What words and expressions can we use in Italian to talk about getting along with other people, or not getting along? There are plenty of ways, some more mainstream, and others more colloquial or even vulgar, especially when it's about not getting along.
First of all, let's mention the classic term simpatico, which is tough to translate accurately (see this lesson). Although simpatico is not strictly connected with getting along, it is often a factor.
Someone can be simpatico, meaning they are friendly, easy to get along with, nice, likeable. None of these descriptions alone is enough to express the idea of simpatico. But simpatico has become a word that many English speakers understand. We can use simpatico as an adjective to describe a person:
Nick è uno simpatico, un po' fuori di testa.
Nick is a nice guy, a bit crazy.
Captions 56-57, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP4 Gelo - Part 10
Play Caption
But we can personalize it a bit by using the verb stare instead of essere and adding a personal pronoun. This is one way of getting around the fact that "to like" is transitive in English but not in Italian. We've mentioned in another lesson that mi piace can have various connotations, but stare simpatico is more generic and "safe."
Anche se la conoscevo poco, mi stava simpatica. -Certo.
Even if I didn't know her well, I liked her. -Of course.
Caption 10, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP1 I Bastardi - Part 14
Play Caption
The opposite of simpatico is antipatico. But while we can use antipatico to describe a person, we also use it to describe something unpleasant like a medical procedure. It often means "unpleasant" in this context. In the following example, "unfriendly" was the translation but it could also have been "unpleasant," "not nice." Sometimes we might use "nasty," but that is a strong word.
È severo e pure un po' antipatico.
He is stern and also a bit unfriendly.
Caption 41, Provaci ancora prof! S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco - Part 4
Play Caption
In terms of getting along, the classic phrasal verb is andare d'accordo (literally, "to go in agreement").
Non mi avevi detto che andavate d'accordo? -Sì, andiamo d'accordo.
Didn't you tell me you got along great? -Yes, we get along.
Captions 77-78, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 15
Play Caption
Sai quanto tuo marito mi sta antipatico, e questo lo abbiamo capito fra le righe, però andare d'accordo con te non è che è facile, eh.
You know how much I don't like your husband, and this we have figured out, reading between the lines, but getting along with you isn't easy, huh.
Captions 5-8, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP3 Un cugino in fuga - Part 14
Play Caption
Another way to express "getting along" in a very positive way, is with stare bene. Stare bene can mean "to feel good," "to be comfortable," or "to be in good health." Stare insieme is used when two people are in a couple. Stanno insieme (they are together, they're a couple).
Stiamo bene insieme.
We get along well together/we go well together.
Caption 29, Sposami EP 5 - Part 23
Play Caption
Sometimes you can get along with someone you don't like, but sometimes people are mean. In Italian, we use vedere (to see) instead of "to stand," when you can't stand someone.
Per esempio: "Nicoletta è sempre antipatica con me". E in effetti, anche io non la posso vedere.
For example: "Nicoletta is always nasty to me." And, actually, I can't stand her either.
Captions 41-42, Marika spiega Il verbo vedere - Part 2
Play Caption
Sometimes we don't get along with someone because one of us is a pain in the butt. The socially acceptable way to describe this type of person is un rompiscatole. See this lesson for a closer look.
Problemi? -No, niente, è solo 'sta [questa] rompiscatole.
Problems? -No, nothing. It's just this pain in the ass.
Caption 91, Provaci ancora prof! S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 1
Play Caption
Now we get to more vulgar terms. Replacing rompiscatole with rompipalle or rompiballe (literally "ballbreaker," pain in the ass) is more vulgar. We again use stare (to be, to stay) together with a word for male genitalia or some euphemism. We are describing someone who can't stand someone else. The next example is quite vulgar, although used a lot, except in polite company.
Magari gli stavo sul cazzo.
Maybe to him I was a pain in the ass.
Caption 67, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP1 I Bastardi - Part 9
Play Caption
To make this more socially acceptable, it could be:
Magari gli stavo sulle scatole.
Mi ha accollato agli altri a forza e il risultato finale è che sono appena arrivato e sto già sul cazzo a tutti.
He forced me on the others and the end result is that I only just arrived and I'm already pissing everyone off.
Captions 31-32, La compagnia del cigno EP 2 - Part 3
Play Caption
We might have translated this another way, too:
Sto già sul cazzo a tutti.
Everyone already hates me/can't stand me/I am already hated by everyone.
Although the word order is different from what we say in English, the idea is that someone is hated by someone else.
Thanks for reading. Please write to us if you have questions or comments about this topic: newsletter@yabla.com
We've talked about noticing things or not in various ways.
And we mentioned a couple of standalone phrases or expressions regarding noticing things, such as:
Ti rendi conto (do you realize)?
C'hai fatto caso (did you notice)?
Non c'ho fatto caso (I didn't notice).
There are other ways to call someone's attention to something, give them information, or a warning about something. Here are seven. We note that these verbs are almost always followed by the conjunction che (that). Since we are not talking about hypotheses, but rather statements of fact, we don't use the subjunctive in this case, as we often do after che.
New feature: At the end of each example, there's a little grammar question, giving you the chance to expand on the example itself. You'll find the answers at the bottom of the page. Don't worry if they give you trouble, as they are aimed at more advanced learners. It may be an opportunity to find out what you don't know and to ask us questions! We'll be glad to oblige.
We looked at notare in another lesson. Instead of using notare (to notice) by itself, in the imperative, for example, we can say far notare (to "make someone notice," to point out). There is often a particle representing the object pronoun and the preposition in the mix. In following example, Daniela is pointing out something to her class so she uses the second person plural vi (to you). Note that it comes before the verb!
Infine, vi faccio notare che
To finish up, I will point out to you that
"in effetti", come espressione a sé stante,
"in effetti," as a standalone expression,
come espressione singola,
as an expression on its own,
senza aggiungere altre parole dopo,
without adding other words after it,
si usa per affermare che si è convinti di qualcosa.
is used to affirm that we are convinced of something.
Captions 47-51, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Infatti - In effetti
Play Caption
Q1) If Daniela were giving a private lesson, and thus were speaking to just one person, what do you think she would say?
Similar to far notare is fare presente. I'm calling your attention to some fact or situation. I'm presenting you with some information. I'm making you aware of it.
Ottimo lavoro, Arianna.
Great work, Arianna.
Ti ringrazio per avermi fatto presente la situazione.
Thank you for letting me know about the situation.
Captions 45-46, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti
Play Caption
Q2) If I were speaking on behalf of my company, how could I change this sentence?
Ma anche la città di Genova, con i suoi vicoli, è molto affascinante
But also the city of Genoa, with its alleys, is very appealing
e da segnalare anche l'Acquario di Genova,
and one should also mention the Genoa Aquarium,
che è molto famoso.
which is very famous.
Captions 79-80, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Liguria
Play Caption
In the previous example, we could have translated it with "to point out" or "to call attention to."
Q3) If you were telling one other person about about the Genoa acquarium, what could you say? This is harder than the previous example, and there is not only one possibility.
Signor Pitagora, La volevo avvertire
Mister Pitagora, I wanted to let you know
che per trovare i soldi per la sua operazione,
that to get the money for your operation,
mio fratello ha rinunciato a tutti i diritti sull'azienda.
my brother gave up all his rights to the company.
Captions 95-97, Questione di Karma - Rai Cinema
Play Caption
There are other nuances of avvertire, but for now we will stick with the one that means "to warn," "to let someone know." You are turning someone's attention to something. Avvertire can be used with a menacing tone, as a warning.
Q4) The example uses the (singular) polite form (which is actually the third person singular), but what if you were telling a colleague or friend the same thing? What might you say?
I fratelli Troisgros,
The Troisgros brothers,
quando comunicai loro che volevo tornare a Milano,
when I communicated to them that I wanted to return to Milan,
ci rimasero male.
were disappointed.
Captions 45-46, L'arte della cucina - I Luoghi del Mondo
Play Caption
This is a cognate that is easy to understand, but in addition to its meaning "to communicate" in general, Italians often use it to let you know something, sort of like avvertire. It might have been more authentic to translate it as "when I let them know that I wanted to return to Milan..." or "when I informed them..."
This is an interesting example because it contains the verb comunicare (to communicate) in the passato remoto (remote past tense), first person singular. And in addition, the object personal pronoun is the third person plural. We don't see this very often in everyday conversation.
Q5) It would be perhaps more common these days to hear this kind of sentence expressed in the passato prossimo, which, we recall, is used, not as the present perfect in English, but as the simple past tense: something over and done with. Try conveying this same message using the passato prossimo.
Be', ma allora dobbiamo subito avvisare qualcuno, eh.
Well, so then we should alert someone right away, huh.
Caption 35, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita
Play Caption
Q6) In the previous example, we don't know who to alert. But we do have to alert someone. What if we do know who to alert? Let's say we have already been talking about that person, say, someone's father— Masculine, singular. How could we construct this sentence? There's more than one correct solution.
Another cognate is of course, informare. So if nothing else comes to mind, informare works as a great verb for letting someone know something.
Be', ho dovuto informare tutti i nostri attuali inserzionisti
Well, I've had to inform all our current advertisers
che tutti i contratti futuri
that all future contracts
subiranno un aumento del prezzo del trenta per cento.
will undergo a thirty percent increase in cost.
Captions 21-22, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti
Play Caption
Eh... -Va bene, va bene, va bene, tenetemi informato.
Uh... -OK. OK. OK. Keep me informed.
Caption 33, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi
Play Caption
In the previous example, we have a new element: the verb tenere (to hold, to keep). It's pretty close to how we do it in English, which is great news, vero?
Q7) What if you are telling just one person to keep you informed? How would you say that?
As you can see, each verb has a slightly different meaning, but all are used to call attention to something and to share information.
Answers:
A1) Ti faccio notare che...
A2) Ti ringrazio per averci fatto presente la situazione.
A3) e ti segnalo anche l'acquario...
e ti posso anche segnalare l'acquario...
A4) Susanna, ti volevo avvertire che...
A5) I fratelli Troisgros, quando ho comunicato loro che volevo tornare a Milano, ci sono rimasti male.
A6) Be', ma allora lo dobbiamo avvisare subito, eh.
Be', ma allora dobbiamo avvisarlo subito, eh.
A7) Tienimi informato (or if you are a female: tienimi informata).
What are some expressions you use everyday that you wish you knew how to say in Italian? Let us know and we'll try to provide some answers.
Spanish
French
German
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
