Word of the Day

Fuorché (foo-ohr-kai) means “except,” “but,” “apart from” and we use it often, especially in higher registers of language. It always comes in a pair with tutto, tutti, ogni and nessuno, and it always accentuates what we are saying. For instance, oggi posso fare tutto fuorché …

If you compare it to other words of our beautiful language, altroché (al-troh-kai) is a relatively new entry in our vocabulary, as its earlier attestations are found sometimes before 1909. This adverb, which is the union of two words, altro and che, is especially used in …

Among all the words of the day we have had so far, insolente  (een-so-lehn-tai) is probably the one with the most interesting etymology. In Italian, we say someone is “insolente” when they are very outspoken, to the point of lacking manners. Insolente …

Today’s word, spensierato (spehn-see-eh-rah-to) is something we all would like to be. Just like our title say, spensierato means “carefree,” and isn’t that a feeling we all love? Of course, being spensierati (this is its plural form) isn’t easy in this day and age, but we …

Cianfrusaglia (tchan-froo-sah-lyee-ah) is today’s word. I don’t know if you have heard it, but in the heart of many, it’s a controversial term!  Because your cianfrusaglia may be, to me, a little treasure to cherish.  Indeed, cianfrusaglia is a useless object, something that has no …

Today’s word, scorciatoia (skohr-tchah-toh-eeah), has an easy translation, “shortcut.” It’s also quite simple to use because, contrarily to other words that have multiple meanings, scorciatoia means only that. Of course that doesn’t mean we can’t use it in different contexts! A scorciatoia can be a literal …

We love to assaggiare (ahs-sah-djah-rai) stuff in Italy! And it couldn’t be any different when you think how much we love good food and wine, because assaggiare means “to taste” or “ to try” something to eat, especially while you – or someone else …

Primavera (pree-mah-vai-rah) is the first season of the year, spring. Primavera is, for nature and for everyone on Earth, a moment of rebirth. Days are longer, the air is full of scents and the landscape of colors: all it’s new again!  …

It happens to everyone: you’ve just got home from work when you realize you ran out of coffee. Needless to say, you must take a quick trip to the store, lest you are unable to get out of bed in …

Today we want to explore a very common Italian expression, hai presente (ah-ee prai-sehn-teh). Avere presente means that we know what the other person is talking about, for instance, ho presente quel negozio, ci ho comprato questi pantaloni (“I know that store, I bought these pants …