Apologies can be quite challenging. Even the legendary Elton John, in all his musical glory, admitted that “sorry” seems to be the hardest word. Add to that the fact that we have many ways to say sorry in Italian and it becomes clear that apologising can be quite complex.  Given its richness and expressive nature, it’s no surprise that Italian offers a whole repertoire of sorry expressions to convey remorse and seek forgiveness, each carrying its own nuances and level of sincerity.  Naturally, how we apologise can depend on several factors, such as the context, what w ..read more

Welcome to our third encounter with the subjunctive: if you have read our previous articles, you should have a clear idea of how to use this important verb mood; if you have not read them yet, you can find them here and here. Today we will conclude our journey by talking about the subjunctive ‘in real life’, and in particular about its use with conjunctions, but before we go any further, here is a brief summary of the key points about this distinctive feature of the Italian language: The subjunctive mood is used to express possibility, wish, fear, doubt and personal opinion. The indicative m ..read more

Today’s Italian word is soqquadro (masculine, plural: soqquadri), which can translate in a number of ways in English including upside-down, disarray, mess, shambles, cluttered and topsy-turvy, just to name a few! /soq·quà·dro/ It comes from the expression sotto quadro (lit. under square), which was used by builders to refer to off-kilter or crooked structural elements that can cause a structure to collapse, or walls that aren’t at right angles. A fun little fact you may not have known is that it is the only word in the Italian language, besides the near-obsolete biqquadro / beqquadro, writte ..read more

Ever since my uncle gifted it to him two years ago, my son has been obsessed with his stuffed raccoon. Wherever my son goes, Raccoon must follow. There are now signs of stuffing coming out of a hole under his armpit, and his fur isn’t nearly as silky as when he first arrived, but my son loves him just the same. Raccoon (or racoon as it is sometimes spelled) in Italian translates as procione. /pro·ció·ne/ It comes from the Greek prokýōn (“barking dog”) which is made up of the words pro (before) and kýōn (dog). They are part of the family of Procyonidae, native to North America and comprising ..read more

In Italian, the word abito is used to denote any specific kind of garment worn over underwear, be that a gown, dress, suit or outfit. It derives from the Latin habitus, meaning demeanour or appearance. /à·bi·to/ Because it is a masculine word beginning with a, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: l’abito = the dress / suit / gown gli abiti = the dresses / suits / gowns un abito = a dress / suit / gown (degli) abiti = (some) dresses / suits / gowns Mi piacciono molto gli abiti in questo negozio. I really like the suits / dresses in this shop. At this point, I can hear ..read more

Aiuto, which means “help” or “aid”, is arguably one of the most useful Italian words you can learn. After all, you never know when you might find yourself in need of assistance in a foreign country! /a·iù·to/ The noun aiuto is masculine, and used with the following articles: l’aiuto = the help un aiuto = a help gli aiuti = the helps degli aiuti = (some helps) Aiuto comes from the Latin adiutus which in turn derives from the verb adiuvare meaning “to help” or “to assist”. Usefully aiuto is also the first-person singular conjugation (“I help”) of the Italian verb aiutare. (io) Aiuto mio fra ..read more

10 motivi per visitare l’Italia più uno per non andare Italy, a global favorite among travellers, hardly needs an introduction. It’s a land that effortlessly stitches together vibrant art cities, world-class museums, and enchanting villages, all under its irresistible cuisine. It’s enough to make you want to pack up and catch the next flight. L’Italia, una delle destinazioni preferite dai viaggiatori di tutto il mondo, difficilmente necessita di introduzioni. È un paese che racchiude splendide città d’arte, musei di fama mondiale e incantevoli villaggi, il tutto arricchito dalla sua irresistib ..read more

Mother’s Day is coming up! The second Sunday of May is recognised in Italy, as well as many other countries around the world, as Mother’s Day (la Festa della Mamma) – the day to celebrate our amazing mothers. In Italy, Mother’s Day as it is celebrated today is a relatively new holiday. This holiday and its celebrations started in the United States and slowly spread around the globe after World War II. To help you get in the mood of celebrating your dear mother, or to remind yourself of your beauty and importance as a mother, here is a short list of Italian poems translated into English. Each ..read more

Marco Mengoni is currently one of Italy’s most famous singer-songwriters. He first rose to fame in 2009 after winning the Italian version of X-Factor. Then, in 2013, he won the Sanremo Music Festival with the song L’essenziale, earning him the right to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest where he came in seventh place. Now, ten years later, Mengoni is back with the song Due Vite (Two Lives). Having triumphed for the second time at Samremo, he will once again be Italy’s representative at Eurovision 2023. Marco Mengoni – Due Vite – Listen on YouTube Albin Olsson, CC BY-SA 3.0 via ..read more

Animal sounds are among the first sounds that children produce when they start talking. Using these sounds is an easy way for them to start communicating with the world around them. Children first imitate the sound of the animal itself and then, at a later stage, are able to say the name of the specific animal. One would imagine that all languages represent animal sounds in the same way due to the fact that animals communicate with each other by emitting the same sounds wherever they are in the world, but in reality, this is not the case. Each language perceives sounds differently, so animal ..read more