Baracca sounds somewhat similar to "barrack." Barracks (a plural word often expressed in the singular) refer to a building or group of buildings that house large groups of people, often military personnel. It comes from the 17th-century French word "baraque," which in turn comes from the Catalan "barraca" (hut), of uncertain origin. The Italian word is baracca. It's a humble word about a humble place, but Italians use the word to mean a variety of things and not always humble ones.

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It's hard to know what uses came before others, but let's first look at a very common Italian expression that might not make sense to a non-native.

Baracca e burattini

We can imagine, perhaps, street performers who set up a little theater (baracca) with puppets or marionettes (burattini). Then the police come their way and they have to fold it up quickly and skedaddle. Or, perhaps the audience is booing. The puppeteers grab their things and hightail it. So in this case, la baracca is another word for teatro di burattini (marionette theater).

So when you up and leave with your stuff, you can say:

Chiudo baracca e burattini e me ne vado. I'm closing up shop and leaving. 

Note that some people use the verb piantare, which aside from meaning "to plant," can also mean "to abandon."

Pia, la mia colf, mi ha piantato. Dice che non vuole vivere in campagna.

Pia, my nanny, ditched me. She says that she doesn't want to live in the country.

Caption 21, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP1 - Casa nuova - Part 5

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Piantare baracca e burattini. Using the verb piantare really gives the idea of just up and leaving: abandoning ship. 

If we look at some Italian dictionaries they mention that the expression chiudere/piantare baracca e burattini implies a brusque interruption of whatever the status quo is, for example, leaving a job all of a sudden, quitting school, or leaving one's family. On a broader, figurative level, it can mean completely changing the horizons of one's existence. 

Baracca e burattini e si torna a casa, hai capito?

Theater and puppets [leave the whole shebang] and you go home, you get it?

Caption 54, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 6

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The nurse left off the first word of the expression, which would have been either chiudi or pianta. In English, we might even say, "You take your toys and go home..."

La baracca

With this common and beloved expression out of the way, let's look at situations where the word baracca is used on its own. 

In the following example, we're talking about a state-run health center:

Intanto questa baracca ha un responsabile e si dà il caso che sia io.

In any case this shack has a person in charge and it happens to be me.

Caption 33, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 EP1 - Casa nuova - Part 6

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In this example, la baracca represents a business:

Poi Bianciardi muore, viene ammazzato, e Lei diventa proprietario di tutta la baracca, che dice?

Then Bianciardi dies, he gets killed, and you become owner of the whole shebang, what do you say?

Captions 16-17, Il Commissario Manara S1EP9 - Morte in paradiso - Part 10

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Here, it's a household: 

Come farà Libero con i piccoli? Eh, hai fatto bene a pensarlo, perché non è facile qua, la baracca...

How will Libero manage with the little ones? Uh, you were right to think about that, because it's not easy here, the shack...

Captions 25-27, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3 EP1: Ciao famiglia - Part 8

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Here, it is another business:

Melody non ha la responsabilità di mandare avanti la baracca.

Melody isn't responsible for keeping the shack [things] going.

Caption 31, Sposami EP 4 - Part 6

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The expression mandare avanti la baracca is a very common expression with the word baracca, meaning "to keep the show going." Literally, "to send it along."

Keep your eyes and ears open for more expressions with baracca. Now you know what it means!

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We've talked about the conjunction che in previous lessons, and you have heard it in many different contexts, with varying meanings. It's one of those conjunctions that kicks off the subjunctive, so we have to pay attention to it. It is also a substitute for "what" in many situations. It's one of those all-purpose words, often translated as "that."

Lessons about che

To learn more about this indispensable little word, check out some of our lessons:

• Minimalist Italian — with che
• Verbs of Uncertainty and the Subjunctive
• Che as a Conjunction

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Che è meglio (colloquial)

There's a construction we come across from time to time in Yabla videos, and very often in conversation. Here's how it goes:

You make a statement, usually in the imperative, followed by che è meglio. The translation of this little phrase is, literally: "which is better." Here's an example. Somebody is telling somebody else to shut up. It would be a great idea to shut up. 

Zitto tu, che è meglio.

Best if you be quiet.

Caption 19, Sposami EP 4 - Part 6

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The way this expression is used in Italian results in a different word order from what we might expect, or from what we would say in English. The formula is: Give a command, (which can also be in the first person plural, as in the following example), then tack on che è meglio.

Torniamo domattina che è meglio.

Let's come back tomorrow morning, which would be better.

Caption 45, Dafne Film - Part 22

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Optional exercise: Once you have read the whole lesson, can you put this differently by starting the sentence with è meglio? Hint — the verb is tornare. Check out the conjugation, as you will need the subjunctive. **possible solution below.

Our translations can't really do justice to this expression, which is why we feel the need to provide some extra information. It's often expressed with a tone of chastisement, intolerance, disapproval, or warning. It can go hand in hand with a raised eyebrow, a tilting of the head.

È meglio che... (proper, with the subjunctive)

The construction we have illustrated above is colloquial, because the grammar is a bit casual. There is also a "correct" way to say the same thing. It might not have the same punch, though. Also, it uses the subjunctive.

"È meglio che tu vada a casa".

“It's best that you go home.”

Caption 16, Corso di italiano con Daniela Il congiuntivo - Part 13

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Can you transform the example above into a colloquial version? Possible solution below.*

Don't worry. Not everyone uses the subjunctive in this case. Here's an example:

Forse è meglio che prendi un taxi anche tu.

Maybe it would be better for you to take a taxi, too.

Caption 12, Il Commissario Manara S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 13

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*** Maybe you can figure out how to say pretty much the same thing, starting with Prendi  and leaving out the forse  (maybe).

We can also go all out with the subjunctive and conditional to say:

Sarebbe meglio se tu andassi a casa (it would be better if you went home).

Sarebbe meglio se tu prendessi un taxi (it would be better if you took a taxi).

Sarebbe meglio se tu stessi zitto (it would be better if you kept quiet).

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Note: A variation on this is sarà meglio. Just like che è meglio, sarà meglio is used when you're miffed, or when you want someone to do something. See our lesson about this: Being Miffed in Italian

* Vai a casa che è meglio.

** È meglio se torniamo domattina.

***  Prendi un taxi anche tu che è meglio.