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Twelve Italian words you won’t learn from coursebooks

Last Modified: August 31, 2015

The most common way to start learning a foreign language is at school with some coursebooks. Coursebooks are generally well thought out. Indeed, they focus both on grammar and vocabulary, and they also give you an insight into the foreign culture.
Tagliare la cordaHowever, people who’ve learnt Italian on books and have then had the chance to visit Italy, may have noticed that Italians generally use some words that are not taught at school. Words that make you ask: what? Can you repeat? I didn’t understand – Cosa? Puoi ripetere? Non ho capito.
The reason is that coursebooks usually consider only standard vocabulary and structures, while we all know that in everyday life everyone uses a lot of informal words and constructions to communicate.

Here is a list of twelve common informal Italian words with their meaning and some examples of their use:

Toppare

To make a big mistake: Questa volta hai proprio toppato con le tue previsioni! La roma ha vinto 3 a 1!

Dare buca

To stand someone up: Marco mi ha dato buca. Ci dovevamo vedere alle 8 ma non si è presentato.

Lecchino

Arse licker: La smetti di fare il lecchino con la prof?

Essere una palla

To be boring: Questa lezione è una palla.

Cavolata

A stupid thing: Stasera ho fatto una cavolata. Ho guidato contromano.
An easy thing: Guarda che le percentuali sono una cavolata! Non ti preoccupare!

Fregare

To stitch up: Ha comprato la collana credendo che fosse d’oro, invece era di bronzo. L’abbiamo fregato!
To steal: Mi hanno fregato il portafoglio!

Fregarsene

Not to care: Me ne frego di quello che dice. Io faccio come voglio.

Cazzotto

Punch: Ti tiro un cazzotto se non la smetti!

Sganciare

To lay out – to disgorge: Ho dovuto sborsare 300 euro per riavere la macchina.
                                                      Quanto ha sborsato per questa macchina fotografica?

Tagliare la corda

To run away: I poliziotti stanno arrivando. E’ ora di tagliare la corda.

Tartassare

To give somebody a hard time: All’esame mi hanno tartassato di domande. Non è stato facile, ma alla fine l’ho passato.

Mollare

To give up: Forza Alessia non mollare, sei quasi arrivata!
To quit: Si sono arrabbiati perché ho mollato la scuola.
To leave: Non sopportavo più mio nipote. Così l’ho mollato ai nonni e me ne sono andato.

How many of these words did you know? Have you used them during your trips to Italy?

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    Eight reasons to learn Italian
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Category: Learn ItalianTag: Italian, Italian language, Italy, learn Italian, Sos Italian

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