Have you ever enjoyed a cappuccino in Italy—or dreamed about it? Well, here's a surprise. There's a little segreto (secret) hiding inside the word cappuccino. It's one of the most useful little words in Italian. Once you notice it, you'll start seeing it in all kinds of Italian words. 

The little word is capo. But where to begin? Capo has quite a few meanings, so... let's begin at the beginning—because that happens to be one meaning of capo.

Non ha né capo né coda (it has neither a beginning nor an end/neither head nor tail).

Dai, facciamo ancora l'ultima serie, tutto da capo e poi abbiamo terminato.

Come on, let's do the last series again, everything from the beginning, and then we're done.

Captions 30-31, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 8

 Play Caption

This has morphed into one word people use in everyday conversation when it's time to start over (from square one). 

Il tempo di mettere da parte abbastanza soldi per cambiare aria e ricominciare daccapo.

The time it took to put aside enough money, to get a change of scene, and start over from the beginning.

Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 6

Play Caption

banner3 PLACEHOLDER

So how is capo hidden inside cappuccino? Above, I brought up this expression:

Non ha né capo né coda (it has neither a beginning nor an end/head nor tail).

We can talk about an animal with a head and tail. And to tell the truth, the first meaning of capo is "head." It comes from the Latin: caput.

➡️ Note: Nowadays, Italians usually say testa when they mean the part of the body. But capo survives in many expressions and compound words, which is why you'll see it everywhere once you start looking.

Un ragazzo, aveva la felpa e il cappuccio in testa.

A guy. He had a sweatshirt and a hood over his head.

Caption 58, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1 EP6 Buio - Part 4

Play Caption

 

The word cappuccio makes sense because it covers the capo or head. Within the Franciscan religious movement founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209 (i Franciscani), there's an order, founded in 1529, that became known as i Cappuccini (the Capuchins in English) because of their long pointed hoods. Their habits were brown, just like the mix of coffee and milk in a cappuccino. According to the traditional explanation, this is how cappuccino, that magical mix of espresso and steamed milk, got its name.

In the following example, the waiter is asking what his customers would like. One customer asks the other if he wants a cappuccino, he gets a nod, then orders 2 of them. 

Cosa vi porto? -Le va un cappuccino? Allora, due cappuccini e un tè. -Grazie,

What shall I bring you? -Do you feel like a cappuccino? So, two cappuccinos and a tea. -Thank you,

Captions 52-54, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP3 La terza vittima - Part 12

Play Caption

One important meaning of capo is "head," but in the figurative sense of leader, boss, or chief, depending on the context.  From there, it's easy to understand why capo also came to mean the person "at the head" of a group.  

Riunione dal capo.

Meeting with the chief.

Caption 26, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S2 EP1 Cuccioli - Part 13

Play Caption

 

Here are some examples of the expression Che c'entra (what does that have to do with it)?  along with related expressions and alternate translations. 

Note that in Italian, che c'entra can be posed and structured as question, but it's not always the case, especially in the middle of a sentence. It often connects to the rest of a sentence with a comma, such as in this first example. In English, it's clearer with a question mark. Sometimes che c'entra means the same as non c'entra niente. 

Che c'entra, io sono il fratello.

What does that have to do with it? I'm her brother.

Caption 13, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi - Part 6

 Play Caption

 

Here, cosa is used in place of che, but it means the same thing. Learn more in this lesson. 

Ma questo cosa c'entra con la domanda che Le ho fatto?

But this, what does it have to do with the question I asked you?

Caption 72, Non è mai troppo tardi EP1 - Part 6

 Play Caption

 

Here, rather than "it" being the implied subject of the sentence, as in the previous examples, the subject is "that delinquent." We might also translate it as, "How is that delinquent involved in this story?" 

Perché, cosa c'entra quel delinquente?

Why? What does that delinquent have to do with anything?

Caption 29, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 3

 Play Caption

 

Here, che c'entra is a way of saying, "So what?"

Ah ma', ma te [romanesco: mamma, ma ti] sei vista? Ma che c'entra, è una maschera di bellezza.

Hey, Mom, but have you looked at yourself? But so what? It's a beauty mask.

Captions 16-17, La Ladra EP. 10 - Un ignobile ricatto - Part 4

 Play Caption

 

Here are some examples of different conjugations of this expression:

In this example, there is no question at all. And there is no che!

Magari c'entra con quella bambina.

Maybe it has something to do with that little girl.

Caption 60, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 9

 Play Caption

 

Here is an example of an affirmation in the negative first person singular.

Io con quella pistola non c'entro niente, ve lo giuro.

I have nothing to do with that handgun, I swear.

Caption 91, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 13

 Play Caption

 

And here is a question in the first person singular followed by an affirmation in the second person singular.  

E che c'entro io? -E be', c'entri.

And what do I have to do with it? -Well, you do have something to do with it.

Captions 12-13, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3 EP2 - Un nuovo medico in famiglia - Part 17

 Play Caption

Here is the same question, but the answer is said differently, with another question. 

Ma io che c'entro? -Ma come che c'entri, Giorgio?

But what do I have to do with that? -But what do you mean, what do you have to do with it, Giorgio?

Captions 33-34, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP 2 - Part 5

 Play Caption

 

These examples use the imperfetto. 

Figurati se non c'entrava lei.

No way she wasn't involved.

Caption 13, Provaci ancora prof! S2E4 L'amica americana - Part 25

 Play Caption

 

Ma che c'entravo io con quello che faceva mio padre?

But what did I have to do with what my father did?

Caption 38, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP2 Rabbia - Part 6

 Play Caption

 

We hope this little overview has given you a better understanding of this common Italian turn of phrase!

banner PLACEHOLDER

Let's talk about a word that is used a lot in Italian to mean more than its one-word, traditional translation. We're talking about sotto (under, underneath, below). Not only is it a preposition, but it's also an adverb and sometimes a noun. It can combine with other words to take on a new meaning, and in this lesson, we will just mention a few of the common ways it's used to mean something different than what we might expect.

Sotto can mean "down" 

Sotto is often preceded by qua, qui, or là when indicating something either close by or further away, but in a downward direction.

E qua sotto c'è il fiume Tevere.

And down here is the river Tiber.

Caption 19, Anna e Marika - Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

When we talk about the stories or floors in a building or house, we can use sotto to indicate a lower floor. Usually, in this context, it's preceded by di (of).

Andiamo giù a vedere che cosa c'è al piano di sotto.

Let's go down to see what's on the lower floor.

Caption 23, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze

 Play Caption

When you want to talk about downstairs, you can also use sotto.

Ah, perché non è di sotto?

Ah, because she's not downstairs?

Caption 4, Sposami - EP 4 - Part 9

 Play Caption

Vai di sotto!

Go downstairs! 

In front of

Sometimes sotto means "in front of," usually referring to a house, a building, or... one's nose. Lots of people live on the upper floors of apartment buildings, so you have to go down to get to the front of the building.

Appena ha visto i carabinieri sotto casa Sua,

As soon as you saw the carabinieri in front of your house,

se n'è scappato tipo "Fuga di mezzanotte".

you ran away, "Midnight Express" style.

Captions 8-9, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore - S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi

 Play Caption

Sotto il profilo

Sotto il profilo is used to mean something to the effect of "in terms of" or "as regards." Il profilo is a true cognate and friend of "the profile," but it's used figuratively here.

Rita abbia dedicato la sua vita a fare crescere la sua anima

Rita devoted her life to nurturing her soul,

e non soltanto sotto il profilo della ricerca scientifica, eh.

and not only in terms of her scientific research, uh.

and not only as regards her scientific research, uh.

Captions 41-43, Illuminate - Rita Levi Montalcini

 Play Caption

On hand

Here, the Italian expression uses the preposition sotto, but the English one uses the preposition "on."

Eh... eh, non è questione di non avere nessuno sottomano,

Uh... uh, it's not a question of not having anyone on hand,

è che è molto difficile trovare la donna giusta.

it's that it's very difficult to find the right woman.

Captions 28-29, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro

 Play Caption

Handy 

Sottomano can also mean "handy," or "close by."

Non ho il numero sottomano ma lo posso cercare nella rubrica.

I don't have the number handy, but I can look it up in my address book.

Sotto as a noun

When you are talking about a 2-piece outfit, such as pyjamas, bikini, or athletic wear, you can refer to the bottoms as il sotto (the bottom part).

We have just scratched the surface of sotto but if you absorb all these meanings (or even one or two), you will be one step closer to becoming fluent.

Why not check out Marika's video about adverbs of place (avverbi di luogo)? Attenzione: Sometimes what are considered adverbs in Italian might be considered prepositions in English.

banner PLACEHOLDER