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.