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Lovely Italian Words
Many of you know that I had taken some Italian lessons at the beginning of the year. You can read more about that here and here.
Needless to say, we have been lax in our studies, but Italian is never far from my mind or my heart.
I consider Italian one of, if not the most beautiful language in the world. C’mon, fess up – you do too!
Here are some more words to add to the growing list that prove my point.
coccoodrillo—crocodile
attraversiamo—to cross over
sensuale—sensual
telefonino—cell phone
lussuoso—luxurious
girasole—sunflower
pipistrello—bat
pomodoro—tomato
dimmi—tell me
So, now it’s your turn. Tell me, what are some of your favorite words in Italian?
Friends & Supporters
January 5th, 2009
Boh is def my favorite Italian word and my most used word. It a catch all! If I don’t understand “boh”, if I don’t know “boh” what do you think “boh”. My husband and I even thought about naming our future kid Bo so we could do the whole “who’s on first routine” Italian style.
January 5th, 2009
‘stravolta’- more or less ‘overwhelmed’ in a negative way.
Eg:’Sono stravolta’ is a typical saying of mine when I’ve worked my way through maddening crowds !
January 5th, 2009
Here are a few…you hear them and they make you smile!
tesoro ~ treasure
carina ~ pretty
bambolina ~ doll
amore ~ love
January 5th, 2009
Siamo andiamo felici di vederlo nel nostro paese bello!
which i think means—->
~~~We are so happy to see you HERE
in our lovely country!~~~
well,
i have only heard that said a few times
but
still…
what could be better?
{{ if it does NOT mean that,
well,
never mind……. }}
January 5th, 2009
Ahhhhhhh, the language of love, I really want to learn more about it since I already speak French and Creole
Since my last trip to Venice, i’ve always had this urge to speak Italian and learn more about the culture
January 5th, 2009
Keep me posted on that kid naming thing, that would be funny indeed!
January 5th, 2009
Thanks for the new word. I betcha I can use that one often
January 5th, 2009
carina and amore are my favs. I reeeally like Ti amo too!
January 5th, 2009
Well, that totally would make me happy if someone in Italy spoke those words to me
Listen up all you expats!!
January 5th, 2009
Cathy, you are so not alone. I think you would be a shoe in for learning Italian
January 6th, 2009
Dammi soldi…LOL! I overheard a woman saying this to her husband in Venice and asked my husband what it meant. He told me I didn’t need to know
January 6th, 2009
So, what happens in Venice…stays in Venice? I like that!
January 6th, 2009
lucertola – lizzard
papavero – poppy
pallacanestro – gym
chiacchierare – to chat
Lucertola is my fav, tho’.
January 6th, 2009
Bravissima!
Buon anno nuovo
e tanti bei viaggio nel 2009!
Some of my favorite Italian expressions (of frustration, in that case): “Più verde non si può!”
(the traffic light turns green and you do not get moving immediately, this is what you may hear from the ragazzo/a behind you: “It doesn’t get any greener!”
January 6th, 2009
“One” (instead of “some”) of my favorite Italian …
Sorry!
January 6th, 2009
Great list Nan! Chiacchierare is a fav that I was planning for another post. That one is *extra special* And the descriptive form of the word could be used to describe me at times…chatty!
January 6th, 2009
*as she laughs out loud*, “doesn’t get any greener”…Oh, that is good! Love it.
January 9th, 2009
My favorite Italian word is amore or, alternately, the shortened form (Amò!), which is what Paolo calls me
January 9th, 2009
Well, I can see why that would be your favorite then
January 14th, 2009
Don’t forget
Bon giorno, Principessa! (Sorry for my bad spelling, lol.)
Hello, princess, in other words. It’s from my favorite movie. Life Is Beautiful.
January 14th, 2009
How could I forget??!! I loved that movie as well- and love how Roberto used to say that to her every morning. When I didn’t know much Italian- this is exactly what I would repeat saying over and over!!
Thanks Erica
January 21st, 2009
HI I’m Paolo an italian Guy and one of the thousand Michelle friends, living in the deep south of Italy….do you know Lecce? I live around there, anyway I’m writing to let you know the real traslation of your phrase….”We are so happy to see you Here in our lovely country…..it means: “Siamo molto felici di vederti nel nostro (amorevole) bel paese.
P.s. I’m glad you like our language.
January 21st, 2009
Thank you so much for the translation!!!! And I *love* your language!! Michelle’s friends are welcome here, anytime!!!
January 21st, 2009
ciao, paolo.
no
i do not YET know lecce,
{{ in the heel, i think }}
but i am in love with lucca
and bike riding around the top of the wall there
and hiking in the cinque terra.
aaahh…
i cannot help myself with loving italy
and have High Hopes of going there
again this May
where i hope to learn more italian.
thank~you ever~so for your lessons.
February 5th, 2009
faccio castelli in aria
February 5th, 2009
Some of my favorites are:
Buongiorno
Per me é lo stesso (“Doesn’t matter to me.” I just like how it sounds.)
Figurati
Magari
February 6th, 2009
Thanks for your list of favs. Isn’t Italian beautiful?
February 6th, 2009
Bellisima
February 6th, 2009
The correct spell is “coccodrillo”, not “crocodillo”
Giuseppe
February 6th, 2009
Guiseppe,
Thanks for the correction on my typo. Sometimes my fingers don’t do what my brain tells them too
Grazie Mille
February 18th, 2009
prego, non c’è di che
February 19th, 2009
Grazie, Giuseppe!
xo
September 8th, 2010
Ciao, I found your post while I was surfing the web…I’m from Italia, and the first comment was very funny ! The girl that was asking what “BOH!” means. In Italia we used it “a a lot ” ( un sacco!) when we don’t know what to say or what to do or we don’t know nothing about what’s happening or the like. For example:
Che fai sto pomeriggio= what do u do this afternoon?
Boh , non l’ho ancora deciso! = Boh, I didn’t decide it yet
or
Guarda là, che cosa stanno facendo quei due?= look there. what that two people are doing down there?
Boh , non ci vedo mica fino a lì / or maybe : boh , manco li conosco quelli != boh, I don’t see till there/ boh , I dont know them!
Boh is very useful word cause u can use it for a lot of situations. Another one is Mah but this one usually express doubts:
Che fai oggi ? = what do u do today
Mah… ( just like considering bymyself some options) vedremo… we’ll see later
Another little italian word for greeting friends (and I use it sempre) is “Uè!” ( read it like OUHEEH ,the “e” is like in “when”) and is a different Ciao but you have to say it with a lot of surprise in your voice just like it ‘s years that you don’t see your friends. I like it is very joyous. Ciao a tutti quanti e a presto!
Mille Grazie for sharing all of this Italian langugage knowledge with us!
November 5th, 2010
“chiacchierare” (to chat) gee, I never use it or thought of it as an euphanistic verb, just a more (derogatory) noun to describe gossipy old ladies “chiacchirone”
April 21st, 2011
delizioso
penso di lei
I love Italian words too
November 10th, 2011
There are two very beautiful words:
* il pulcino –> chick (a young chicken)
* la particella —> particle
“Pulcino” is quite cute
and “particella” is very beautiful !
November 10th, 2011
One more beautiful word:
* la stella : star
January 18th, 2012
Read all these comments for an Italian is funny and a little weird. But it is nice to see that you know some words of our language (I know to learn italian, especially for Anglophones, is very difficult) and that is so much appreciated, thanks. =)
Personally I live in France and I think that french is a language complicated (as italian), but really wonderful!
January 27th, 2012
Cappuccino&Baguette –
Is it really so weird? I often make lists of English words I love — and English is my native language! In any language, some words are just wonderful to say. (For example, “superfluous” is one of my favorite English words. I love how it sounds, how it feels to say it.)
That being said, I can understand where you’re coming from.
And to chime in: I *really* love the word “vorrei” as said by a native Italian speaker. I listen to a couple Italian singers/bands, and it always makes me happy to hear it. I think it’s just the combination of the two rolled r’s. It’s a sound I can’t make no matter how hard I try, and it’s a really fun sound.
January 28th, 2012
chiacchierare (to chat) IS definetly my favorite italian word I just love the sound when saying it
June 27th, 2012
I studied Italian for two years at university, and promptly mixed it into a charming stew with French, German, and Swedish. My brain is all muddled. Che pazzo!
pazzo da legare = totally crazy
che rottura di palle = you’re breaking my balls (oh, ha ha!)
troppo scollato = too low cut, as in one of my dresses that scandalizes my mother
fratello = brother
And I love the song Solo3min by the Italian band Negramaro; I can almost feel July sunshine in Siena when I sing along.
How sentimental – forgive me.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgaDVyDFdgc <- Solo3min )
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