If you've ever walked down an Italian street, you’ve seen this sign a thousand times: passo carrabile. But have you ever actually stopped to think about what it really means? Passo is pretty clear; it has to do with "passage." Note: The noun passo has multiple meanings, and it's also the first-person singular conjugation of the verb passare.
Mi state bloccando il passo.
You are blocking my way.
Caption 1, Caravaggio EP 2 - Part 18
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But what does carrabile mean? It’s not a word we learn in standard language apps, and we don't really need to know what it means, literally. We just need to know we can't block that passageway.
The question that led to this lesson was, upon looking at the passo carrabile sign up close: Does carrabile have anything to do with carreggiata (a word you learn at the scuola guida)? The answer is yes.
But if we unlock the root of these words, lots of other words will come into focus, and we'll even see a connection between ancient Rome and modern Italian life.
As English speakers, we could easily find a hidden cognate-type word in carreggiata: carriage or chariot (by way of French). These words all go back to the same word ancient Romans adopted from the Celtic word for a wheeled wagon: "carrus." The Latin word "carrus" became carro in Italian, the word for "cart," as well as "chariot."
E si vede un'incredibile scena di corsa di carri,
And you see an incredible chariot race scene,
Caption 9, Meraviglie EP. 4 - Part 12
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The following example is part of a description of the flooding of the Po River in 1951.
Ma quando il Po si gonfiava e usciva dagli argini rimaneva poco da fare. Caricare sui carri le poche cose e aiutarsi l'un l'altro.
But when the Po would swell and rise above its banks, there was little left to do. Load one's few possessions onto carts and help each other.
Captions 25-26, L'arte della cucina Terre d'Acqua - Part 3
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Carro is used today for the floats you see in parades or processions.
Come vedi c'è il carro di Santa Rosalia...
As you can see, there's the Saint Rosalia [patron saint of Palermo] float...
Caption 25, Dottor Pitrè e le sue storie - Part 2
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It's also used when talking about funerals. It carries the coffin.
Sarà mica un carro funebre?
It wouldn't be a hearse, would it?
Caption 64, Provaci ancora prof! S1E2 - Un amore pericoloso - Part 12
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In Italy, when you do the grocery shopping, you frequently use un carrello.
Se devi acquistare poche cose, non c'è bisogno di prendere il carrello della spesa, ma è meglio utilizzare un cestino.
If you have to buy just a few things, there is no need to get a shopping cart, but it is better to use a basket.
Captions 29-31, Vocaboliamo Supermercato - Part 2
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If you do any gardening, you probably use una carriola (a wheelbarrow).
Carreggiata: La carreggiata might not be a word you need to know, unless you are studying to get an Italian driver's license (la patente di guida), but it is useful for understanding what carrabile means.
Do you see the suffix -ata in carreggiata? In Italian, that often means a collection or the space made by something. Historically, la carreggiata was the specific 'wagon track'—the part of the road wide enough for heavy carts. Today, it means the structural roadbed meant only for cars.
Le luci dei lampioni che vede sfilare sul bordo della carreggiata gli sembrano degli oggetti volanti non identificati.
The lights of the street lamps that he sees going past along the edge of the roadway look like unidentified flying objects to him.
Captions 2-3, Fulvio Benelli Crimine Infinito, romanzo - Part 3
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Un passo carrabile is a passageway accessible to vehicles. In order to claim that space, you need to have authorization from the town.
If you park in a passo carrabile, you might get a ticket or you might get your car towed away by un carro attrezzi.
Ho capito la situazione, ma non... Chiama il carro attrezzi, il soccorso stradale, qualcosa.
I understand the situation, but I can't... Call the tow truck, the roadside assistance, anything.
Captions 38-39, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 4
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You might see this as two words: carro attrezzi, but it is common to see it as one word: carroattrezzi. It's also called il soccorso stradale (roadside assistance).
Carrozza: The translation is "carriage," and it's the way people traveled before there were trains or cars (horseless carriages). The cart became a carriage. The humble carro became the more elegant carrozza. It was bigger, enclosed, and more complex than a cart and was designed for people. Nowadays, the word is used for an individual carriage, coach, or car of a train. On your ticket, you might see the word carrozza and a number. For example, carrozza 04, posto 41 finestrino (car 4, seat number 41, window seat).
There are plenty of words related to carrozza.
The carrozziere fixes up the body of the car.
Va bene, allora parlo un attimo col carrozziere.
All right. So I'll have a quick word with the body shop guy.
Caption 16, Provaci ancora prof! S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 14
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The carrozzeria is the body of the car, the outside, as well as the body shop.
Ah, e c'erano anche dei graffi sulla carrozzeria.
Oh, and there were some scratches on the body.
Caption 21, Francesca alla guida - Part 1
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Carrozzella is one of the words for wheelchair, and also means "horse-drawn buggy."
Qua, tolto il figlio con la madre in carrozzella non s'è visto nessuno.
Here, apart from the son with his mother in a wheelchair, I didn't see anyone.
Caption 15, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP3 I giardini della memoria - Part 15
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When you go to buy or rent una sedia a rotelle (a wheelchair), it is commonly called una carrozzina.
Come operatore socio sanitario, il mio lavoro consiste nel [sic: nello] stare vicino ai pazienti, nel lavarli, nel vestirli, nel portarli in carrozzina...
As a public healthcare worker, my job involves being there for patients, in washing them, dressing them, in taking them around in a wheelchair...
Captions 22-26, COVID-19 1) Il contagio
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La carrellata is a term used in cinema for dolly or tracking shots.
Un bacio al piccolo Robertino e il film motoristico di Rossellini si conclude con una carrellata verso il focolare domestico.
A kiss for the little Robertino and Rossellini's car film concludes with a tracking shot towards the home fires.
Captions 50-51, La Mille Miglia del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 2
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Even the verb caricare (to load, to charge) comes from that same root, "carrus." Originally, it was "to load up a cart or wagon."
E abbiamo... l'abbiamo caricato nel bagagliaio dell'auto.
And we... we loaded it into the trunk of the car.
Captions 9-10, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 22
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Look at all the words from just one root: carro, carrello, carriola, carrabile, carreggiata, carrozza, carrozziere, carrozzeria, carrellata, caricare. Rather than thinking of the English word, try visualizing what they are or what they do.
We close this collection of related words with an Italian saying: mettere il carro davanti ai buoi (to put the cart before the oxen), which is also popular in English, but with horses in place of oxen — Il risultato non cambia (the result is the same).
Thanks for reading. You can write to us at [email protected]. We love to hear from you.
In Italian, “to remember” and “to forget” go well together: Ricordare/dimenticare
Ricordare may be easy to remember if we think of making a mental record of something.
Dimenticare, if you take it apart, is kind of a fun word. Di, just like “dis” in English, often undoes something. Mente is the Italian word for mind. You undo something from your mind!
Duemilaseidici è stato un anno da ricordare o da dimenticare?
Was two thousand sixteen a year to remember, or a year to forget?
Think of things you want to remember or forget from last year:
Vorrei ricordare un bellissimo viaggio in Italia.
I would like to remember a great trip to Italy.
Vorrei dimenticare quanti soldi ho dovuto spendere
I would like to forget how much money I had to spend.
In the above examples, we have treated ricordare and dimenticare as ordinary transitive verbs. They are followed by a noun. This is the most basic way to use these verbs. But ricordare and dimenticare are, more often than not, used reflexively.
Ricordati (remember)!! When a verb is reflexive, the subject and object of the verb are one and the same:
Mi sono tagliato (I cut myself).
For more about reflexive verbs see this lesson and this video.
In the following example, ricordare is used reflexively, and is followed by a noun, not a verb.
Daniela, tu per caso ti ricordi i nomi
Daniela, do you, by chance, remember the names
degli altri colli di Roma?
of the other hills of Rome?
Caption 6, Marika e Daniela - Il Foro Romano
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Ricordiamoci (let’s remember) that when a verb, not a noun, follows a verb in this category, we need the preposition di in between, as in the following example. You may notice that the verb decidere (to decide) behaves the same way!
Il tuo amico ha deciso di portarti in giro con il suo scooter,
Your friend has decided to take you around on his scooter,
ma non ha dimenticato di prestarti un casco.
but he hasn't forgotten to lend you a helmet.
Captions 7-8, Marika spiega - I veicoli
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The above example could be modified a few ways to say the same thing. We could use the reflexive:
Il tuo amico si è deciso di portarti in giro con il suo scooter,
Your friend has decided to take you around on his scooter,
ma non si è dimenticato di prestarti un casco.
but hasn't forgotten to lend you a helmet.
You will notice that as soon as we use the reflexive form, we need the auxiliary verb essere (to be) rather than avere (to have) in the compound tenses. This can be tricky indeed!
We could also use the verb ricordare:
Il tuo amico si è deciso di portarti in giro con il suo scooter,
Your friend has decided to take you around on his scooter,
e si è ricordato di prestarti un casco.
and has remembered to lend you a helmet.
However we decide to use ricordare and dimenticare (and decidere, for that matter), we need di before the verb in the infinitive.
Ah, mi sono dimenticato di dirti che...
Oh, I forgot to tell you that...
Caption 25, Francesca - alla guida
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Ecco (here it is), from the Latin ecce or eccum, is about presenting a person, thing, or idea and inviting you to perceive it at the very moment it appears.
Ecco la primavera is a 14th century song by Francesco Landini. It’s a song about the coming of spring. We might translate the title as “Behold, Spring Has Come!” The entire Italian text with a non-literal English translation opposite may be viewed here.
So this way of calling our attention to something goes way back. Despite its very ancient origins, it’s a popular word that Italians use constantly. We say ecco to call attention to something or someone arriving, or when we find something we were looking for.
We no longer use the word “behold” in English, but we might say, “well, will you look at that,” “there you go!” In the following example, Anna gets her question about long-lasting bread answered before she asks it, so she says ecco, to acknowledge the fact.
È un pane che dura tantissimo.
It's a kind of bread that lasts a very long time.
Ah ecco! Perché volevo appunto chiedere,
Ah, there you go! Because I wanted to ask you just that,
qual è il tipo di pane che dura di più.
what type of bread lasts the longest?
Captions 61-62, Anna e Marika - Il pane
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Ecco can stand alone (just about anywhere in a sentence) as in the above example, or can precede a noun to present it, as in ecco la primavera. When a pronoun is used, on the other hand, ecco gets attached to it. This goes for all the different direct object pronouns (mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, and le).
Aha. Sì. Eccolo, eccolo, è arrivato. Sì, sì.
Aha. Yes. Here he is, here he is, he's here. Yes, yes.
Captions 13-14, Francesca - alla guida
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One common way ecco is used is with perché (why, because) to mean “that’s why” or “you see why” or even “here’s why.”
Ecco perché io non me ne voglio andare.
That's why I don't want to leave it.
Caption 5, Basilicata Turistica - Non me ne voglio andare
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Another common usage is ecco qua (here you are). It calls your visual attention to what is being presented. In the following example, a pizzaiolo (pizza maker) is removing a mouth-watering pizza from his forno a legna (wood oven)!
È quasi pronta... Ecco qua!
It's almost ready... Here it is!
Captions 26-27, Antonio - presenta la Pizzeria Escopocodisera
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Ecco is also a filler word much like “OK,” “you know,” or “that's all” that can wrap up what one has said so far:
Io vorrei semplicemente che ognuno avesse la sua porzione, ecco.
I would simply like everyone to have his portion, that's all.
Caption 19, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP2 - Il mistero di Cetinka
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Or it can introduce what one is about to say, much like “look,” “this is how it is,” or “here’s the thing.”
Però, ecco, per quanto mi riguarda,
But, there you go, from my point of view,
io vedo lì una cassata siciliana!
I see a Sicilian Cassata there!
Caption 11, Susanna Cutini - Dolci delle tradizioni di Pasqua
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Ecco is often difficult or even impossible to translate accurately. But once you start listening for the word and noticing it, you'll get a feel for it, and it will start creeping into your conversation naturally. Doing a Yabla search will display a very long list of examples from videos, so you can see the different contexts in which it’s used.
Ecco! (And there you have it!)
P.S. If you neglect to pronounce the double "c" in ecco, you'll obtain eco which means "echo."
When speaking a foreign language, the important thing is to make yourself understood. Sometimes, however, unless someone makes a point of correcting you, you might spend years saying something that sounds right to you and gets the appropriate result or response. Then un bel giorno (one fine day) you realize with horror that you’ve been using the wrong word all this time and no one has ever corrected you because they understood anyway.
This can easily happen with common words like fare (to make, to do) and prendere (to take, to have), because Italian and English have different conventions about how they get paired with nouns to mean something specific. It’s easy to fare confusione (get mixed up).
For example, you or I might make an appointment, but when Francesca gets serious about buying a new car, she “takes” an appointment:
Dobbiamo prendere quindi un appuntamento per andare dal notaio.
So we have to make an appointment with a notary.
Caption 34, Francesca - alla guida
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And while most English speakers make decisions, Italians “take” decisions:
Siamo preoccupati,
We're worried,
perché dobbiamo prendere delle decisioni molto importanti.
because we have to make very important decisions.
Caption 45, Marika spiega - Proverbi italiani
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Do you take a nap in the afternoon? Well, the nonno in Medico in Famiglia “makes” a nap.
Io ho fatto solo venti minuti di pennichella...
I took a nap for just twenty minutes...
Caption 27, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP1 - Casa nuova
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You want to take a trip to Sicily, but if you call an Italian travel agent, remember that Italians “make” trips.
Salve, vorrei fare un viaggio alla Valle dei Templi ad Agrigento.
Hello, I'd like to take a trip to the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
Caption 2, Pianificare - un viaggio
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All this talk about fare brings to mind a popular Italian proverb:
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare.
Between saying and doing, there’s an ocean in the middle. [Things are easier said than done.]
Learning suggestion:
Bearing this proverb in mind, we could say that repeating a list of which verbs to use when and where is il dire (saying). It will only get you so far. Fare is a catch-all word, a little like “have” or “get,” having so many shades of meaning that you can’t possibly absorb them all in un colpo solo (in one fell swoop). Fare means “to do,” “to make,” “to give” (see the lesson on Gifts and Giving), “to be,” and more (see the lesson on Making It Happen). Prendere is less of a catch-all verb, but also has several meanings like “to get,” “to catch,” “to have,” and “to receive.” So when you are watching Yabla videos and come upon the verb fare or prendere, pay special attention to how the verb gets paired with the noun in the specific context, and then make it your own: Listen for it, repeat it, write it, conjugate it, make up sentences with it. This is il fare (doing). It will gradually start to feel right.
The following are just a few more examples in which fare and prendere are paired with nouns in ways we might not expect:
Ce la farai! (You’ll get it!)
For more on proverbs see:
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