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

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Orto o giardino?

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

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➡️ 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

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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

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➡️ 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

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➡️ 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

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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

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When we buy seedlings to plant, we can use the diminutive form of pianta, la piantina. 

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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

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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

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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)!

In a previous lesson, we talked about votare, a verb that has an additional meaning we rarely think of. Another verb that can bring some surprises (and confusion) is confondere (to confuse, to confound). If we think about it, we can break down confondere into two pieces. Fondere is "to melt," "to meld"; con is “with.”  Thoughts, sensations, or things mix together and become unclear. We can no longer distinguish or understand individual elements.

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The English verbs "to confuse" and "to confound" clearly have the same root: And we can also see "to fuse" and "fusion" in the noun "confusion."  And we now know that con means "with." You might never think of the word "confusion" the same way again. 

The cognate confusione exists in Italian. Sometimes it's equivalent to the English "confusion." 

Perciò quando i soggetti sono diversi, questo potrebbe portare un po' di confusione.

So when the subjects are different, this could bring about a bit of confusion.

Captions 25-26, Corso di italiano con Daniela 3) Proposizioni subordinate finali - Part 2

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But often confusione means something more akin to "chaos" "fuss," "mess," or "commotion."

E, soprattutto, nella confusione nessuno si accorgerebbe di nulla.

And above all, in the chaos, nobody would notice anything.

Caption 16, Il Commissario Manara S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 11

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Lupo ha detto che c'aspetta in palestra e poi era troppa confusione per lui.

Lupo said he'd be waiting for us at the gym and besides, it was too much commotion for him.

Captions 56-57, L'oro di Scampia film - Part 19

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Knowing these little connections may help you find the words when you need them, or at least recognize them when you see them. Or you might just enjoy being aware of the connections (or you might not care at all). 

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We often translate confondere as "to mix up."

The verb confondere can be used as a normal transitive verb: to confuse.

Tu mi sa che confondi la cocaina con l'aspirina.

I think you are confusing cocaine with aspirin.

Caption 10, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 11

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The same past participle, confuso, can mean "confused." We can use the past participle of confondere as an adjective when we are confused — confuso. The ending has to agree in gender and number with what or who is being described.

Sei confusa, addolorata, ma lo sai che lui ti merita.

You're confused, aggrieved, but you know that he deserves you.

Captions 85-86, Il Commissario Manara S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 8

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When we get confused or mixed up, it's a process, and we go the reflexive route with the reflexive form of the verb: confondersi.

Sì, sì, è probabile, perché i nomi sono molto simili, Renzo, Gaetano... uno si può confondere.

Yes, yes. That's likely, because the names are very similar, Renzo, Gaetano... someone can get mixed up.

Captions 57-58, Provaci ancora prof! S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 13

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...e se di me non parlo e non mi ascolto, succede che poi mi confondo.

...and if I don't talk about myself and I don't listen to myself, it happens that then I get confused.

Captions 56-57, Rosalba al parco della donna gatto - Part 2

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There's an expression in Italian: confondere le acque (to muddy the water). In this case, you are not confused, but you are making something confusing on purpose. Here, confuso can be translated as "confusing."

 Hanno fatto un racconto un po' confuso.

They gave a somewhat confusing account.

Caption 16, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP2 Rabbia - Part 3

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When we use the passato prossimo (which works like the present perfect), the past participle is the same as the adjective form, but the verb essere (to be) is present, too, as well as the reflexive pronoun, as opposed to a subject pronoun. 

Che fai, parli ternano pure tu, adesso? -Perché mi so' [sono] confuso,

What are you doing? Are you talking Terni-ese, too, now? -Because I got confused,

Captions 59-60, Sposami EP 5 - Part 16

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So if I want to say, "You got confused," I would say, "Ti sei confuso/a".

When, in La Ladra, Eva uses the verb to talk about a spice she can’t distinguish, she uses the verb confondere but she might have meant confondersi, which can also mean "to blend in." If we want a transitive verb as a translation, "muddle" might work, too. 

C'è una spezia che confonde il quadro di insieme, non so, non riesco a percepirla.

There's a spice that muddles the whole picture. I don't know, I can't manage to perceive it. 

There's a spice that makes the whole picture confusing, I don't know, I'm not able to perceive it.

There's a spice that blends in with the whole picture, I don't know, I'm not able to perceive it.

Caption 32, La Ladra EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 3

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We hope you are not more confused than when you began reading this lesson!

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We see the word che meaning "that" or "which" all the time in sentences. It's a very common conjunction. 

Ad Ercolano, c'è un pomodoro che è diventato simbolo di un'importante voglia di cambiamento.

In Ercolano, there is a tomato that has become a symbol of an important desire for change.

Captions 21-22, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 7

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But che does more. Here is a lesson about using che to say things with simplicity, a great asset when you're just learning. It helps make conversation. Here, it means "how."

Che carino, Però adesso devo scappare, altrimenti mio fratello mi uccide.

How sweet. But now I have to run, otherwise my brother will kill me.

Caption 29, Il Commissario Manara S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 11

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Che can also mean "what." See this lesson. 

Scusa, ma io che ci faccio qui? Non conto niente.

Sorry, but what am I doing here? I don't count for anything.

Caption 3, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 2

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In our featured expression che ne so?, che basically stands for "what." We can often translate che ne so as "What do I know?" Sometimes we might translate it as, "How should I know?" It's often a rhetorical question. 

Nilde, ma che mangia il bambino la mattina? -Ma che ne so?

Nilde, but what does the child eat in the morning? -How should I know?

Captions 2-3, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3 EP1: Ciao famiglia - Part 3

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We've taken care of che. But what about that little word ne? Ne is a particle, called una particella in Italian, and if we look ne up in the dictionary we see it means several things. But mostly, it encompasses both a preposition and the indirect object pronoun "it" or "them." See this lesson about ne.

As mentioned in the lesson, we often don't even notice the word ne because it's so short and because we are not looking for it if we're thinking in English. Once you start thinking in Italian, it will become easier to use and notice. Italians will be very tolerant and understand you anyway, even if you don't use it, so don't worry about it too much. But learning an expression with ne will already make you sound more fluent. 

In our expression, ne means "about it." The tricky thing is that we don't bother with "about it" in English, but in Italian, not always, but in general, we will hear that little ne in there. 

Che ne so? What do I know [about it]?

Finally, we get to so, which is simply the first person singular of the verb sapere (to know).

You might have already learned how to say "I know" and "I don't know" in Italian. Italians add the direct object pronoun lo ("it" or "that").

Sì, lo so (yes I know [that].

Non lo so (I don't know [that]).

But che ne so can also be used in the middle of a sentence, as we would use "I don't know." It's a kind of filler phrase. We can leave it out and the meaning doesn't change much. 

perché, diciamo... -comunque devono sostenere il peso. -Devono sostenere il peso, più che altro devono fare, che ne so, la stessa cosa per un'ora.

because, let's say... -anyway they have to support the weight. -They have to support the weight, more than that, they have to, I don't know, do the same thing for an hour.

Captions 50-51, Francesca Cavalli - Part 2

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Ma tu ti devi aggiornare, sarai rimasto sicuramente, che ne so, ai Pooh.

But you have to get up to date. You must have remained, I don't know, at Pooh.

Caption 66, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP5 Lele, ti presento Irene - Part 2

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Allora, due colleghi decidono di scambiarsi il posto, firmano un modulo, e se non ci sono problemi, ma gravi, eh, tipo, che ne so, uno deve essere sotto inchiesta.

So, two colleagues decide to switch places, they sign a form, and if there are no problems, but serious huh, like, I don't know, one [of them] has to be under investigation.

Captions 38-40, Il Commissario Manara S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 12

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Dice, chissà se c'ha un lenzuolo da piegare, se ti manca... che ne so? C'è un tubo che perde acqua...

Saying, who knows if she has some sheets to fold, if you're out of... I don't know... There's a pipe that leaks...

Captions 39-40, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 1

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For more about particles ci and ne, see Daniela's video lessons (in Italian). 

In this video, Marika explains the particle ne.