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 a recent episode of Romanzo italiano, there is a noun with an S-prefix that we perhaps haven't seen before. It's a word we encounter quite often, however, as we travel around Italy: la sbarra. We can perhaps figure out that it comes from barra, which resembles the noun "bar" — not the kind of bar where one can have a drink, but a physical bar, that's long and narrow.
Clicca su "Play" o semplicemente premi sulla barra spaziatrice della tua tastiera.
Click on "Play" or simply press the space bar on your keyboard.
Captions 5-6, Tutorial Yabla Comandi base del riproduttore
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Barra also means "slash," as in a URL. We can use it in casual conversation to indicate a range or option. Here too, it could be translated as "slash."
E io, naturalmente, ho già preparato un impasto perché deve lievitare, deve lievitare almeno due barra tre ore,
And naturally, I already prepared a batch of dough because it has to rise, it has to rise for at least two to/slash three hours,
Captions 66-67, L'Italia a tavola Panzerotti Pugliesi - Part 1
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Barra can also be part of an address, un numero civico: For example, one address might be via nuova, 41 and another address nearby might be via nuova, 41/A — quarantuno barra A.
Barrare is a verb we use when we cross off an item from a list, or when we check a box on a multiple-choice quiz. We often make a slanted line (that is naturally, narrow and long).
We have seen that the S- prefix can give a negative value to a word, whether it be a noun, verb, or adjective. But it can also reinforce the meaning.
Finché Lei resta lì, no, mi sbarra la strada.
As long as you stay there, no. You're blocking my path.
Caption 37, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 11
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The noun la sbarra is the gate or barrier that blocks you from crossing a threshold until you get a ticket, pay, or show some ID. We find una sbarra in parking lots, toll booths, private driveways, level crossings, and yes, prisons, as in the following example.
Alla sbarra, quando mi fermo per farmi riconoscere, mi viene da abbassare gli occhi e la vedo alzarsi con uno sforzo enorme, quella sbarra.
At the barrier, when I stop to identify myself, it makes me want to lower my eyes and I see it rise with enormous effort, that barrier.
Captions 37-41, Romanzo Italiano Campania - Part 3
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Può dirsi fortunato chi imbocca un passaggio a livello un attimo prima che calino le sbarre.
He can count himself lucky, whoever crosses a railroad crossing an instant before the barriers are lowered.
Caption 28, La Mille Miglia del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 2
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And since prison bars are used to block inmates from leaving, sbarre is used for these, too.
In this example, journalist Oriana Fallaci is talking about the conditions of Muslim women in Islamic countries.
Attraverso quei buchi, le donne guardano il cielo come attraverso le sbarre di una prigione.
Through these holes, the women look at the sky as through the bars of a prison.
Captions 3-4, L'Oriana film - Part 4
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And here, Alberto Manzi is teaching young kids in a juvenile detention center.
Se guardi il cielo, non ci sono sbarre, non ci sono muri.
If you look at the sky, there are no bars, there are no walls.
Captions 22-24, Non è mai troppo tardi EP1 - Part 12
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La sbarra can be negative and imply being imprisoned, but it's also commonplace in so many places where there is no free passage, so it's a good word to have in your toolbox, along with its variants.
Thanks for reading. Write to us with questions and ideas at [email protected].
In a previous lesson we talked about the verb seguire (to follow). Here are two other words that have the same root and are related, but mean something else: Proseguire and inseguire.
In Italian, we can use the verb continuare, an easy cognate, but sometimes it's nice to change. Proseguire is a verb you will hear a lot, especially when someone is giving you directions.
Come posso arrivare alla spiaggia più vicina? Guarda, se proseguite sulla strada che fat' [sic] stavate facendo...
How can I reach the closest beach? Look, if you continue on the road you tak [sic] were taking...
Captions 17-18, Una gita al lago - Part 1
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Il nostro viaggio prosegue in Piemonte,
Our journey continues in Piedmont,
Caption 7, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 4
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You might ask, "Is there a difference between continuare and proseguire?" Well, much of the time they are interchangeable, but sometimes continuare can imply that you keep doing the same thing.
Continuo a non capire (I still don't understand).
But with proseguire, you continue on, you advance, you proceed. Think of an arrow in one direction.
Prosegua pure, prego.
Go ahead and continue, please.
Caption 35, PsicoVip La lavatrice - Ep 23
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We could also have translated this with the verb "to proceed."
There is a noun form of this word: il proseguo.
...questa è diventata una, una realtà e sicuramente, eh, anche per il proseguo...
...this has become a, a reality and surely, uh, also for the aftermath...
Caption 40, Calcio Intervista con il Prof. Cravero
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When you are saying goodbye to someone, instead of saying buona giornata or buona serata, you might say, buon proseguimento if you know that whomever you are saying goodbye to is off to do something else, not just going home.
Buon proseguimento (I wish you well in whatever you do next).
Or
Per il telegiornale oggi è tutto, io vi auguro un buon proseguimento di giornata.
That's all for the newscast for today. I wish you a good rest of the day.
Captions 56-57, Anna e Marika in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo - Part 4
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Allora, il ragioniere, terrorizzato, scappa verso il salone, ma Menicucci lo insegue e gli spara una seconda volta.
So the accountant, terrified, runs towards the living room, but Menicucci chases him down and shoots him a second time.
Captions 51-52, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 23
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We can also use the word "to follow" as a translation, but the intention changes from seguire.
We have a noun associated with this word, too: l'inseguimento (the chase, the pursuit).
Ma i bolidi sfreccianti verso Parma sembrano sfidare il nostro inseguimento celeste.
But the race cars speeding towards Parma seem to defy our airborne pursuit.
Captions 9-10, La Mille Miglia del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 2
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Susseguirsi (to follow one another in succession)
We have inserted this verb with its reflexive ending, which is actually a reciprocal form, and is used as a noun in our example, something that's quite common.
Ora è il turno della parola: tempo, con la quale indichiamo il susseguirsi dei minuti, delle ore, dei giorni.
Now, it's time for the word "tempo," with which we indicate the passing of minutes, hours, days.
Captions 46-47, Marika spiega Parole con più significati - Part 1
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We can visualize the seconds following one another on a clock... We can talk about un susseguirsi di eventi (a chain of events or a series of events).
For more on the reflexive versus reciprocal verbs, see this video, presented by Marika.
For a lesson in English that explains the reciprocal form of verbs, see this lesson.
We hope we haven't filled your brain with words that are too similar. Please work on each one separately if you if that works best for you!
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