In an episode of Adriano Olivetti: La forza di un sogno, at the very end, there is an expression that's used just about every day, especially at the end of a conversation, email, a phone call, or text message, so let's have a look.

In this particular case, one person is talking to a few people, so he uses the imperative plural, which happens to be the same as the indicative in the second person plural. 

Fatemi sapere.

Let me know.

Caption 62, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 8

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Let's take the phrase apart. The verb fare (to make) has been combined with the object pronoun mi which stands for a me (to me). To that is added the verb sapere (to know), in the infinitive.

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So, first of all, we might have been tempted to use the verb lasciare (to let, to leave). It would be a good guess, but instead, we use the ubiquitous verb fare: "to make me know." Sounds strange in English, right? But in Italian, it sounds just right. You'll get used to it the more you say and hear it. 

Let's look at this expression in the singular, which is how you will use it most often.

The most generic version is this: fammi sapere (let me know).

Va be', quando scopri qualcosa fammi sapere.

OK, when you discover something, let me know.

Caption 34, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 3

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This use of "to make" plus a verb in the infinitive is also used a lot with verbs besides sapere (to know).

Do a Yabla search of fammi and you will see for yourself. There are lots of examples with all kinds of verbs.

Chi c'è alle mie spalle? Fammi vedere. -Francesca.

Who's behind me? Let me see. -Francesca.

Caption 13, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1

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Sometimes we need to add a direct object to our sentence: "Let me see it."

In this case, all those little words get combined into one word. Fammelo vedere (literally "let me it see" or Let me see it).

Using fare means we conjugate fare, but not the other verb, which can make life easier!

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Fare is a verb that is used on so many occasions. Read more lessons about fare. 

In one of this week's videos, we find two words in contexts that could use a bit of explaining.  

We're watching the first segment of a new episode of L'Eredità (the inheritance). To start off the show, there's the usual banter between the host and the contestants with some introductions. It just so happens that one of the contestants has a last name prone to getting joked about.

Buonasera. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.

Good afternoon. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.

Caption 51, L'Eredità - Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1

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The name looks innocent enough, but scarafone (also scarrafone, scaraffone, scardafone,scordofone) is another word for scarafaggio (cockroach). There's an expression in Italian, and you will see this on the WordReference page for scarafaggio: ogni scarafaggio sembra belloa sua madre (every cockroach is beautiful to its mother). There are other ways to interpret this, from "a face only a mother could love" to "even a homely child is beautiful to his mother." 

Pino Daniele, a famous Neapolitan singer-songwriter made this phrase famous in one of his songs. He used the Neapolitan variant, scarrafone, which is also the title: 'O Scarrafone, so when someone has a last name like that, it's almost impossible not to think of Pino Daniele's song if you've ever heard it. You can listen to the song here.  There is no actual video, just the album cover, but the text in Italian is there, too. 

Another word that is good to be able to recognize in a special context is culo. It is an informal word for buttocks, but Italians (informally only, prego!) use it to mean "luck."

Tirato a indovinare! Il solito culo!

Took a guess! The usual butt [luck]!

Caption 6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 2

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But on TV, for example, such words might not be not acceptable, so the contestant's brother says il fattore C and everyone knows what he is talking about. The host then explains jokingly that "C" stands for culturale (cultural) not culo. 

Be', e speriamo che il fattore ci [culo = fortuna] l'aiuta [aiuti] tanto.

Well, let's hope that the “C Factor” [butt = luck] helps her out greatly.

Captions 37-38, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1

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A common comment about someone with good fortune is:

Che culo!
What luck!

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It can also be used sarcastically to mean "bad luck."