Have you ever enjoyed a cappuccino in Italy—or dreamed about it? Well, here's a surprise. There's a little segreto (secret) hiding inside the word cappuccino. It's one of the most useful little words in Italian. Once you notice it, you'll start seeing it in all kinds of Italian words.
The little word is capo. But where to begin? Capo has quite a few meanings, so... let's begin at the beginning—because that happens to be one meaning of capo.
Un racconto deve avere un capo, una coda e soprattutto un bel po' di carne in mezzo.
A story must have a beginning, an end, and, above all, a good bit of substance in the middle.
Captions 48-49, Romanzo Italiano Campania - Part 7
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Non ha né capo né coda (it has neither a beginning nor an end/neither head nor tail).
Dai, facciamo ancora l'ultima serie, tutto da capo e poi abbiamo terminato.
Come on, let's do the last series again, everything from the beginning, and then we're done.
Captions 30-31, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 8
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This has morphed into one word people use in everyday conversation when it's time to start over (from square one).
Il tempo di mettere da parte abbastanza soldi per cambiare aria e ricominciare daccapo.
The time it took to put aside enough money, to get a change of scene, and start over from the beginning.
Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 6
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So how is capo hidden inside cappuccino? Above, I brought up this expression:
Non ha né capo né coda (it has neither a beginning nor an end/head nor tail).
We can talk about an animal with a head and tail. And to tell the truth, the first meaning of capo is "head." It comes from the Latin: caput.
➡️ Note: Nowadays, Italians usually say testa when they mean the part of the body. But capo survives in many expressions and compound words, which is why you'll see it everywhere once you start looking.
Un ragazzo, aveva la felpa e il cappuccio in testa.
A guy. He had a sweatshirt and a hood over his head.
Caption 58, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1 EP6 Buio - Part 4
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The word cappuccio makes sense because it covers the capo or head. Within the Franciscan religious movement founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209 (i Franciscani), there's an order, founded in 1529, that became known as i Cappuccini (the Capuchins in English) because of their long pointed hoods. Their habits were brown, just like the mix of coffee and milk in a cappuccino. According to the traditional explanation, this is how cappuccino, that magical mix of espresso and steamed milk, got its name.
In the following example, the waiter is asking what his customers would like. One customer asks the other if he wants a cappuccino, he gets a nod, then orders 2 of them.
Cosa vi porto? -Le va un cappuccino? Allora, due cappuccini e un tè. -Grazie,
What shall I bring you? -Do you feel like a cappuccino? So, two cappuccinos and a tea. -Thank you,
Captions 52-54, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP3 La terza vittima - Part 12
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One important meaning of capo is "head," but in the figurative sense of leader, boss, or chief, depending on the context. From there, it's easy to understand why capo also came to mean the person "at the head" of a group.
Riunione dal capo.
Meeting with the chief.
Caption 26, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S2 EP1 Cuccioli - Part 13
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Il caporeparto non voleva mandarmi in pausa pranzo,
The department head didn't want me to go on my lunch break,
Caption 22, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi - Part 6
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A casa c'ho anche altri tre fratelli. Io sono capofamiglia.
At home, I also have another three brothers. I am the head of the family.
Captions 67-68, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 7
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And in the credits of any film, you'll see roles that start with capo.
Finally, there is an interesting English word guitar players already know. Fun fact: people from the US pronounce this with a long A - kaypoh. That's partly because they never dreamed that it came from the Italian word capotasto, the first fret at the very top (head) of the fingerboard.
🔎 Lo hai notato (did you notice)?
Keep your eyes and ears open over the next few days. You may be surprised how often capo turns up once you know what to look—and listen—for. If you come across another capo word, let us know. We'd love to hear what you discover.
Metaphors might be fun and easy when they are in one's own language, but they may not be so easy to identify and understand in the language you're learning. We've selected some expressions using the metaphor of aria (air) for your enjoyment and learning.
Obviously, you can't fry air, so it's a great way to say something is not worth selling, not worth taking into consideration.
Qui si vende aria fritta.
Here we're selling fried air [thin air].
Caption 31, Sposami EP 4 - Part 23
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There are lots of ways to let things go up in smoke, and here is one:
Adesso tu vuoi mandare all'aria tutto così, per niente?
Now you want to make everything go up in smoke, just like that, for nothing?
Caption 4, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3EP4 Lo stagno del ranocchio - Part 12
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Of course, Italians do also use the metaphor of fumo (smoke) but we'll look at those in another lesson.
For this metaphor, it might be useful to talk about the verb campare. For English speakers, the word "camp" comes to mind. Campare may come from the French verb "camper" meaning accamparsi (to encamp, to set up camp). In modern colloquial Italian, it has come to mean "to get by" and by extension, "to live" or to "survive." Campato in aria means something is nonsensical, far-fetched. Just as you can't fry air, you can't survive on it alone.
Questa è tutta una sua ricostruzione totalmente campata in aria.
This is all her totally far-fetched reconstruction.
Caption 9, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi - Part 5
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Here below, we have a different translation that keeps with the metaphor of "air." The meaning here is still "unfounded."
Sono tutte supposizioni, campate in aria.
These are all suppositions, drawn out of thin air.
Caption 8, Il Commissario Manara S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 12
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If we visualize legs in the air, we can relate to the English equivalent: to go belly up.
Un matrimonio che va a gambe all'aria al momento della cerimonia, per colpa di chi?
A wedding that ends up with legs in the air [goes belly up] at the moment of the ceremony, by the fault of whom?
Captions 45-46, Sposami EP 5 - Part 21
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To change the air means to change the environment — in other words, to get a change of scene.
Il tempo di mettere da parte abbastanza soldi per cambiare aria e ricominciare daccapo.
The time it took to put aside enough money, to get a change of scene, and start over from the beginning.
Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 6
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This expression has two versions, but the meaning is the same.
"Avere la testa tra le nuvole" o "avere la testa per aria" si usa quando non si riesce a pensare in maniera logica o chiara.
"To have one's head in the clouds" or "to have one's head in the air" is used when you are unable to think logically or clearly.
Captions 23-24, Marika spiega Espressioni con la testa - Part 2
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Have you seen other examples with aria as a metaphor in Yabla videos, or elsewhere? Let us know, and we'll add them to this lesson.
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