Italian | Venetian Dialect Veneto, Italy

mona

Word USED Very frequently BY Everybody

The evergreen Venetian dialect word. It can express joy, sadness, fury, confusion, it can be an insult or a praise. It can be literally the female reproductive organs.

'Ma va in mona', 'Vara che bea mona', 'Ti xe un mona', 'Il saggio sa niente, lo stupido sa qualcosa, il mona sa tutto'

'Go to hell', 'Look at this beautiful lady', 'You are a moron' , 'A wise person knows nothing, a stupid person knows something, a moron knows everything'

Italian | Venetian Dialect Veneto, Italy

mas'cio

Word USED Very frequently BY Everybody

This word literally means male pig. It is used for insulting a disgusting person, to indicate that a person is eating too much, or (more directly) to talk about male pigs.

'No sta fare el mas'cio', 'Vara che se te magni cosi tanto, va a finirla che te diventi un mas'cio', 'Ghemo fatto a sopressa col mas'cio de ieri'

'Don't be a pig', 'If you're eating as much, you will be as fat as a pig', 'We made salami with the pig from yesterday'

Apulian Apulia, Italy

a stare

Expression USED Very frequently BY Young people

When you're in a chill situation, like having a drink with friends for no reason, or doing nothing in general while being relaxed. In dialect the verb "stare" (to stay) is used almost like the verb "essere" (to be), so it's like the action of being located in a place, with no motion.

"Guardalo, sta lì sulla sdraio con il suo spritz... proprio a stare."

"Look at him, just sitting there on the deckchair with his spritz... just staying there."

Italian | Romagnolo Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Amarcord

Word USED On Rare Occasion BY Everybody, especially cinema enthusiasts

(I remember) • Profound memory, nostalgic reenactment or remembrance of the past. Originally a dialectal expression (“a m'arcord”), entered in the common Italian language thanks to the film “Amarcord” by Federico Fellini.

"Ritrovare la bambola della mia infanzia mi ha fatta rivivere un lungo Amarcord."

Italian | Romanesco Rome, Italy

mecojoni

Interjection USED Frequently BY People from Rome

(my balls) • An interjection that expresses stupor and surprise, and sometimes disbelief. Similar to “Wow” or “No way”. Used commonly in Rome, but also in other cities in the Lazio region, such as Anzio, Latina or Nettuno.

"Hai sentito? “Pellegrini ha appena vinto il Pallone d’Oro.” “Mecojoni!”

“Did you hear? Pellegrini just won the Ballon d'Or.” “My balls!”

Italian Italy

che figata

Slang USED Frequently BY Teens

(phrase) • This is used to describe something that is really cool or surprising. "Figata" comes from the word "figa", which is the explicit term for vagina.

"L'anno prossimo vado ai Caraibi." "Che figata!"

"Next year I am going to the Caribbean." "So cool!"

Italian Italy

mica pizza e fichi

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some people

(not just a pizza with figs) • Used to indicate that something is not cheap, trivial or simple, but actually special in some way. Pizza and figs were typically cheap lower-class foods, so something not being pizza with figs means that it is not lower-class.

"Ha un dottorato in astrofisica, mica pizza e fichi!"

"She has a PhD in astrophysics, not just a mere pizza with figs!"

Italian | Milanese Lombardy, Italy

va a ciapà i ratt

Idiom USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(Go get the rats) • It literally means "Go get the rats". It is used when you want to tell someone to get lost.

"Sei proprio fastidioso, va a ciapà i ratt!"

"You are annoying, go get the rats!"

Furlan Friuli, Italy

al è dut un veri

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(everything is glass) • Expression is used to describe to other people on the icy conditions of roads or pavements, as a consequence of air moisture freezing over surfaces.

"Ocjo, c’al è dut un veri "

"Careful, outside everything is glass."

Italian Italy

alà bigol

Slang USED Very frequently BY gli scecc

When you have to tell somebody they're not doing something very well.

"ieri ho mangiato 3 uova" "alà bigol"

"Yesterday I ate 3 eggs" "alà bigol"

Italian Italy

far venire la pecola

Expression USED On Very Rare Occasion BY Some people in northen italy

(to give pecola) • It’s words' play. Pecolla doesn’t actually mean anything. You can use it when someone is being really annoying, and if they tell you they don’t know what it means, the answer is: “ la pel del cül che se descola” aka my butt’s skin that’s coming off (due to my annoyance with you).

“Smettila, mi stai facendo venire la pecolla” “La cosa?” “La pecolla, la pel del cül che se descola”

“Stop it, you are giving me pecolla.” “Giving you what?” “Pecolla, my butt’s skin that’s coming off”

Italian Italy

rendere pan per focaccia

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone

(to return bread for focaccia) • To give someone a taste of their own medicine i.e. to treat them as badly as they treated you.

"Il vicino tiene la musica alta perché sei stato maleducato con lui? Ben ti sta, ti ha reso pan per focaccia."

"The neighbor is playing music loudly because you were mean to him? Serves you right, he returned you bread for focaccia."

Italian | Sicilian Sicily, Italy

cu’ si fa pecura, u lupu su mancia

Idiom USED Frequently BY Sicilian

(who becomes sheep, wolf eat) • It is an exhortation to be strong and decisive. If in life you appear weak or not very decisive, you risk finding someone who wants to bully or hurt you. The metaphor of the wolf eating the sheep represents someone who takes advantage of another's weakness.

"Picchì ghianci?" "Mi hanno rubato il pranzo oggi" "Ah, e nun'na ghianciri, viri ca cu’ si fa pecura, u lupu su mancia"

"Why are you crying?" "Today someone took my lunch" "Oh, don't cry, who becomes sheep, the wolf eat"

Italian Italy

colpo di fulmine

Idiom USED on occasion BY some people

(hit of a lightning ) • The feeling of love that comes from the first time you met someone.

"Ho incontrato una ragazza in metro, penso di aver avuto un colpo di fulmine, non smetto di pensarla!"

"I met some girl while on the subway and I think I got a hit of a lightning, I can't stop thinking about her!"

Italian Italy

Che pizza!

Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone

(What a pizza) • It means “what a bore“ and can describe something or even someone.

“Che pizza questo concerto”

“What a pizza this concert”

Venetian Italy

freschin

Word USED Very frequently BY Everyone

(noun) • The smell of badly washed crockery, which where used to contain fish, eggs or dairy products; The smell of wet dog; The smell of stale water.

"El bicer el sa da freschin."

"The glass smells like bad."

Italian Neapolitan and other southern dialects, Italy

appocundria

Word USED Frequently BY Everyone

(noun) • It defines a state of melancholic nostalgia towards something that is currently missing in your life and won't be likely recovered. Usually, it accompanies people relocating to a new place far away from home, but it can also be extended to more general reflections about life and our existential condition.

"Ajere m'agge curcato, penzanne a la vita mije ultimamente e quille che ce vole pe te fa l'abbetudene de vive all'estere: tanne, l'appocundria m'è scuppiate mbiette!"

"Yesterday I was lying in bed thinking about my latest life events and what it takes to adapt to a new life abroad: that's when appocundria started to kick in!"

Italian Italy

essere in balia

Expression USED Frequently BY Some people

To be at the mercy of something.

"La nave è in balia delle onde"

"The ship is at the mercy of the waves"

Italian Italy

darsi all'ippica

Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone

(to take up horse racing) • To change one's profession due to incapacity or unskillfulness in a previous job. This idiom is mostly used in the form of rather direct and dismissive advice/suggestion. Comparable to English "go climb a tree" or "go take up knitting."

"Luigi non è assolutamente in grado di svolgere il suo lavoro. Farebbe meglio a darsi all'ippica."

"Luigi is absolutely unable to do his job. He'd be better off taking up horce racing."

Italian Italy

perdersi in un bicchiere d’acqua

Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone

(to get lost in a glass of water) • It means to worry or make a big deal of something that is actually a small problem or not a problem at all.

"All'esame orale, mi sono perso in un bicchier d'acqua."

"At the oral exam, I got lost in a glass of water."