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Italian for travellers: Podcast #3, Public transportation
LearnsomebasicItalianlanguage aboutpublictransportationandlistentothepodcast. TravelingbytrainorbusinItaly,willgiveyouanexcellentchancetocommunicatewithpeople,enjoyingthefantasticlandscape,andlearnmanythingsaboutthecountry.Italianslovetotalkwithstrangers,especiallyforeigners,andwillgiveyousometipsandusefulinformationaboutyourdestination. Allacciatelecinture,siparte.Fastenyourseatbelts… ThefollowingpodcastIsfree.Ifyouareamemberyoucanreadandlistentothepremiumpodcastatthebottomofthispost. Loginnowandrefreshthispage. Inbiglietteria-Trains Nothingexotichere…TrainstationsinItalyusuallyhaveaticketcounter(biglietteria)withanoperator(bigliettaio)whocangiveyouinformation(informazioni)aboutyourtrain(iltreno),timetables(orari)theconnection(lacoincidenza).Youcanaskthetimeofdeparture(acheoraparte?)arrival(acheoraarriva?),thedurationofthetrip(quantocimetteiltreno?). Sometimesthetrainislate(iltrenoèinritardo),orthere’sastrike(c’èunosciopero).Loudspeakersatthestationwilltellyouhowlateyourtrainis(“iltrenoperRomaèinritardodi5minuti”),theplatform(ilbinario),ifthetrainisarriving(iltrenoèinarrivo)ordeparting(inpartenza).InformationinlargestationsisbilingualbutlivemessagesfromthestationmasterareusuallyonlyinItalian. Theticket(ilbiglietto)canbeoneway(disolaandata)orroundtrip(andataeritorno).Remembertovalidatetheticket(convalidareilbiglietto)usingtheyellowmachinesonyourplatform.Youcangetafine(prendereunamulta)ifyouforgettodoso.Youmayneedtodoareservation(unaprenotazione)orpayarapidservicefee(supplementorapido)ontopofyourprice. Prettymuchalltrainstationshaveanautomaticticketmachine(biglietteriaautomatica)andyoucanpaywithcash(contanti)oracard(carta).Itisnotunusualtofinditoutoforder(guasta). Biglietteria Bigliettaio Informazioni Treno Orario Coincidenza Acheoraparte? Acheoraarriva? Quantocimetteiltreno? Iltrenoèinritardo C’èunosciopero IltrenoperRomaèinritardodi5minuti Ilbinario Iltrenoèinarrivo Iltrenoèinpartenza …
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Italian course for beginners: Time, Days, Months – PODCAST #16
Learntotalkabouttime,days,monthsinItalian.Listentothepodcast. Cheoresono?Chegiornoè? Iltempo istheItalianwordfortimeandweather.Todaywe’lltalkabouttime:hours,months,daysetc.Wewill introducebasicvocabularyandgiveyousomereal languagetoolswithourpodcast. Igiorni-Days GiornoistheItalianwordfordayanddaytime.SomeItaliandaysarenamedaftertheplanetsfollowingtheGreek/Romantradition:Luna(Moon)Marte(Mars)Mercurio(Mercury)Giove(Jupiter)Venere(Venus). Sabato,Saturday,comesfromtheJewishShabbat andDomenica(DiesDominicus)istheLatinfor”dayoftheLord”.InItalythefirstdayoftheweekislunedìandthenameofthedaysstartwithasmallletter(unlessofcoursetheyareatthebeginningofasentence).Theworddì isanobsoleteversionofgiornobutit’sstillvisibleattheendofthenameofdaysassuffix. Imesi-Months Nothingexotichere.Justmemorize,listenandrepeat. Leore-Hours Cheoresono?-Cheoraè?—>Whattimeisit?Thequestioncanbedoneusingboththesingularorpluralformoftheverboessere (tobe).Theansweris SONOLE… (lit.theyare…)oreeminuti (hourandminutes)e.g.4:32–>Sonolequattroetrentadue È… (lititis) Mezzogiorno (noon) Mezzanotte (midnight)and l’una (one-andnot uno)aresingular: 13.32èl’unaetrentadue;12:25èmezzogiornoeventicinque Otherusefulwordsare …e unquarto (aquarterpast) …e mezzaor…emezzo(halfpast) …menounquarto (aquarterto). Whentheminutesaremorethan30,wecanusethe…meno# rule.Soforexample: 14:40sonoletremenoventi– 12:45 èl’unamenounquarto– 17:55 sonoleseimenocinque- Menomeans”minus”.Itmakessense,doesn’tit?Pleaselistentothefollowingpodcastformoreexamples.Trytoanticipatetheanswers.BeforestartingtolearnthehoursyoumaywanttobrushupthenumbersinItalian. Lets’spractice! Q&A’s -DOMANDEERISPOSTE DOMANDE …
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Bomba d’acqua! Italian media and new words.
Italian media and social networks are changing our language very rapidly. Here’s a small collection of “neologismi”, new words that are now of common …
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Sapere VS Conoscere, two Italian verbs “to know” – PODCAST
TherearetwoimportantItalianverbsEnglishspeakerstendtoconfuse:”Sapere”and”Conoscere”.TheybothtranslateintoEnglishas”toknow”.Podcast. Inapreviouspost,aboutsome Italianverbsthatmystudentstendtomistake,Idedicatedafewwordsto sapereVSconoscere.Ithinkthetopicdeservessomemoreattention.Theconfusionisquitenormal,becausebothverbsapparentlytranslateinto”toknow”.Let’sfirstseeandlistentotheirconjugations. ConoscereisaplainregularverbandSapereisirregular,butthedifferencesarenotonlyapparent.Althoughtheyseemtobeequivalent,inmanycasestheyarenotinterchangeableatall.Sometimes,theycanreplaceoneanotherbutgivethesentence adifferentperspective. Agoodruleofthumbforunderstandingthedifferent”depthofknowledge”,wecancomparethesetwoverbsto”tosee”and”towatch”,(orvedereandguardareinItalian)respectively,sapereandconoscere.Icanseesomethingbutitdoesn’tmeanIwatchedit.Possosapereunacosamanonèdettochelaconosca! CONOSCERE Wecanuseconoscere tosaythatweknowtheexistenceordetailsofthings,tobeacquaintedorfamiliarwithsomebodyorsomething. ConoscoAndrea,èsimpatico. ConosciunbuonristoranteaMilano?Iononne conosco. Nonconoscoleregoledelbaseball SAPERE Saperemeanstobeawareofsomething,cometoknow,knowfacts(butnotnecessarilytheirdetails).Ontopofthis,sapereisamodalverb,andmeans “tobeableto”dosomething,soitsupportsaninfinitiveverb.”soguidarelamacchina”Icandriveacar,Iamcapableofdoingit. HosaputocheMarioviveinAmerica. Saidovesonolechiavi?Nonloso! Hosaputochetisposi,auguri! Ifoundanicesentence inwordreference.Tantisannol’italianomanontutti loconoscono.ManypeoplearefamiliarwiththeItalianlanguagebutnotasmany knowit.IhavethesameproblemwithEnglishsometimes,soanycorrectionisappreciated.Allaprossima!
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Fare una cazzata, combinarla grossa
Fareunacazzata meansmakingamistakeinItalianslang.Therearemorefunwordstosaythat.Listentotheaudio Badwordsarepartofourlanguageandyoushouldknowsomeofthem.Youwillfindafew inthispost,buttheyareharmlessandprettycommon. Then,itisyourdecisiontousethemornot.IjustwanttoteachyousomeusefulItalianeverydaylanguage.Ifyoudon’tlikesoftbadwords,stopreadinghere. Todaywetalkabout”makingmistakesandsayingthatinItalian”.Youcanuse differentcommonsentences,dependingonthepersonyouaretalkingto.Forexample,fareunacazzata,averysoftbadword,isnotreallyrecommendedifyouareconfessing yourmisfortunesto aperfectstranger.Youcanuseapronominalverb andsay,L’hocombinatagrossa!,andgive anaturaltouchtoyourspokenItalian. Let’slistentosomeexamples Hofattounacazzata Thewordcazzatacouldmean:”nobigdeal”,nontipreoccupareèunacazzata; “Bullshit”, Mariodicesolocazzate; butalso”bigmistake”,likeintheexampleabove.Cazzataisa softbadword,verycommon,sosoonerorlateryouwillhearthatinItaly.Ifyouareanintermediate(andabove)learnerandhaveItalianfriends,cazzatawillbecomepartofyourvocabulary. TheSicilianword minchiataisidentical inmeaning,commoninthewholecountry butitsoundsmuchmorevulgar,atleasttome. L’hocombinatagrossa Literally”Ihaveputtogetherabigone”,bigtrouble,abigthing,unacosagrossa,hencethefemininedeclination.YoucouldsayL’hofattagrossa.Weliketousethetheverbcombinareinsteadofsimplyfare fordescribingmistakes. Combinareunguaio, causingalotoftrouble,iscommontoo.Hocombinatounguaio! Chemacello! Whatamess!Macello literallymeansslaughterhouse.Bloodyandmessy… Hofattouncasino Casinoisanotherofthoseflexiblewordsyoucanusetodescribe”amess”.Theoriginal meaningis “brothel”butnobodythinksaboutthatwhenwesaycasino.Itmeans”mess”butalso”loudnoise”.Wecanusecasinotosay “alot”:mipiaceuncasino Ilikeitalot!Morevulgarbutalsomoreeffective,is bordello. Nowpeopleknowthatwearetalkingaboutabrothel!YoungItaliansuseitveryfrequently.Chebordello! Whatamess!PleasenotethatCasino,forgambling,inItalianisCasinò.WeusetheFrenchword. Chepasticcio! Soundslikepasta!IfyougotoVeneziaandaskforpasitccio,thewaiterwillgetyouasortoflasagnawithmanyingredients.Thereareplentyof localItaliandishescalledpasticcioandthey areallpreparedwithallsortsof different ingredients,sometimesleftovers,togetherwithsomeeggsorcheesetoformanewdish.Pasticcioisthereforesomethinguneven,messy,andcanmean”trouble”,somethingdifficulttosolve.IfyouwanttoavoidbadorstrongwordsorwanttoteachyourkidssomethingfuninItalian,thisisoneisforyou. Thanksforreadingandlistening.Allaprossima!
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Cacchio, Vaffambagno, Cavolo! Italian soft swearing – PODCAST
Badwords, “Parolacce”are usedandabusedinItaly.Forthisreason,somepeopleprefermildexpressions,whichsoundlikebadwordsbutarenot.LearnItalian”non-swear”words withourpodcast. “Parolacce”areamongthefirstwordsforeignerslearnwhentheycometoItaly.Theyarefun,verycommonandmostimportant,theybreaktherulesofpolitecommunications,stuff theyteachyouatschool,sotheyareveryintriguing. ButifyouareheretolearnnewItalianbadwords,youwillprobablybe disappointed.Justgooglethemandyouwillfindplentyofresourcestofulfillyourcuriosity.I will teachyousomeItalian”pseudo-cursing”,euphemisms(eufemismi)likethe Englishdarn,freaking,shootetcthatItalianpeoplesayinsteadofnormalparolacce. Listentothepodcastandlearnsomemanners! Checacchiovuoi? InItalianthere’saCword,probablythemostused”parolaccia”.EvenifyouareabeginnerinItalian,youknowwhatI’mtalkingabout,sodon’tpretendyoudon’tknow!Therearecountlesswordstonameitandcacchioisanalmost”cleanversion” ofthose.”Checacchiovuoi”hasaboutthesamemeaningof”whattheheck doyouwant?”. Non hocapitouncavolo Itreplacesthesamebadwordasabove.Cavolo(lit.cabbage)isatotallyharmlessversionofcacchio,whichinstead retainsalittledose ofcursing.Itissolightthatchildrenactuallysaythat.Itisverycommon,soyoucansafelyuseitandgiveaninformaltouchtoyourItalianspeech. “Vaffambagno!”or”Vaiafartiungiro” Again,iosochetusai!IknowthatyouknowtheItalian”vaffa…”wordanditsmeaning.Ifyoudon’t,lookitupongoogle.Therootoftheword,vaffa…isactuallyquiteclean.It’sthecontractionofvaiafare lit”goanddo”,or”goandmake”.Vaffambagnomeans”goandtakeabath”.Itdoesn’tgetcleanerthan this…Vaiafartiungiro literallymeans”goandtakeawalk”,muchhealthierthangoand…dosomethingelse.Youcanreadanotherpost+podcastontheuseoftheverbfarsiinconversationalItalian. Accidenti,hopersolechiavi! Quiteunderstandable.Ilostmykeys!Thisisnotareplacementofanybadword,it’sjutsasoftexclamation.Simpleandelegant,notvulgar.Usit! Porcamiseria! Okay,theword”porca”(comingfromporco,pork)maynotbeveryelegant,butit’snotsodirtyeither.WeuseitalotinspokenItalian.Whatmakesitabadwordiswhatcomesafter”porco”or”porca”.Porcamiseria soundslike”Damnedmisery”.That’sthebasic,acceptablesoftcursingthatgoesalongwith”porca”.Inmostcases,Italianssayporca+verybadwords anditcanescalatequitedramaticallyintosomethingyouhaveneverheardinyourlife. Mannaggia! Verymild expression, absolutelyclean.It’sactuallycleanerthantheequivalentEnglishGosh!Thiswordcomes fromoldSouthernItaliandialects:”maln’aggia”,roughly”Mayyoubedamned”.Nowadaysnobodyisreallyawareof theoriginal meaningofthisinteriezione.WealsosayMannaggiaame(tome),ate(toyou),aluiandsoon… Cribbio! I’mabigfanofAmericanmoviesandIdon’tpaymuchattentionto profanities.TherearebadwordsonItalianTVtoo.Nonetheless,Ifellvery uneasy whenIhearthenameofJesus followedbyanumberofbadwords.SomeItaliansdoswearalotagainstgod,butmostpeopledon’t.Andyouwon’thearany”bestemmia”(blasphemy)onTV.Theclosestsafeword,whichhasalmostnothingtodowithCristo isCribbio, asortofholycow! Caspita! Orcaspiterina simplymeans wow!It’saCA…wordlikecavoloandcacchio,buttotallyinoffensive. Somestudentsassume thatItalianscursealotandit’scool,orentertaining,ifaforeignerdid too.It’soktoplacesomebadwordshereandthere,but Ithinkit’susefultoknoweuphemisms and usetherealdeal onlywhenyoureallyneedit… Thanksforlistening!Allaprossima.
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Italian Double Negatives: The Rule of Non + Niente, Nessuno, Mai
Italian double negatives made simple. The non-preverbal rule with niente, nessuno, mai, nulla, neanche, nemmeno, né, mica. Dialog at Roma Termini, cheat sheet, FAQ.
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Some common Italian verbs English speakers mistake
There are some Italian verbs English speakers often mistake when they start learning Italian. Most of my students learned them right and so should you. …
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