It’s that time of year again! Valentine’s Day is here. If you’re single and on the lookout for a new love, it may come in handy to learn some Italian dating expressions.
Here are four common ones:
1) Un colpo di fulmine
Translation: Literally, this means ‘a bolt of lightning’. Although, when used in relation to love it means ‘love at first sight’.
Example: Tra noi è stato un colpo di fulmine – It was love at first sight for us.
2) Rimorchiare qualcuno
Translation: The verb ‘rimorchiare’ is often used to mean ‘to tow’. But when it’s used when talking about dating, it means ‘to pick up’.
Example: Mi fai vedere come rimorchiare in discoteca? – Can you show me how to pick someone up in a club?
3) Fare il bidone
Translation: This means ‘to be a bin’ when translated literally, but the real meaning is ‘to stand someone up’. It could also mean ‘to let someone down’ or ‘to not show up to an appointment’.
Example: Ti sto aspettando. Mica mi stai facendo il bidone? – I’m waiting for you. You’re not standing me up, are you?
4) Prendere un palo
Translation: When used to talk about football, the meaning is to hit the goalpost and therefore to miss out on scoring a goal. In a romantic sense, it refers to being rejected. You would use this if you made your move on someone, but you failed. It could be translated as ‘to crash and burn’.
Example: Giovanni ha preso proprio un palo da Caterina – Giovanni crashed and burned with Caterina / Giovanni was seriously rejected by Caterina
I hope these dating expressions help you out this Valentine’s Day. Buon san valentino!
