Language Tip of the Week

If something is stressing you out in Italy, you could say you don’t care or, more colloquially, you don’t give a damn. In Italian this would be: Non mi…

If you are askedLe dà fastidio?the person is not asking you if you are fastidious! The word fastidio means “irritation”or “bother” so the expression means “…

A novella is not a novel in Italian. It is a short story.A romanzo is not a romance, but a novel.So what do you call a book whose theme is a love story?…

Here are two words which sometimes cause confusion:Diretto means “direct” and a treno diretto is a through train. A volo diretto is a direct flight.Diritto…

Così means “in this way” or “like this”.So the opera title “Così fan tutte” means “All [women] act like this”.If you are buying things in a shop and the…

Here is a very useful word that you can add to your Italian vocabulary:AddiritturaIt has a literal meaning of “straight” in the sense of “directly”.E andato…

Words by Pat Eggleton In Italian we use the comma - which is a virgola, not a comma! – to indicate the decimal point. So we write 1,5 instead of 1.5 and we…

Words by Pat EggletonOn the day when Italians remember their departed loved ones, here is what to say when someone dies.The expression you need to use…

In this photo: Musei Capitolini (Roma), Palazzo NuovoWords by Pat EggletonThe next time you arrive at an Italian museum or office and find them closing up ten…

Words by Pat Eggleton - Pictures by Pasquale SorrentinoConfusione does mean disorder or confusion but it is also used for “crowded” :C’é molta confusione –…