il contadino la fa con una vanga, che è una specie di pala ma fatta apposta per il terreno,
The preparing of the ground for sowing, the farmer does with a spade, which is a kind of shovel but made especially for the ground,
Captions 19-20, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 2
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So just for fun, and perhaps to help remember, we have a little crossword puzzle for you, all in Italian. All the words have one version that ends in a and one that ends in o. You might have to use a dictionary.
Click on the link and follow the instructions.
When endings count: Italian nouns ending in a or o
We've had a request for translations of the crossword puzzle. While we can't put the translation in the crossword itself, here are the clues in English:
Across
4. where ships can be docked
7. I use it for sewing
8. You have one when you are sad
10. I use it to write or draw on when it is made of paper
11. it grows in the ground or in a pot
12. one uses it to build things
13. we burn it in the fireplace
14. one a day keeps the doctor away
15. where someone lives
Down
1. a letter or package
2. place
3. It can end up in the courtroom
5. a type of fruit tree
6. it supports the electrical or telephone lines
7. there's often one at the checkout counter
8. you close it when you leave the house
9. you use it to dig a hole
10. it falls from a tree in the fall
Here are the solutions:
An important staple of the Italian diet is il fagiolo (the bean).
There's a vast variety of beans in many shapes, colors, and sizes, with local names, but the principal ones are borlotti (pinto beans) and cannellini (small white beans). Other popular legumi (legumes) include ceci (garbanzo beans or chickpeas), lenticchie (lentils, of which there are many varieties), and fave (fava beans).
Note: In English, the word "bean" is generic and can represent all kinds of legumes from garbanzo beans to kidney beans. Beans are beans, kind of like nuts are nuts in English. But Italians distinguish among the different kinds.
While we're at it, let's mention i fagiolini (string beans, green beans). Since we eat the "pod," il fagiolino falls into the category of vegetables (verdura, ortaggi), nutritionally, even though, technically it is un legume.
When in season (late spring), cannellini and borlotti are sold fresh in their pods, da sgranare (to shuck), but in addition to being canned, they're found on the shelves of supermarkets and alimentari (small grocery stores or delis) in dried form. They get soaked for many hours, and then cooked for a relatively long time, in terra cotta pots (traditionally). They contain a fair amount of protein, so they're a great source of protein for vegetarians, as well as for people who can't afford to buy much meat.
Even the cooking water from the beans doesn't go to waste, but gets pureed with a portion of the beans themselves, making a great vegetarian brodo (broth) for the kind of soups that are particularly popular in Tuscany.
There's talk, in a video about famous Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi, about the type of lunch that would be served in his parents' trattoria (small family-run restaurant), which catered to workers and consisted of humble ingredients and dishes.
...un ristorante frequentato, fondamentalmente,
...a restaurant frequented, fundamentally
da operatori di questo tipo,
by workers of this type,
quindi un ristorante dove si facevano panini,
therefore a restaurant where they made sandwiches,
dove si faceva la trippa,
where they made tripe,
e dove si facevano ... non so i fagioli.
and where they made ... I don't know, beans.
Captions 3-8, L'arte della cucina - La Prima Identitá
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La trippa (tripe), from the first stomach of the cow, is (or was) one of the more inexpensive animal proteins, which is why Gualtiero talks about it being a popular dish at his parents' trattoria. See this video (in Italian) about preparing la trippa!
Towards the end of April, if you hang out in Tuscany, you will see fava beans (da sgranare) in the produce section of supermarkets and dal fruttivendolo (at the fruit and vegetable market). On il primo maggio (May 1st), it's traditional to serve these fava beans, pods and all, at the table, where friends and family gather to celebrate the Italian (and international) holiday, La Festa dei Lavoratori or Festa del Lavoro. It's the equivalent of Labor Day.
Questa pianta viene comunemente chiamata baccello, ma in realtà il baccello è la buccia esterna, come lo è per il pisello ed altri ortaggi di questa famiglia.
This plant is commonly called "pod," but actually the pod is the external skin [shell], as it is for the pea and other vegetables of this family.
Captions 5-7, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 2
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Fagioli may seem like an unassuming, inexpensive, simple contorno (side dish), but when conditi (seasoned) with high quality olio extravergine di oliva (extra virgin olive oil), they become a delicious classic dish appreciated by diners all over Italy.
There's a detto (saying) or proverbio (proverb) that reflects the fact that in May and June, plants grow at an amazing rate, and need to be kept under control.
Maggio e giugno, falce in pugno.
May and June, sickle in hand.
It's very Italian to have un pezzetto di terra (a little piece of land) on which to plant un orto (vegetable garden), not to be confused with un giardino (garden), which is ornamental, or can refer to the back or front yard. Many kinds of piante (plants) can also grow in vasi (pots) in terrazza (on the terrace).
L'erba (the grass) is what you mow. You can use a tagliaerba (lawnmower) if you have a pratino (little lawn), or a decespugliatore (brush cutter) when the terreno (terrain) is uneven, or even a falce (scythe) or falcetto (sickle) if you cut it by hand. However, if we use the plural, le erbe, then we're talking about herbs used in cooking. Erbe commestibili (edible greens) are what you gather in fields and woods; erbe medicinali (medicinal herbs) are used by erboristi (herbalists) to make medicines.
Quando Natale non è al bar a leggere il giornale o a prendere il caffè,
When Natale isn't at the bar reading the newspaper or having coffee,
va a fare le erbe selvatiche.
he goes to pick wild greens.
Captions 28-29, La campagna toscana - Il contadino
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In a Yabla video about composting as a way to recycle, three closely related words having to do with la terra (the earth) are used in three consecutive lines of text.
L'humus compost è un terriccio che ha la capacità di trattenere
Humus compost is a soil that has the capacity to retain
e liberare lentamente gli elementi nutritivi necessari alle piante,
and slowly set free nutritive elements necessary to plants,
e di assicurare la fertilità del terreno.
and to assure the fertility of the soil.
Il rifiuto umido può essere una risorsa per la nostra terra.
Wet garbage can be a resource for our land.
Captions 6-9, Raccolta differenziata - Campagna di sensibilizzazione del Comune di Alliste (LE)
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Here are the three different terms:
Terriccio (soil, potting soil). This usually implies rich soil or loam, suitable for growing plants.
Terra (earth, land, ground). This is a very general term and can refer to our planet, a piece of land, the ground, and more. In caption 7, terra leaves some room for interpretation.
Terreno (plot of land, ground, terrain, soil). This often refers to something you can measure, but is used generically as well.
When we talk about raccolta differenziata, as in the title of the above-mentioned video, we're talking about recycling. Raccolta (gathering, collection, picking up, harvest or harvesting) differenziata (differentiated) means that trash gets divided into categories such as carta e cartone (paper and cardboard), vetro e plastica (glass and plastic), umido (organic waste) and rifiuti indifferenziati (general rubbish). Every town has its own rules and collection methods concerning this. There are either big dumpsters for each kind of garbage, or small plastic containers for different material (glass, plastic, paper, organic, general) which each family manages, and puts out on the appropriate day of the week to get raccolto (picked up), door to door.
More videos on the subject of ecology:
L'unione fa la forza: Cooperativa La Quercia
Inno all'acqua: un bene prezioso da difendere
Enel intervista: Tiziano Ferro - Part 1
Enel intervista: Tiziano Ferro - Part 2
L'unione fa la forza - Ecovillaggio Habitat
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