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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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“Non ho fatto niente!” Italian double negatives. Audio.
YesterdayIwatchedamoviewithJasonStathamanditmademethinkaboutItaliandoublenegatives.IsItalyacountryinneedofgoodgrammar? ThemovieiscalledCHAOS,Jasonisabadcopandhe’sextortingaconfession.Youcanseethescreenshots here: Girl: Ididn’tdonothing! Jason: It’sIdidn’tdoanything.”Didn’tdonothing”isadoublenegative,infersthepositive.Thegrammarinthiscountryisterrible. Thisfilm isnotamasterpiece,butthe linewasbrilliant. Ithoughtaboutthestructureofthesentence”Ididn’tdonothing”,wronginEnglishbutrightinItalian(nonhofattoniente),andaboutallthestudentswho pointedthatoutduringmylessons.Isn’tthatadoublenegative?WhyItaliansusesentenceslike”nonc’ènessuno”and”nonhomangiatoniente”? Theassumptionthatadoublenegationautomatically”infersthepositive”belongstomathematicsandlogic,nottolanguage.”Ididn’tsayIdon’tloveyou”doesn’tmean”IsaidIloveyou”. ButthequestionhereiswhyinItalianweusetheredundantNONinthesamesentencewithNESSUNO,MAI,NIENTE,NULLA(nobody,never,nothing),which alreadyarenegations.TheanswerisbecauseinvulgarLatin,becomingmodernItalian,wealreadyhaddoublenegatives asnegativesentences. Theansweristherefore”because”. Ifyouareparticularlyfastidiousaboutgrammar,wecanliquidatethemattersayingthattheadverbNONis”pleonastic”.Forsimplepeoplelikeme,itmeansthatNONinsentenceslikenonhofattonienteisjustanadditiontoreinforcethenegation.Becarefulthough.Itdoesn’tmeanyoucansayhofattoniente tosayIdidnothing. WemustaddNONtobuildacorrectsentenceinItalian. Someexamples.Trytotranslatethefollowingsentences: Hofame.Nonhomangiatoniente. Lucaècadutomanonsièfattoniente. Hotelefonatoacasamanonharispostonessuno Nonavetemaimangiatoilsushi? Nonsentonulla,alzailvolumedellativùperfavore. Senonstudimai,nonimparerainiente. Thelastone isadouble-doublenegative,butit’sperfectlycorrect.Thankgod,Jason,grammarinthiscountryisjustfine. IhopethisshortlessonaboutItaliandoublenegativeswashelpful.Apresto!
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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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What they don’t teach you #4: Figurati, figuariamoci, che figura! PODCAST
IfyouopenyourItaliandictionaryandchecktheverbs“figurarsi”and“fareunafigura”youwillseetheybothhavedifferentmeanings.LearnhowweusethosewordsinconversationalItalian.ListentothePodcast. Recently,astudentaskedmethedifferencebetween“figurati”“figuriamoci”,and“fareunafigura”,allverycommonexpressions.Perhapsyouheardtheidiom “chefigura!”.Let’s”figure”outwhattheymean. *SpecialthankstoMariko,ourJapanesefriend,forrecordingpartofthispodcast. FiguratiandFiguriamoci. Tiringrazioperiltuoaiuto. Figurati!Nonc’èdiche. It’spronouncedfigùratianditliterallymeans“imaginethat,picturethat”.Ifyoureadorhearitaftera”grazie”,itsimplymeans“youareverywelcome,don’tmentionit”.AnotherinterestingwaytosayyouarewelcomeinItalianisnonc’èdiche,literally,there’snothingtobe(thankful)about.Butagain,justlikewelcomeinEnglish,whenwesaythatwedon’tthinkabouttheactual,literalmeaning.It’sjustaninteriezione,anautomaticanswer. Laringrazioperilsuoaiuto Sifiguri! Thisisthepoliteversionoftheinformalthankyou-welcomeformulaabove.YouaregoingtochangeFiguratiinSifiguriwhenyousayyou“arewelcome”toastranger,usingtheformalLei. Mariotihatelefonato? Figurati!(Figuriamoci!) That’syetanothermeaningoffiguratiandfiguriamoci.OfcourseMariodidn’tcallme,“youcanpicturethat”,weknowhowheis,figurati!Inthiscase,itwillalwaysmean“ofcoursenot,don’tevenmentionthat”,youknowtheanswer. WecanusethepluralFiguriamoci(noi-we)withthesamemeaning,butwithanimpersonaltone.Figuriamociseilcapomidaràunaumento,mybosswillnevergivemeasalaryincrease,wealreadyknowthat,don’twe? Asubstantial differencebetweenFiguratiandFiguriamociisthatwedon’tusuallysaythelattertomean“youarewelcome”. Nonmipiacemoltoilpesce,figuriamociquellocrudo. Idon’tlikefishthatmuch,letalonewhenraw.FiguratiandFiguriamocicanalsoreinforceapreviousstatement,likeinEnglish“letalone…”.Anotherexample:Nonhotempoperleggereilgiornale,figuriamociunlibro! ComealsolitoStefanononsièricordatodelnostroanniversario,figurati. Stefanoforgotaboutouranniversary,“tellmeaboutit!”That’sexactlywhatFiguratiorFiguriamocimeaninthiscase.Firenzeinestateèpienadituristicomealsolito,figuriamoci!TellmesomethingIdon’tknow. Ifyouhaveachance,trytousefiguratiandfiguriamoci.YourspokenItalianwillsoundmorenatural.Next,wearegoingtoexplain”fareunafigura” Fareunabrutta/bellafigura Chefigura! That’skindoftoughtotranslateinEnglish.Ifwegofor“tomakeabadimpression”wemaythinkof someone whodidn’timpresspositivelyotherpeople,forsomereason. Chefigura!isdifferent,itreferstoanembarrassingevent,asingleepisode.Mentreparlavoavevolacernieraaperta,chefigura!whenIwastalkingtheflyofmypantswasopen,Chefigura!InItalian,weadd thesuffix–acciato giveanegativemeaningtoalmosteveryword.Chefiguraccia!whatanembarrassment! Che(brutta)figura! …
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5 “consigli” for learning Italian
Learning Italian requires hard work and some necessary mistakes. Follow 5 simple tips, or “consigli” as we call them in Italian, for keeping yourself motivated and ready to …
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What they don’t teach you #3 – “Il sole” the sun – PODCAST
Thisisthethirdpostabout Italianidioms younormallywon’tlearnatschool.Todaywetalkabout”ilsole”,thesun.Listentothepodcast. Unfortunately,Summer2014hereinItaly hasn’tbeen verysunny,butmycountry is”opaesedosole“thecountryofthesun.Forthisreason,therearemanyItalianidiomsrelatedtothesunandtheeffectsithasonourdailylife.Asusual,Iwon’ttranslatetheexamplesandthepodcast.Trytodoityourself. Cominciamo? ilsolebaciaibrutti… …perchéibellilibacianotutti.Apparently,thesunkissesuglypeoplebecausetheprettyonesget alreadyplentyofkisses.Somepeoplesay”ilsolebaciaibelli”,meaningthatgettingtannedmakesyoubeautiful.Insummertime,”inestate”,everyonelooks moreattractive.Howaboutyou? ilsolebaciaibruttiperchéibellilibacianotutti allalucedelsole Doingsomething”allalucedelsole”,underthesunlight,meanstobetransparent,togetthingsdoneaboveboard.Thisidiomisusedif wetalkaboutbusinessbut alsowhensomeone expressesopenlyideasor opinions. vogliochetuttosifacciaallalucedelsole …comenevealsole Melt likesnowunderthesun.Weuseittodescribesomethingdisappearingveryswiftly:wealth,doubts,secrets,feelingsandsoon. labugiadiStefanosièscioltacomenevealsole dovenonbatteilsole Thisoneisquitefunny.Italiansusethisidiominsteadof sayingdirectlythenameof somebodyparts.Yes,rightthere,where thesunlightisofflimits. vorreidargliuncalciopropriolì,dovenonbatteilsole! unsolechespaccalepietre Whenthesunissohotandstrongthatbreaksstones.It’snotunusualtohearthisidiominsummertime,frompeopleorevenonTV. Ogginonescodicasa.C’èunsolechespaccalepietre nientedinuovosottoilsole ThisoneisavailablealsoinEnglish.Nothingnewunderthesun.ItcomesfromtheBible, Ecclesiastes. Justasidenote:itisamazingtoseehowLatinandItalianlookalike: Nihilnovisubsole, or Nihilsubsolenovum istheLatinversionoftheidiom. Stannotuttibenecomealsolito.Nientedinuovosottoilsole. bellocomeilsole Beautifulandshinylikethesun.InItalianwealsosay”unapersonasolare”literally”asunnyperson”whensomeoneishappyandpositive.Theoppositeislunatico, butbecareful,thisisatypicalfalsefriend.LunaticoinItalianmeansmoodyandnotLunatic. Mariaèdavverounaragazzasplendida.èbellacomeilsole! …
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Italian verb piacere and a bunch of pronouns – PODCAST
“Mipiace”iswhatyoucanreadontheItalianfacebook”like”button,butitdoesn’ttranslateintoastraight”Ilikeit”.LearntheItalianverbpiacere andothersimilarverbs.Listentothepodcast. Mipiace,isoneofthefirstthingsyoulearninItalian.Andasithappensveryoften,whenyoustarttolearnaforeignlanguage,youjustmemorizesentencesbefore gettingintodetailsandstructures.Nowit’stimetohaveasecondlook.Let’sthinkaboutthissimplesentence: Mipiaceilgelato=(Ilgelatopiaceame) NativeEnglishspeakerstranslateitinto”Ilikeice-cream”,andthemeaningisjustright.Butifyoureaditcarefully,theItaliansentenceisactually”ice-creamispleasingtome”,whereGelato isinfactthesubject,andnot Mi,whichinsteadisanindirectpronoun. ThestructureinEnglishis”AlikesB” ThestructureinItalianis”ToA,Bispleasing” …where”toA” isanindirectpronounand”B”istherealsubject. Difficult?No,justdifferent.Let’sfirstdefinealltheItalianindirectpronouns: tome->ame ->MI toyou ->ate ->TI tohim ->alui ->GLI toher ->alei ->LE tous ->anoi ->CI toyou ->avoi ->VI tothem ->aloro ->GLI InItalian,conjugationschangewiththesubject.ItbecomesmoreclearthatBistherealsubjectwithpluralnouns.SoifIsay”Ilikespaghetti”, piacere changesbecausethesubjectspaghetti(loro-they)isplural: Mipiaccionogli spaghetti=(glispaghettipiaccionoame) WeusetheItalianverbpiacere verymuchincombinationwithinfinitiveverbs,whenwelikeanaction, exactly as youdoinEnglishwiththegerund.Ifiwanttosay “Ilikeswimming“inItalian… Mipiace nuotare Swimmingispleasingtome.IfIwanttosaythatswimming”ispleasingtoyou”Igo”tipiacenuotare”,ispleasingtohim”glipiacenuotare”,ispleasingtous,”cipiacenuotare”andsoon.Ifyouthoughtthatthelatterperhapsshouldbe”cipiacciononuotare”or”cipiacciamonuotare”(I’mprettysureyouhaveconsideredthoseoptions…)becausenoi-us isplural,gobacktothebeginningofthispostandreaditagain… Therearesomeotherimportantverbshavingthesamestructureofpiacere,notably: interessare (tobeofinterest,tocareof), servire (toneed),sembrare (toseem),succedere (tohappen).Let’sseesomeexamplesandlistentothepodcast: interessare (tobe ofinterest,tocareof) …
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