When you buy something in a shop in Italy, one question you might get is whether you would like a bag. But if you think the only word for bag is un sacchetto (the diminutive of un sacco), you're mistaken. Of course, people will understand you if you ask for un sacchetto, but you might hear other words, as well. These can vary according to region or personal preference. So let's take a look.
First of all, let's look at sacco and sacchetto.
Ma che stai comprando un sacco di patate?
But what, are you buying a sack of potatoes?
Caption 47, Un Figlio a tutti i costi film - Part 12
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It's good to know that while un sacco can mean a literal sack — containing something like potatoes, potting soil, animal feed, charcoal, kindling, etc., the noun un sacco is commonly used in a figurative sense to mean "a whole lot." It's used for things as well as situations or feelings.
Ti ho appena fatto riparare e ho anche speso un sacco di soldi.
I just had you repaired and I even spent a bunch of money.
Captions 50-51, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 3
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Io mi sto divertendo un sacco.
I'm having a lot of fun.
Caption 35, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 22
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Ciao, scusami, io ho visto un sacco di gente.
Hi, excuse me, I've seen a whole lot of people.
Caption 1, Passeggiando per Roma per Roma - Part 2
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And now we come to sacchetto.
Ho pulito la pistola dalle impronte, l'ho messa in un sacchetto di plastica insieme al proiettile
I cleaned the handgun of fingerprints, I put it in a plastic bag together with the bullet,
Captions 22-23, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 9
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In certain parts of Italy, such as Emilia-Romagna, un sacchetto is a paper bag, but una sportina is a plastic bag. And nowadays, bags are not free in supermarkets and many shops.
Here is another word for "bag," the kind of bag you will get in a shop or supermarket. It generally refers to a rather small bag.
Vuole una busta?
Do you want a bag?
Caption 16, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S2 EP1 Cuccioli - Part 7
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Busta is an interesting word because busta is also "envelope." But it also refers to a bag, either plastic or paper. If the bag is small, it might be referred to as una bustina. But bustina can also refer to a packet, such as for dried yeast, or tea bags: una bustina di tè.
Duecentocinquanta grammi di farina, io vi consiglio di usare lo zero, una bustina di lievito per dolci,
Two hundred and fifty grams of flour, I advise you to use "zero," one packet of baking powder for desserts,
Captions 1-3, La linea verticale EP8 - Part 7
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The noun borsa has various meanings, including handbag, bag, stock exchange (with a capital B), and scholarship (borsa di studio).
Dammi la mia borsa, subito. Non è tua, è di mamma.
Give me my bag, right now. It's not yours, it's Mom's.
Captions 50-51, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 29
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Instead of saying either valigia or bagaglio, it's common to use le borse, similarly to English.
Datemi le borse così me le porto in albergo. -Ah, sì, sì e il casco.
Give me your bags, that way I will take them to the hotel. -Ah, yes, yes, and the helmet.
Caption 69, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP4 Maltempo - Part 9
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Le borse can also mean, generally, all the shopping bags you bring home from the supermarket.
A man, instead of carrying a handbag, might carry un borsello. It's usually a tracolla (with a shoulder strap).
Se hai smarrito un borsello, l'abbiamo trovato noi, ma è vuoto. Se lo vuoi, te lo vieni a riprendere, sennò lo buttiamo.
If you lost a shoulder bag, we found it, but it's empty. If you want it, come and get it, otherwise, we'll throw it out.
Captions 42-43, Ma che ci faccio qui! Un film di Francesco Amato - Part 6
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When you do sports or go to the gym, you might have un borsone for your change of clothes.
Solo Massimo, l'autore del gol, se ne sta davanti alla sua macchina nel parcheggio a cercare nel borsone il caricabatterie.
Only Massimo, the author of the goal, is standing in front of his car in the parking lot, looking in his duffel bag for his battery charger.
Captions 63-65, Fulvio Benelli Crimine Infinito, romanzo - Part 3
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The closest cognate to "baggage" is bagaglio, so it's easy to remember.
Ma tutto qui il tuo bagaglio? No, no, no, il resto arriverà.
But is this all your luggage? No, no, no, the rest will come.
Captions 18-19, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 3
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Some English speakers use the French word "valise" for "suitcase." "Valise" is a cognate of valigia.
Aiutami a chiudere 'sta [questa] valigia, va'.
Help me shut this suitcase, come on.
Caption 47, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 4
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Una valigetta could be a small suitcase, but it commonly refers to a briefcase.
Sei riuscita a vedere che c'è nella valigetta? Un mucchio di soldi. Dobbiamo agire al più presto, OK?
Did you manage to see what's in the briefcase? A bunch of money. We have to act as soon as possible, OK?
Captions 40-41, La Ladra EP. 8 - Il momento giusto - Part 6
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Thanks for reading. Perhaps we've given you more than you wanted or needed to know about bags, but you can pick the words you think you might need. If you search a word on the videos page and look at the list of instances of it, you'll get a feel for how these words are used in Italian. Write to us at [email protected].
There is a new documentary on Yabla about poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. It opens with some lines from a 1962 poem:
Giro per la Tuscolana come un pazzo
Per l'Appia come un cane senza padrone
I wander along the Tuscolana like a madman
Along the Appian like a dog without an owner
Captions 7-8, Via Pasolini La super storia - Part 1
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Italians and people who live in Rome know exactly what Pasolini was referring to in these lines, but viewers might not know and will be curious to find out.
La via Appia, or Via Appia Antica, known in English as the Appian Way, is one of the oldest and most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome with Capua to the south, and later with Brindisi in Puglia. The road was named after Appius Claudius Caecus who was responsible for building the first part of it around 312 BC. A new road with the same name was constructed in the 16th century: La via Appia Nuova.
The via Tuscolana, or la Tuscolana, is less well-known, perhaps because it wasn't built by the Romans. It was built in medieval times and connected Rome with Tuscolo, now called Frascati. In Rome, it intersects with la via Appia and then runs parallel to it. There is a quartiere (district) named for it, called Tuscolano, and la Tuscolana also happens to run through Cinecittà on the outskirts of Rome.
The Italian noun via means several things, such as "street," "road," or "way." It can also be used figuratively to mean "way" or "pathway." When referring to roads, Italians often leave out "via" and just use la (the article of the feminine noun via) plus the actual name of the road. So via Appia becomes l'Appia. Via Tuscolana becomes la Tuscolana. In English, it's traditional to use the noun "way," to translate via, so we have "Appian Way." Roads can be named for where they go or after someone famous, or someone, such as in the case of some Roman roads, who headed the building project. In other cases, the name has a different source, as we shall see.
There are other old Roman roads featured in Yabla videos, so let's have a look, just for fun.
L'Aurelia is one of the oldest Roman roads and goes up the coast from Rome, all the way to Mentone, on the border of Italy and France. It was built around 241 BC under the supervision of Gaius Aurelius Cotta (hence the name).
Purtroppo l'abbiamo trovata dietro una piazzola sull'Aurelia.
Unfortunately, we found her behind a rest area on the Aurelia.
Caption 54, Il Commissario Manara S2EP12 - La donna senza volto - Part 5
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This road (as many other old roads) has undergone many changes since Roman times, and is now also called Strada Statale 1, usually abbreviated to SS 1. Strada Statale stands for "state (national) road." In many places, it is bordered with pine trees, and is quite beautiful, but narrow. Newer, wider stretches of road have been built parallel to it (and with access to it) in parts of Italy, keeping basically the same name (Aurelia and the number 1). This can cause confusion, especially since the road follows the coast and is very popular with tourists. Locals often call the new road simply, la variante (the variant or bypass).
The Via Salaria owes its name to the Latin word for "salt," since it was the route the Sabines (ancient Italic population) would take to carry salt from the marshes at the mouth of the river Tiber. It is referred to as La Salaria, but its official name is Strada Statale 4 Via Salaria (SS4) and is now a modern state highway that maintains the old road's name and runs on the same route from Rome to the Adriatic Sea, another ancient source of salt.
La Salaria, il salario, il sale è la più antica moneta del mondo.
The Salaria [Roman road], the salary, salt is the oldest currency in the world.
Caption 4, La rotta delle spezie di Franco Calafatti Il sale - Part 1
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This road went from Rome to the ancient port city of Ostia on the coast. Later, the marshlands near it were reclaimed and a new neighborhood (Ostia, now part of Rome) was built toward the end of the 19th century.
E dove sarebbe avvenuto questo scambio di cappotti? In quale ristorante? Al Biondo Tevere. È sull'Ostiense. -Ah, lo conosco benissimo. Fanno un'amatriciana...
And where did this swapping of coats occur? In what restaurant? At the Biondo Tevere. It's on the Ostiense. -Ah, I know it well. They make a [great] Amatriciana...
Captions 49-51, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 9
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Did you notice the name of the restaurant in the previous example? Al Biondo Tevere refers to the river the restaurant looks out upon: il Tevere (the Tiber). It's called Biondo (blond) because at one time, at least, the river's color was yellowish, owing to the sand and limestone mixed in with the water. It just so happens that Anna and Marika had lunch at that very restaurant and made a video for Yabla to prove it. They even interviewed the owner.
Sì, perché siamo ovviamente a Roma, su via Ostiense, una via molto antica di Roma. E qua sotto c'è il fiume Tevere.
Yes, because obviously we're in Rome, on the via Ostiense, a very old Roman road. And there below is the river Tiber.
Captions 17-19, Anna e Marika Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere - Part 1
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We've enjoyed finding these examples of roads around Rome, and we hope you have enjoyed reading about them and playing the examples. We'll be adding other roads to the list as we find them.
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