In Italian there are different ways of saying "I love you." Romantic love is expressed with the verb amare (to love). Ti amo (I love you) is what a person will use when he or she is quite serious about a romantic relationship. But to express the kind of amore (love) parents have for their children (and vice versa), as in the following example from a video on essere madre (being a mother, or "motherhood"), an important phrasal verb to go for is voler bene (to care about, to care for).
A mia madre invece vorrei dire...
To my mother, on the other hand, I'd like to say...
ti voglio bene! Un bacio!
I love you! A kiss!
Captions 30-40, Essere... - madre
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While English speakers may send love at the close of a letter to a friend or loved one, Italians will more likely send kisses and hugs, both in writing and verbally, as in the previous example. Here are some variations:
un bacio (a kiss)
un bacione (a big kiss)
baci (kisses)
un abbraccio (a hug, an embrace)
If you really like someone, but are not in love, or just not ready to say ti amo, then voler bene can be used to mean "to be very fond."
Look at the lesson I like it - Mi piace to integrate even more degrees of affetto (affection) using the verb piacere (to please) and the adjective simpatico (likeable, nice).
When falling in love, Italians have a reflexive verb all ready: innamorarsi (to become, or fall, in love). Once having fallen in love, a man is innamorato and a woman is innamorata. Note that the preposition is di (of), not con (with).
Avevo capito che, in tutti questi anni, è stata innamorata di lui.
I'd figured out that, for all these years, she'd been in love with him.
E per trent'anni gli ha dato del Lei, ma ti rendi conto?
And for thirty years she addressed him formally, can you imagine that?
Captions 5-6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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Two people may be molto innamorati (very much in love) and refer to each other as his or her amoroso. The noun form stays in the masculine, although the adjective form (much less common) changes according to gender and number.
To sum up some of the words having to do with love:
nouns:
amore (love)
affetto (affection)
amoroso (beloved, sweetheart)
verbs:
amare (to love)
voler bene a (to really care for)
innamorarsi (to fall in love)
piacere (to please)
adjectives:
innamorato (in love)
affezionato (attached to, fond of)
simpatico (likeable)
amoroso (affectionate, amorous)
Learning suggestion:
Look around you at home and outside, and try to choose the word that best expresses your affetto (affection) for the people intorno a te (surrounding you).
Further reading:
Enjoy this lighthearted article about voler bene.
Whether you need something or need to do something, you need to know what words to use in Italian to express that need, especially since there's no simple, one-word equivalent of the verb "to need." In the following example, Marika uses a highly irregular verb that’s quite common in Italian, but which causes quite a bit of confusion for non-native speakers, both because it doesn't get conjugated and because it's so similar to its related noun form. It's practically useless to mention the infinitive because it doesn't ever get used.
Marika gives a news report about a school perched high on a hill. Let's see what she says:
Per arrivare nella scuola più piccola d' Europa
To get to the smallest school in Europe,
bisogna fare trecentocinquanta scalini.
you need to go up three hundred fifty steps.
Caption 3, Anna e Marika - in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo
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In talking about the search for the right location for his restaurant, here's how Gualtiero Marchesi uses bisogna:
Bisognava inventarsi tutto.
I had to invent it all.
Caption 6, L'arte della cucina - L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni
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The infinitive of this indispensable verb is bisognare, but you never see it in this form, nor in any conjugation except the third person, where it is used impersonally. Marchesi uses it in the past tense: bisognava, and it will often appear in the conditional (bisognerebbe) or the future (bisognerà) as well.
Bisogna is a quick and neutral (sometimes maddeningly neutral) way to talk about what needs doing. For example, one housemate might say to the other:
Bisogna comprare il pane. (One needs to buy bread.)
Clearly, bread needs to be bought, but who's going to buy it? That detail is left to our imagination (or sense of duty).
This statement can also easily be expressed in the conditional:
Bisognerebbe comprare il pane. (Someone should buy bread.)
or in the future:
Bisognerà comprare il pane. (Someone will have to buy bread.
This way of using bisogna is easy: bisogna + verb in the infinitive
The other and more complicated way is: bisogna + che + verb in the subjunctive, but that's a topic for a future lesson.
Another way to express need is with the related noun bisogno (need), which is also easy to use, since the only verb you need to conjugate is avere (to have).
In fact, Gualtiero could have said:
Avevo bisogno di inventarmi tutto. (I had need of inventing everything for myself.)
He also could have said:
C’era bisogno di inventarsi tutto. (There was need [it was necessary] to invent it all for oneself.)
This is also easy because the verb essere will always be in the third person singular. In the above example, it's in the simple past.
It all has to do with sorting out the difference between bisogna (verb) and bisogno (noun) and remembering the simple rules about how they work. For a full explanation see this article.
In a nutshell:
Putting them together just for fun:
Bisogna andare in banca. In effetti, c'era bisogno di andare ieri, ma ieri bisognava fare tante altre cose. Bisognerà anche andare a fare la spesa questo pomeriggio, quindi, di che cosa abbiamo bisogno? C'è bisogno di fare una lista. Avrei bisogno di caffè, ma per quello, bisognerà andare in un altro negozio. C'è bisogno dello zucchero? No, non ce n'è bisogno, anche perché ho bisogno di dimagrire. Bisogna vedere, però, se riesco a berlo amaro.
We/I need to go to the bank. Actually, it was necessary to go yesterday, but yesterday we needed to do lots of other things. We'll also need to go food shopping this afternoon, so what do we need? We need to make a list. I would need coffee, but for that I need to go to different store. Do we need sugar? No, I don't need any, because I need to lose weight. We'll have to see if I'm able to drink it bitter [with no sugar].
Learning suggestion:
See how you can mix and match these ways of needing things, or needing to do things. Just keep in mind the way they work, and which is which.
Now that you know the ins and outs of bisogna and bisogno, do a Yabla search and see for yourself how often these words get used in speech. Bisogna solo fare pratica! (You just need to practice!)
At Yabla Italian, there's been plenty of talk lately about nouns. Daniela has been talking about indefinite articles for both masculine and feminine nouns (see Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 1 of 3 and Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 2 of 3). Marika has talked about nouns that remain the same in singular and plural, and nouns that have two different plurals: one masculine and one feminine (see Marika spiega - Il plurale - Part 1 and Marika spiega - Il plurale - Part 2 of 2). It can be quite daunting! And to add to this, Alessio comes along with his rigo musicale, among other musical nouns!
Si tratta ora di fissarle sul rigo musicale,
Now we're concerned with placing them on the staff,
il pentagramma, formato da cinque linee.
the staff, made up of five lines.
Caption 2, A scuola di musica - con Alessio
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If you're already familiar with the noun riga (line), you might be wondering if Alessio got his gender wrong. As a matter of fact, the feminine form, la riga (the line), is the word you'll use most of the time. But in music, il rigo is used to refer to a staff made up of five linee (lines), also called il pentagramma, and can also refer to each individual line within the staff. For a detailed explanation of rigo versus riga, see this article. Riga, rigo and linea are only a few of the Italian words that can translate as "line." See this link for many more!
There are other words that have special meanings when it comes to music:
In ordinary usage, la chiave means "the key," but in music, it means "the clef," a special symbol (actually a stylized letter C, G, or F) placed on a staff line in such a way as to indicate what note and pitch the line refers to. From that departure point, all the other notes can be recognized. A proposito, "clef" comes from the French word for key (clef or clé)!
In addition to being the name of a famous opera theater in Milan (La Scala), scala has several meanings, and they mostly have to do with going up and down: a staircase, a ladder, a level, and also a scale in music (a succession of musical notes at fixed degrees).
Di più, questa successione così omogenea,
In addition, this succession, homogeneous as it is,
forma una scala discendente
forms a descending scale
che poi, sempre in scala, risale.
which then goes back up, still as a scale [stepwise].
Captions 9-10, A scuola di musica - con Alessio
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Uno scalino or un gradino can be a step in a musical scale, a rung on a ladder, a step up from the street to the curb, or a single step of many scalini, like the ones Marika talks about at the beginning of her latest newscast.
Per arrivare nella scuola più piccola d' Europa
To get to the smallest school in Europe,
bisogna fare trecentocinquanta scalini.
you have to go up three hundred fifty steps.
Caption 3, Anna e Marika - in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo
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Learning suggestion:
Become more familiar with the different meanings of some of the above-mentioned nouns by looking them up in the dictionary of your choice, and then, learn their plurals! Daniela's recent classes on definite and indefinite articles and Marika's lessons on plurals will be of help in classifying them, as well as for finding the right indefinite article for each.
Here's a list to help you.
A key to learning these words might be to draw picture flashcards. There may be more than one valid answer for some of them.
We learned about saying we’re sorry using the verb dispiacere in the lesson How to say you're sorry in Italian. But that’s only one of its common uses. If we look closely at dispiacere we can detect two parts: the root piacere (to please) and the prefix dis-, indicating negation or the opposite (very much like “dis-” in English). In a sense, dispiacere (to displease) is the opposite of piacere (to please, to be pleasing), so when I say “I’m sorry,” I’m saying that something displeases me:
Mi dispiace ma il tiramisù è terminato.
I'm sorry but we've run out of tiramisù.
Caption 17, Passeggiando per Roma - per Roma
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Normally, dispiacere isn’t used as the opposite of piacere. See the lesson I like it - Mi piace, where liking and not liking are discussed. In order to say I don’t like something, I say non mi piace, but if I say mi dispiace, it means “I’m sorry,” at least most of the time.
Oddly enough, by negating the already negating verb dispiacere by saying non mi dispiace, it becomes a sort of via di mezzo (middle way) between liking something and not liking it. It’s as if to say non male (not bad) without the exclamation point.* Non mi dispiace can be the equivalent of “I like it enough” or “I don’t mind it.” In the end, it depends on the inflection and facial expression, as well as on the context. Tutto è relativo (it’s all relative)! Sometimes it serves to temper or soften a statement that might hurt someone’s feelings, as in the example at the end of this lesson.
*For more on saying “not bad” with an exclamation point, see the lesson Elegant and Not So Elegant Turns of Phrase.
Dispiacere is also used when asking someone if they mind something. Usually, a positive answer is expected, especially when using the conditional as in the following example. As in English, the answer may or may not answer the actual question:
Ti dispiacerebbe aprire la porta? -Certo.
Would you mind opening the door? [Would it displease you to open the door?] -Sure.
In the example below, the answer is negative in meaning, but said in a positive statement.
Senta, Le dispiace se diamo un'occhiata in giro?
Listen, do you mind if we have a look around?
-Eh, mi dispiace sì!
-Eh, yes I do mind!
Captions 28-29, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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In a nutshell:
When dispiacere has to do with minding, the pronoun will generally represent the person being addressed, in the second person:
Ti dispiace? (Do you mind?)
Le dispiace? (Do you mind? [formal])
Vi dispiace? (Do you mind? [plural])
When dispiacere has to do with liking something somewhat, the person doing the liking will be indicated by the pronoun:
Non mi dispiace (I like it pretty much)
Non gli dispiace (He likes it OK)
Putting the pieces together, just for fun:
Mi dispiace dirtelo, ma non mi dispiace la pubblicità della concorrenza. Non ti dispiace se ti dico la verità, vero?
I’m sorry to tell you but I somewhat like the competition’s publicity. You don’t mind if I tell you the truth, do you?
Non mi piace quello che dici ma non mi dispiace se mi dici quello che pensi. Anzi...
I don’t like what you’re saying, but I don’t mind if you tell me what you think. On the contrary...
Check your comprehension:
Make a search of the different conjugations of dispiacere in a Yabla search and choose what you think the closest meaning is in each case. There’s no translation right there, so you won’t get any hints except context, but you can check your results by watching the video.
When talking about winning and losing, vincere (to win) and perdere (to lose) are the words you’re looking for. When talking about finding something and losing something, trovare (to find) and perdere (to lose) are useful, too. But perdere also has some other important common uses.
When you miss a train, you lose it: perdere il treno (to miss the train).
Il sette dicembre del duemila,
On the seventh of December of the year two thousand,
io avevo avuto un grosso imprevisto
I had had something unexpected happen
che mi fece perdere il treno per Londra.
that made me miss the train for London.
Captions 54-55, Anna e Marika - Il verbo avere
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When you waste time, you lose it: perdere tempo (to waste time).
Lo sapevo che non dovevo venire.
I knew I shouldn't have come.
Mi state facendo perdere solo tempo.
You're just wasting my time.
Captions 49-50, Concorso internazionale di cortometraggio - A corto di idee
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When there’s a leaky faucet, it loses water: perde (it leaks).
Ma guarda che l'ho aggiustato il rubinetto, adesso perde poco!
But look, I fixed the faucet, now it leaks very little!
Caption 49, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP2 - Il mistero di Cetinka
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When you let something go, you drop it, you forget about it, you let it get lost: lasciare perdere (to let it be).
Ti aiuto ad asciugare? -No, lascia perdere, sei stanco, lavati! Eh...
Shall I help you dry? -No, forget it, you're tired, wash up! Uh...
Caption 44, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP2 - Il mistero di Cetinka
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Much of the time perdere means “to lose,” but, non perdere di vista (don’t lose sight of) the common expressions above!
Here are some more instances where perdere is used:
When you’ve missed the beginning of a movie:
Ho perso l’inizio!
I missed the beginning!
When you’ve lost weight:
Ho perso dieci chili!
I lost ten kilos!
When you don’t want to miss something:
Venezia è da non perdere!
Venice is not to be missed!
When you can’t find your way:
Sono perso.
I’m lost.
Learning suggestion:
Be on the lookout for these particular meanings of perdere. You’ll find them cropping up often in Yabla videos, and in real life, if you’re lucky enough to listen to Italian conversation. Soon enough all these meanings will become familiar to you. And when you next miss a train, or a flight, or have a leaky faucet, or get lost, or waste time, ricordatevi (remember) that perdere is a word da non perdere (not to be missed).
One of Italy’s most beloved singer-songwriters ci ha lasciato (passed away): Pino Daniele. Italian uses the verb ricordare to express remembrance on such occasions.
Lo ricorderemo con affetto.
We’ll remember him with affection.
In Quando (When), one of his most famous songs, Pino sings about, among other things, ricordi (memories).
Fra i ricordi e questa strana pazzia
Among memories and this strange madness
E il paradiso che forse esiste
And a paradise that might exist
Captions 29-30, Pino Daniele - Quando
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Ricordare has another, closely related meaning—“to remind,” as in the following example.
Ah, un'altra cosa, scusami Anna,
Ah, another thing, sorry Anna,
che volevo ricordare ai nostri amici di Yabla, come usanza,
that I wanted to remind our Yabla friends of, customarily,
noi italiani a tavola non mangiamo mai pane e pasta insieme.
we Italians at table we don't eat bread and pasta together.
Captions 41-42, Anna e Marika - Un Ristorante a Trastevere
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When using ricordare as “to remind,” it becomes ricordare a and gets used with an indirect object, as in the above example. The preposition a (to)—sometimes connected to an article, as above—goes between ricordare and the person getting reminded. In the above example, the direct object is cosa.
But when the indirect object is a personal pronoun, the spelling shifts, as in the following example, where ti stands for a te (to you). See an explanation and chart of Italian indirect object pronouns here.
E tra l'altro, ti volevo ricordare, che questa era una palude.
And besides, I wanted to remind you, that this was a swamp.
Caption 18, Marika e Daniela - Il Foro Romano
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In the following example, the personal pronoun as indirect object is attached to the verb itself. See more about this in previous lessons Ci Gets Around, part one and part two.
Hm... Rosmini. -Hm.
Hmm... Rosmini. -Uh huh.
-Ricordami il nome? -Ginevra.
-Remind me of your [first] name? -Ginevra.
Captions 80-81, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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In English we have two distinct but related words, “to remember” and “to remind,” while in Italian the difference is considered so minimal that the same word is used, but there are some subtle differences.
More often than not, when we’re remembering, ricordare is used reflexively: ricordarsi, as in mi ricordo (I remember). (See the lesson: Reflections on the Reflexive.) When using the past tense, as in the following example, essere (to be) is the auxiliary verb.
Ci siamo ricordati tutti i momenti belli della nostra storia.
We remembered all the beautiful moments of our romance.
Caption 17, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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If you think of ricordare as meaning “to call to mind,” it may be easier to see how one word can fill two bills. While ricordarsi (to remember) is reflexive, and involves the person who’s remembering, ricordare a (to remind) involves two or more people.
Things get a little tricky when personal pronouns are used (which is a lot of the time)! Notice the object pronouns and conjugated verb. When ricordare means “to remember” the conjugation of ricordare matches the object pronoun, such as in ti ricordi? (do you remember?), si ricorda (he/she/it/one remembers), vi ricordate (you remember), ci ricordiamo (we remember). But in ricordare as reminding, there are usually at least two different people involved: ti ricordo (I remind you), ci ha ricordato (he/she/it reminded us), mi poteva ricordare (he could have reminded me).
In a nutshell:
Ricordare and its reflexive form ricordarsi (to remember): takes essere (to be) as an auxiliary (e.g., ci siamo ricordati), can be reflexive (same person)
Ricordare a (to remind): takes avere (to have) as an auxiliary (e.g., ci ha ricordato), is two-way (different people)
Here are a few more examples to help you remember...
Ti ricorderai di comprare il pane, o te lo devo ricordare?
Will you remember to buy bread, or do I have to remind you of it?
Ricordamelo pure, ma forse non mi ricorderò!
Go ahead and remind me of it, but maybe I won’t remember!
Come faccio a ricordarmi di ricordarti?
How can I remember to remind you?
Ti ho già ricordato due volte.
I’ve already reminded you twice.
When we’re una squadra di uno (a team of one), then we need stesso (self) to remind ourselves of something:
Alla fine, sarà più semplice ricordare a me stesso/stessa di comprare il pane, che di ricordarmi di ricordare a qualcun altro.
In the end, it’ll be easier to remind myself to buy bread, than to remember to remind someone else.
Alimenti: Food and fuel
In an episode of Commissario Manara, someone is worried about having to pay alimenti (alimony).
Sto aspettando il divorzio dalla mia ex moglie e...
I'm waiting for a divorce from my ex-wife and...
conoscendola quella... veniva a saperlo,
knowing her, that one... if she found out,
poi mi tartassava con gli alimenti.
she would have hit me hard for alimony.
Captions 66-67, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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But there’s much more to this word than supporting one’s ex. The various forms of the word have to do with fuel, energy, food, and nutrition. Here are a few related terms:
And speaking of alimentazione sana...
Elegant finger food
In an episode of La Ladra, there’s a discussion about pinzimonio between Eva and her new cook, Dante.
Come vuole Lei, solo pensavo che con il suo pinzimonio
As you wish, I just thought that with your raw vegetable dish
una salsa in più ci stesse bene. Eh?!
one more sauce would fit in well. Huh?
Captions 24-25, La Ladra - EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano
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There’s no good one-word translation of pinzimonio, but it’s certainly worth explaining (and tasting). Basically, it’s an elegant method (called in pinzimonio) of eating plain raw vegetables by dipping them into a little dish filled with good olive oil and salt. Pepper, vinegar, and other ingredients may be added at the diner’s discretion. You can’t get simpler than pinzimonio, but if the olio extravergine d’oliva is of good quality, and the vegetables are fresh and appealing, then it’s a wonderful way to eat a light second course, side dish, or appetizer.
Vegetables used for la verdura in pinzimonio are, to name a few: carote (carrots), cipolla fresca (fresh spring or green onions), finocchio (fennel bulbs), young tender carciofi (artichokes), cetrioli (cucumbers), il sedano bianco (white celery), la belga (Belgian endive), peperoni (bell peppers), and ravanelli (radishes).
The verb pinzare means “to clamp” or “to pinch closed,” so it’s easy to visualize holding a piece of carota or sedano between thumb and fingers in order to dip it in the olive oil.
And for those (like most Italians) who love their pasta...
Pasta ripiena
Yabla has a series about cooking called L'Arte della Cucina (the art of cooking) and in a segment about chef Gualtiero Marchesi, he talks about il raviolo. Usually we see this word in the plural, i ravioli, because there’s usually more than one of them sul piatto (on the plate). In this particular case there was just one large beautiful raviolo on each plate.
Un giorno, sentendo un'amica
One day, talking with a friend
che diceva che aveva mangiato dei ravioli tutti aperti,
who said she had eaten ravioli all opened,
sai, quando stanno [ci sono] i banchetti, così,
you know, when there are banquets, and such,
mi venne in mente così di fare il raviolo aperto,
that's how it came to mind to make an open "raviolo,"
è stato un tutt'uno.
it was all one thing.
Captions 26-28, L'arte della cucina - I Luoghi del Mondo
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We’re talking here about pasta ripiena (filled pasta). With the exception of Marchesi’s “open” raviolo, there are normally two layers of la sfoglia (fresh egg pasta dough) with a ripieno di carne (meat filling) or ripieno di spinaci e ricotta (spinach and ricotta filling), but there are many variations.
Ravioli, tortelli, tortelloni, agnolotti, or pansotti each have their traditional forme (shapes), ripieni (fillings), and condimenti (sauces), which range from simple burro e salvia (butter and sage) to an elaborate ragù (meat sauce). Tortellini and cappelletti are filled pasta, but are bite-sized, and almost exclusively made with a ripieno di carne. One favorite way to eat them is in brodo (in broth). Don’t forget the parmigiano!
Ravioli and other types of filled pasta are best eaten in restaurants where they’re a specialty. There are plenty of calories in pasta, and especially in pasta ripiena, so why not follow it (or precede it) with a pinzimonio to maintain un’alimentazione sana!
Buon appetito!
When Italians want to wish someone luck, or just express their good wishes, one word they use is buono (good):
Buon compleanno! (Happy birthday!)
Buon natale! (Merry Christmas!)
Buon anno! (Happy New Year!)
They often add auguri (best wishes), which comes from the verb augurare (to wish):
Buon anno a tutti! Auguri!
Happy New Year everyone! Best wishes!
Caption 31, Orchestra Pit Pot - Buon anno e buona fortuna
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Whatever someone is about to do, buono is a way of hoping it goes well. Note that when the object is masculine, buono gets shortened to buon, and when the object is feminine, it becomes buona.
Buon lavoro. (Good luck on your job.)
Buon viaggio. (Have a good trip.)
Buona dormita. (Have a good sleep.)
Buon appetito. (Have a nice meal.)
Buon ascolto. (Enjoy the concert/lecture/CD.)
Buona visione. (Enjoy the show/film.)
Buona notte. (Good night.)
Buona giornata. (Have a nice day.)
...and plenty more!
You may be wondering what the difference is between giorno and giornata. They both mean “day” and although there are no hard and fast rules, there are conventions in using one or the other. In deciding whether to use giorno or giornata, think of the calendar. As a general rule, use giorno when talking about the calendar, where a day is a unit in a larger block of time (week, year, month).
For example,
Il giorno di natale i negozi sono chiusi.
On Christmas day the stores are closed.
Sarò via per due giorni.
I’ll be away for two days.
Giorno is used in opposition to notte (night):
Di giorno sgobbavo in un cantiere e di notte sui libri.
By day I slogged away at a construction site and by night with my books.
Caption 6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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When you greet someone in the morning, you'll say buongiorno (good morning, hello). After noon, you’ll greet them with buonasera. But when saying goodbye, buona giornata (have a nice day) and buona serata (have a good evening) are commonly used to wish someone well.
Giornata (day) is more subjective and approximate than giorno. It describes the time between morning and night. Think about the quality of your day or someone else’s: the weather, your mood, your health, your workload.
Che giornata!
What a day!
Oggi ho deciso di passare una giornata diversa dal solito.
Today I've decided to spend the day differently from usual.
Caption 1, Francesca - sulla spiaggia
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Whatever your level of Italian is, it’s always nice to be able to say something nice, and to understand when someone is saying something nice to you! In a nutshell, giorno and sera are used when you arrive, while giornata and serata are used when you leave. And when you’re wishing someone well in whatever they may be doing next, buono is your friend!
Further learning:
Do a search of both giorno and giornata in Yabla videos to get a sense of when one or the other is used. Supplement your learning by reading about giorno and giornata in WordReference.
In foreign languages, gender (in its grammatical sense) goes way beyond the masculine, feminine (and sometimes neuter) equivalents of "the." Gender affects not only articles, but pronouns, adjectives, and participles of verbs as well. Added to this is the fact that certain nouns take a masculine article even though they might apply to a woman and vice versa. Over the years, some denominations have changed based on women filling roles previously held only by men, and vice versa, and also by simple changes in usage. It can be daunting.
For starters, let’s talk about a word that’s feminine but applies to everyone: la persona (the person). However masculine a person might be, he’s a person, and persona is feminine! For Italians this doesn’t cause any psychological problems... it’s just a matter of grammar. In the following example, Charles is clearly un uomo (a man), but he’s a persona, too. We can’t see the ending of the article, because it’s elided, but we know it’s "la" because the adjective ultimo (last) has a feminine "a" ending to agree with its feminine noun, persona. In fact even questa (this) as a modifier has to agree with the feminine persona.
Charles Ferrant. Questa è l'ultima persona che ha visto il Conte.
Charles Ferrant. This is the last person who saw the Count.
Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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There’s a fun example of gender ambiguity in the very first episode of Commissioner Manara, Part 4. At police headquarters, Manara is told that the new inspector is in the other room. What makes it fun is that “inspector” is a masculine noun in Italian. The viewer is led to expect a man, not only because ispettore takes a masculine article, but because, at least in the past, it’s always been a position more often filled by men than women (although in part 3 we are introduced to ispettore Sardi, a woman). Ispettrice as a feminine form of ispettore does exist, but Sardi doesn’t use it, and it doesn’t appear in the dictionary.
È arrivato il nuovo ispettore, l'esperto di scena del crimine.
The new Inspector has arrived, the crime scene expert.
Caption 50, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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The noun esperto is also masculine (although some dictionaries do admit the feminine version esperta). In fact, if we use esperto as a noun, it’s masculine (most of the time, even referring to women) but if we use it as an adjective, it must agree with the person. So, if we’re talking about a woman, we’ll say:
È molto esperta.
She’s very skilled.
To add to the ambiguity, much of the time pronouns are left out altogether, so it’s impossible to say whether the inspector is a he or a she.
Ma adesso è di là e sta familiarizzando con i colleghi.
But now he's in there getting to know his co-workers.
Caption 51, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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Yabla has chosen to have the translation pronoun agree with ispettore, to maintain the dramatic surprise upon discovering that the inspector is a woman, but it could just as well have agreed with the person the speaker knows is a woman, and been translated as “she.”
Further study:
For some simple but thorough explanations of grammatical gender see this article. Have another look at Lesson 15, A Few Words About “Some” (Qualche and Alcuni) where, towards the end, there’s some talk of gender when using modifiers. Grammatical gender is a subject that will keep coming up, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, when you learn a new word, learn its article at the same time. In most cases the vocabulary reviews connected with the video include the articles with the nouns. Approfittane! (Take advantage of it!)
Sometimes saying you’re sorry is a quick thing, because you did something like bumping into someone by accident. In Italian, depending on how you say it, you might have to make a quick decision: How well do I know this person, and how formal should I be?
The familiar form is scusami (excuse me), or simply scusa. Grammatically speaking, we’re using the imperative form of scusare (to excuse). If you look at the conjugation of scusare, you’ll see that it’s conjugated like other verbs ending in -are (these verbs are explained by Daniela in her popular grammar lesson series!). You’ll also see that it’s easy to get things mixed up.
Learning conjugations can be daunting, but it’s worth learning the imperatives of scusare, since it’s a verb you’ll need in many situations. While you’re at it, you might do the same with perdonare (to pardon, to forgive), which conjugates the same way, and can have a similar meaning, as in the following situation where Marika is pretending to be distracted.
Perdonami, scusami tanto, ma ero sovrappensiero.
Forgive me, really sorry, but I was lost in thought.
Caption 25, Marika e Daniela - Il verbo chiedere
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It can be helpful to remember that in the familiar form, the mi (me) gets tacked onto the end of the verb: scusami, perdonami (and in the familiar second person plural: scusatemi, perdonatemi). But when using the polite form you need to put the mi first, making two words: mi scusi, mi perdoni.
Signora mi scusi, Lei è parente della vittima?
Madam, excuse me, are you a relative of the victim?
Caption 12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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Attenzione! If you ask a friend to forgive you, the question is: mi perdoni? If instead you’re saying “pardon me” to a stranger, it’s mi perdoni (and is not a question, but a command). It all has to do with inflection and context.
Sono in ritardo, mi perdoni?
I’m late. Will you forgive me?
Mi perdoni, non ho sentito il Suo nome.
Pardon me, I didn’t hear your name.
In many cases, you can use the generic chiedo scusa (I ask for pardon, I ask forgiveness). This way, no worries about complicated conjugations!
On Italian TV interviews are conducted using the polite form of address, but in this case the intervistatore (interviewer) knows the intervistato (interviewee) Tiziano Terzani very well, and would like to make an exception.
Chiedo scusa ai telespettatori se userò il "tu" con lui.
I'll ask the television audience for forgiveness if I use the "tu" form with him.
Captions 24-25, Tiziano Terzani - Cartabianca
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Another way to say you’re sorry is mi dispiace (I’m sorry), often shortened to mi spiace (I’m sorry), which is a bit weightier than “excuse me” and doesn’t necessarily involve the other person pardoning you.
Mi spiace, ma qualcuno doveva pur dirvelo.
I'm sorry, but someone had to say it to you.
Questa è la realtà.
This is the reality.
Captions 74-75, Concorso internazionale di cortometraggio - A corto di idee
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Mi dispiace is used even when it’s not at all a question of asking pardon, such as when we hear about a disgrazia (adversity, terrible loss). In the following example, the father is using lasciare (to leave) to mean his daughter has died. Notice the plural ending of the participle (normally lasciato) that agrees with ci (us).
Angela ci ha lasciati. -Mi dispiace.
Angela's left us. -I'm sorry.
Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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There’s much more to say about being sorry, and about using the verb dispiacere. Ci dispiace (we’re sorry), but it will have to wait for another lesson. A presto!
L’alfabeto telefonico (The telephone alphabet)
Speaking on the phone in a foreign language can be quite a challenge. As Marika spells out in a lesson for beginners about the alphabet, Italians use the names of cities (for the most part) when they need to be crystal clear in spelling a name or a word.
The Italian way is to use the name of a city directly, leaving out the letter itself completely, once it’s clear you’re using this system. Notice how Marika does it, as she makes a phone reservation for a friend. The person taking the call asks her to spell the name, or fare lo spelling (to do the spelling). Spelling is a word taken pari pari (exactly as it is) from the English, except that it’s used as a noun, with its article lo.
Claudia Rossi. -Mi può fare lo spelling?
Claudia Rossi. -Can you spell that for me?
Sì, certo!
Yes, of course!
Como, Livorno, Ancona, Udine, Domodossola, Imola, Ancona.
Como, Livorno, Ancona, Udine, Domodossola, Imola, Ancona.
Captions 12-16, Marika spiega - Fare lo spelling
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The spelling for Yabla would be: ipsilon, Ancona, Bologna, Livorno, Ancona.
Here’s the complete list of the cities generally used for spelling:
• A: Ancona
• B: Bologna
• C: Como
• D: Domodossola
• E: Empoli
• F: Firenze
• G: Genova
• H: acca, or hotel
• I: Imola
• J: i lunga, or Jolly, Jersey
• K: kappa
• L: Livorno
• M: Milano
• N: Napoli
• O: Otranto
• P: Palermo
• Q: Quarto, Quadro
• R: Roma
• S: Savona
• T: Torino
• U: Udine
• V: Varese, Venezia
• W: vu doppia, doppia vu, or Washington
• X: ics, or di raggi x (x rays)
• Y: ipsilon, y greca, or di Yacht, di York
• Z: zeta or Zara
Learning suggestion:
Learn to spell your name and address using the alfabeto telefonico! Some of these cities, such as Udine, Otranto, Imola, Empoli, and Napoli are pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. Domodossola is accented on the third syllable. Domodossola happens to be one of the important frontiere (border crossings) on the train line between Italy and Switzerland. Pronunciation aids along with the list (with some alternate city names) can be found here. Knowing what cities to associate with letters is especially handy if you intend to travel in Italy, so memorizing this list can be fun and useful.
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:
This lesson is aimed at beginners, but even more advanced students might learn something they didn't know before.
English consonants are typically written out as the letters themselves (B, C, D) rather than as words approximating their pronunciation (we don't write "bee" when we mean "B"). Yet Italian consonants do have words that represent them, which you'll learn by following along with Marika.
A, bi, ci, di, e, effe, gi,
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
acca, i, i lunga, cappa,
H, I, J (long I), K,
elle, emme, enne, o, pi, qu,
L, M, N, O, P, Q,
erre, esse, ti, u, vi,
R, S, T, U, V,
doppia vu, ics, ipsilon, zeta.
W, X, Y, Z.
Captions 5-9, Marika spiega - L'alfabeto
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Another distinction is that while many English words end in consonants, it's rare that an Italian word does. If you look at Marika’s list of words, those ending in consonants are “loan words” from other languages. Because it’s much more common for an Italian word to end with a vowel than a consonant, Italian consonants themselves (except for X) are all written and pronounced ending in a vowel, and sometimes they begin with a vowel, too. The word for the letter may be more than one syllable in length. Let’s take the letter “S” for example. Listen to how Marika says it: esse: two syllables. As a matter of fact, in the commercial world, Italians sometimes use this way of spelling a letter to come up with clever names of companies, stores, or products. A well-known example in Italy is the supermarket called Esselunga (Long S).
The native Italian alphabet contains 21 letters. With language becoming more and more international, Italian has adopted five new letters to spell the foreign “loan words.” These are:
• J- i lunga (“long I”)**
• K- kappa
• W- vu doppia, or doppia vu (“double V”)**
• X- ics
• Y- i-greca (Greek “I”) or ipsilon (upsilon)
**These names make more sense if you think that before semi-modern times, I and J were considered variant forms of the same letter, same as U and V.
Learning tip:
Once you've repeated after Marika in the video, and you've done the exercise she suggests, try spelling some Italian words you know out loud, and, of course, try spelling your name.
When spelling out loud, pay careful attention to “A,” “E,” and “I” because in Italian the vowel “E” is pronounced not unlike the English “A,” and in Italian the vowel, “I” is pronounced not unlike the English pronunciation of “E,” so, to avoid confusion, it’s always important to establish what language you're spelling in! And of course when you get to “R” try rolling that “R!” In the Italian spelling of this letter (erre) there are indeed 2 of them, so they need rolling.
In a previous lesson we discussed addressing people formally or informally, using Lei or tu. Deciding which is appropriate has to do with the degree of conoscenza (knowledge, acquaintance, familiarity). Conoscenza comes from the verb conoscere (to know, to be acquainted with). (For the other kind of knowing — sapere — see the previous lessons, Sapere: Part 1 and Sapere: Part 2.)
Conoscere is worth a closer look, because although it’s used to mean “to know, to be acquainted with,” Italians also use it to mean “to meet, to get acquainted with, to get to know.” In the following example from one of Daniela’s Italian lessons, it’s clear she means “to know, to be acquainted with.”
Se io per esempio non conosco Alex,
If, for example, I don't know Alex,
Alex è il mio vicino di casa,
Alex is my next door neighbour,
o una persona che ho incontrato per la strada,
or a person I've met on the street,
voglio sapere come si chiama, io do del Lei.
I want to know his name, I give the "Lei."
Captions 18-21, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Tu o Lei?
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In the same lesson, Daniela is talking about meeting someone for the first time, and she uses the same verb, conoscere. The context tells us what she means.
Dobbiamo sapere, quando conosciamo una persona,
We have to know, when we meet a person,
se darle del Tu o del Lei.
whether to give him the "tu" (informal "you") or the "Lei" (formal "you").
Captions 2-3, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Tu o Lei?
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In a previous lesson, Making It Happen, we talked about combining fare (to do, to make) with other verbs to make things happen, or get things done. Fare gets combined with conoscere to make introductions: fare conoscere (to make someone or something known, or to introduce someone or something).
Francesca is going to her first riding lesson at a nearby stable, and she tells us:
Ehm, questo ragazzo che mi accoglierà, e che vi farò conoscere...
Uh, this fellow who will receive me, and to whom I'll introduce you...
Caption 8, Francesca - Cavalli
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When you talk about when and where you met someone for the first time, use conoscere:
Ho conosciuto Alberto solo oggi. Conosce molto bene i suoi cavalli.
I met Alberto today [for the first time]. He knows his horses very well.
Now that Francesca has heard all about these horses from Alberto, she’s ready for a closer look.
E quindi va bene, ne andiamo a conoscere qualcuno.
And so all right, let's go to meet some of them.
-Andiamo a conoscerne un bel po'. -OK.
-We're going to meet a lot of them. -OK.
Caption 63, Francesca - Cavalli
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In case you’re wondering why ne is attached to the end of conoscere the second time it appears, it’s because it means “of them.” Like ci, as we’ve already seen in Ci Gets Around, ne is a particle that can either be separate, as in the first sentence, or can become part of the verb, as in the second. You’ll find more information on ne here.
To sum up, here’s a list of variations of conoscere, including a few new ones:
• conoscere (to know, to be acquainted with, to be familiar with)
• conoscere (to get acquainted with, to meet for the first time)
• fare conoscere (to introduce, to make known)
• conosciuto (well known)
• conoscenza (knowledge, acquaintance, awareness, consciousness)
• a conoscenza (aware)
• delle conoscenze (knowledge, influential people, connections)
• fare la conoscenza (to get acquainted)
• riconoscere (to recognize)
• un conoscente (an acquaintance)
• the reflexive form: conoscersi (to know oneself, to know each other/one another)
• riconoscente (appreciative, grateful)
• uno sconosciuto (a stranger)
• sconosciuto (unknown, little known)
And putting them all together, just for fun, here’s what we get:
Se finora non eri a conoscenza del sistema Yabla, probabilmente non conoscevi questo trucco: clicchi su qualsiasi parola sconosciuta, o su una parola che non riconosci, e puoi subito conoscerne il significato nella tua lingua, perché si apre il dizionario. O forse te l’aveva detto un conoscente, e sei stato riconoscente. Tu ti conosci meglio di chiunque altro, e quindi saprai tu se vuoi vedere i sottotitoli o no. Tutti gli utenti Yabla conoscono questo trucco. E a proposito, come hai conosciuto Yabla? C’è qualcuno che te l’ha fatto conoscere, o l’hai conosciuto per caso? A che livello è la tua conoscenza o a che livello sono le tue conoscenze dell’italiano? È vero che noi non ci conosciamo, ma per convenzione, ci diamo del tu.
Before sneaking a peek at the English translation, see how much you understand of the Italian!
If, up until now, you were not aware of the Yabla system, you probably weren’t familiar with this trick: click on any unknown word, or on a word you don’t recognize, and you can immediately find out (get acquainted with) the meaning of it in your language because a dictionary opens up. Or maybe an acquaintance had already told you that and you were grateful. You know yourself better than anyone, so you must know if you want to see the captions or not. All Yabla users know this trick. And by the way, how did you learn about Yabla? Was there someone who introduced you to it, or did you know about it already? What’s your level of knowledge in Italian? It’s true that we don’t know each other, but by convention we use the familiar form of address.
E se non basta (and if that’s not enough), here are two more links for you: sapere and conoscere and How to Use the Italian Verbs Sapere and Conoscere
Italy is known for its three-course lunches and dinners, but in most cities and towns, there’ll be a more casual type of place where you can get take out, eat at a little table, or mangiare in piedi (eat standing up).
Pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) is very popular all over Italy, especially in Rome. As Anna explains, prices vary according to size and what’s on the pizza.
Tu scegli il pezzo di pizza, viene pesato,
You choose the piece of pizza, it's weighed,
a seconda del tipo di pizza, ha un prezzo diverso al chilo,
depending on the kind of pizza, it has a varying price per kilo,
e paghi a seconda della grandezza e del peso
and you pay depending on the size and the weight
di pizza che hai scelto.
of the pizza you've chosen.
Captions 79-81, Anna e Marika - Pizza al taglio romana
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You can certainly find pizza al taglio in Tuscany, but in addition, and baked in the same oven, you’ll often see la cecina, made from farina di ceci (chickpea flour). Learn more here. Liguria and Tuscany, as well as Puglia have focaccia, in some areas called schiacciata, which is made with flour, water, oil and yeast, like pizza, and often takes the place of bread. You’ll find it in bakeries, bars, and pizzerie. As a quick snack, Romagna has the piadina, a flat bread made with lard rather than olive oil, which gets filled with cured meats or cheese. Learn more here.
A way for people to get together socially, without having to spend lots of money on dinner, is to have drinks before they go home for dinner: fare or prendere l’aperitivo (to have an aperitif). As we’ll see, aperitivo has different sfumature (shades of meaning).
Prima di andare a cena, quindi verso le sei o le sette,
Before going to have dinner, so, around six or seven o'clock,
gli italiani fanno un aperitivo.
Italians have cocktails.
Captions 1-2, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'aperitivo
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Adriano, in describing his day, includes an aperitivo, at least on the weekend.
Mi rilasso e mi sfogo con gli amici dopo una lunga giornata di lavoro.
I relax and I let off steam with my friends after a long day of work.
Mi concedo qualche aperitivo e poi anche qualche cocktail alcolico.
I allow myself some aperitifs and then also some cocktails.
Captions 48-51, Adriano - Giornata
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It’s pretty clear that Adriano considers aperitivo in its broader sense, and he uses qualche aperitivo here to mean a few appetizers. For an explanation of how to use qualche, see this previous lesson. For the drink itself, Adriano uses "cocktail.” As with most English words integrated into the Italian language, "cocktail" will remain in the singular no matter how many he has.
While the aperitivo, usually served with patatine (potato chips) or olive (olives), is an established ritual in most parts of Italy, one of the latest trends is the apericena. If you combine aperitivo (drinks) with cena (dinner), you get apericena. What is it? It’s drinks and appetizers, both savory and sweet, that are varied and abundant enough to replace dinner, served buffet style. The apericena exists both in bars about town, offering an alternative to a costly tab in a restaurant, and in homes, making for a relatively low-budget, flexible, and fashionable alternative to a sit-down dinner. It encourages mingling, conversation, and allows for guests to just stop by. These light buffet dinners are becoming more and more popular all over Italy.
All over the world there's a tendency to take foreign words and knowingly or unknowingly give them a meaning different from the original. So, be aware that in bars, the apericena or the aperitivo (depending on how much there is to eat) is sometimes called a “happy hour,” which in Italy is not about discounts on drinks as in the United States, but rather having drinks accompanied by a small buffet of stuzzichini (appetizers) for a fixed, though variable, price. The word for “toothpick” in Italian is stuzzicadenti. Little bite-size appetizers are often served with toothpicks, thus the term stuzzichini. If you travel to Venice, you'll want to check out the Venetian version of stuzzichini: cicchetti.
Learn more here. This is an important tip, given that it’s quite a challenge finding good food at reasonable prices in Venezia.
Buon appetito!
In a previous lesson we talked about beccare which in colloquial speech is often used in place of prendere (to take, to catch, to get, to have): For instances of prendere see this lesson as well as Yabla videos. But let’s focus on a variation of prendere: riprendere (to take up again, to retake, to take back, to film). The same word, meaning two very different things, appears at a distance of just a few lines in the same video.
Ti dispiace se oggi riprendo la nostra seduta?
Do you mind if I film our session today?
-No, mi va bene.
-No, it's OK with me.
-Allora, sei a tuo agio?
-So, are you at ease?
-Sì. Riprendiamo da dove eravamo rimasti l'ultima volta.
-Yes. -Let's take up where we left off last time.
Captions 1-5, Fabri Fibra - In Italia ft. Gianna Nannini
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In the first instance we’re talking about filming or shooting: riprendere. It’s also common to use the noun form of riprendere: ripresa. Fare una ripresa is “to make a video/film recording” or “to shoot.” So una ripresa is “a shot.” And you might easily jump to the conclusion that “to take a picture” in Italian would be prendere una foto. But no! Sbagliato (wrong)! We have to say fare una foto (to make a picture).
In card playing, prendere is “to draw,” so riprendere in this context means “to draw again!” or “to take again.”
Ora riprendiamo le carte. -Esatto, la riprendo io,
Now we draw cards again. -Exactly, I draw another,
perché sono stata l'ultima, -Bene. -che ha preso.
because I was the last one, -Good. -who took [the cards].
Captions 32-33, Daniela e Francesa - Briscola - Regole del gioco
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If you’re having a second helping, you might say:
Riprendo un po’ di pasta.
I’ll have a second helping of pasta.
To end on a melancholy note, here’s Alice singing to her (ex) boyfriend, who is quite preso da (taken by) another woman, Elisa.
Lei ti lascia e ti riprende come e quando vuole lei
She leaves you and takes you back however and whenever she wants
Caption 13, Alice - Per Elisa
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The simple, clear, and easy-to-relate-to lyrics may not be exactly uplifting, but this ripresa video of a live performance vi prenderà (will get to you).
Just as “get” in English serves many purposes, and has many shades of meaning, there are words in Italian that work in a similar way. One of these is beccare. It comes from becco (beak) and means “to peck,” but it’s used in colloquial speech to mean “to take,” “to catch,” or “to get.” It’s often used reflexively (for more on reflexives, see this lesson), and that’s how Manara uses it as he questions an uncooperative witness:
Se non vuoi beccarti un'incriminazione per complicità in omicidio...
If you don't want to get yourself an indictment for complicity in murder...
Caption 24, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi
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Here’s one more example from a Yabla video:
I fotografi! -C'hanno beccato!
The photographers! -They've caught us!
Captions 3-4, Trailer - Paparazzi
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If you get caught doing something you shouldn’t, that’s when you say mi hanno beccato (they caught me)! You might use beccare if you get caught in the rain without an umbrella: mi sono beccato [or beccata] un raffreddore (I caught a cold), or if after dialing someone’s number many times, they finally answer: finalmente t’ho beccato (I finally got you)!
It's not always easy to know when using beccare would be appropriate, but by listening for it and repeating it to yourself when you hear it, little by little you'll find it on the tip of your tongue at just the right moment. More meanings and examples can be found here.
When you arrive in a new country, one of the first challenges is to find your way around. Asking directions is one thing. Understanding them is another!
A destra (to the right) and a sinistra (to the left) are pretty basic, but when someone starts saying in fondo (at the end, in the end, at the bottom), there may be some confusion as to exactly what’s meant.
Fondo has to do with distance and depth. Let’s first look at its literal, physical meaning.
Ha bisogno di qualcosa?
Do you need anything?
Sì, sì, un bagno.
Yes, yes, a bathroom.
È in fondo a destra. -Scusi.
It's at the end of the hall, to the right. -Excuse me.
Captions 40-42, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi
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The above is a very typical answer to the question, “Where is the restroom?”
In fondo may indicate the furthest point (at the end) or the lowest point, as in in fondo alle scale (at the bottom of the stairs). If you’re late for a movie, you will probably sit in fondo (at the back).
Fondo often has to do with long distance, as in sci di fondo (cross-country skiing). A long-distance bicycle race will be il gran fondo. Note that the word profondo (deep) contains the root fondo! A very low bass singer will be a basso profondo.
Ed ecco davanti a noi, nel blu profondo,
And here, in front of us, in the deep blue,
una forma scura come quella di un grosso pesce adagiato sul fondo.
a dark form shaped like a big fish lying on the bottom.
Captions 38-39, Linea Blu - Sicilia
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Italians often use piatti fondi (soup plates) for eating pasta or brodo (broth). They’re deep enough to hold liquids.
Note that fondo is used both as a noun and as an adjective! Un fondo can be a fund, it can be a storage area, it can be a backdrop or background. It can be a piece of land. In makeup, fondotinta is your makeup base or foundation.
Turning now to concepts rather than physical things, fondo, preceded by the preposition a (to, at, in), takes on the idea of “in depth,” or “thorough.”
In bagno, è molto importante pulire a fondo.
In the bathroom it's very important to clean thoroughly.
Caption 34, Marika spiega - Le pulizie di primavera
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If you think about getting “to the bottom” of things, a fondo makes sense.
If you want to go all the way, vai fino in fondo (you go all the way), both literally and figuratively.
In fondo is used to mean “in the end,” or “after all is said and done,” or “deep down.”
Per questo preferisco i gatti.
That's why I prefer cats.
E poi, i gatti in fondo hanno sempre sette vite.
And then, after all, they always have seven lives.
Captions 30-31, Escursione - Un picnic in campagna
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Then there’s a popular expression in fondo in fondo (deep down) used primarily in talking about people:
Insomma, sai che ti dico, zia?
All in all, you know what I have to say, Aunt?
Che come commissario, in fondo in fondo, non è poi così male...
That as a commissioner, deep down, he's not really so bad...
Captions 11-12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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It wouldn’t hurt to approfondire (to go into things more thoroughly, more deeply) a bit regarding the word fondo. There are plenty of examples in Yabla videos, and there are plenty of examples on WordReference.com. Remember that context is key! In fondo in fondo, è una parola molto utile! (All in all, it’s a very useful word!)
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