10 THINGS ITALIANS ALWAYS SAY!

Have you always dreamed of speaking as a true Italian? Then today is your lucky day! Let’s see together the 10 expressions that Italians say at least once a day!

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10 Things Italians Say EVERY DAY 

1. BOH!

When Italians don’t know the answer to a question that was made to them, they say“boh”, which means “non lo so” (I don’t know). But avoid to reply to your teachers with it, they wouldn’t take it well!

Example:

–  Che si fa stasera? (What are we doing tonight?)

– Boh… (Dunno…)

2. MI VA / NON MI VA …  + a noun / DI + infinitive

When we want to do something, we say “mi va”, instead if we don’t want to do something we say “non mi va”. Clearly, the pronoun must be related to the person (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, loro)

Example:

– Sei uscita con Lucia? (Did you go out with Lucia?)

– No non le andava di uscire, quindi ho chiamato mia madre per farmi compagnia! (She didn’t wannt to go out, so I called my mother to keep me company)

3. DAI!

Be careful not to confuse it with the second person singular of the verb DARE! (to give). DAI, in this case, can express several meanings.

For example, it expresses surprise for something we have just seen or heard, something we almost don’t think to be possible.

Esempio:

– Ho visto Sara e Luca di nuovo insieme! (I’ve seen Sara and Luca together again!)

– Dai! Ma veramente? (Come on! Are you serious?)

Or we use DAI to encourage someone to do something.

Example:

Dai! Vieni anche tu alla festa! (Please! Come to the party!)

Moreover, DAI can be also used to invite someone to stop doing something, as synonym of “Basta!”, “Smettila!” (enough).

Esempio:

– Dai! Dobbiamo lavorare! Lascia stare quel cellulare! (Enough! We have to work! Forget about that phone!)

4. SEI FUORI!

It means that the person is speaking nonsense, without logic.

It can be also found in other variants: TU NON STAI BENE CON LA TESTA! / SEI FUORI DI TESTA! / NON HAI SALE IN ZUCCA! (are you crazy?)

Example:

– Andiamo al mare? (Are we going to the sea?)

– Ma sei fuori? Ci sono 5 gradi! (Are you kidding me? It’s 5 degrees!)

5. OGGI COME OGGI

This expression is mostly used by adults to indicate, with a bit of resignation, the same meaning of expressions as “di questi tempi”, “oggigiorno” (nowadays) and it tends to be used when we compare something of the past with something of the present.

Example:

Mi hanno ferito tante volte in passato, per questo, oggi come oggi, non mi fido più di nessuno! (In the past they hurt me many times, for this reason, these days,  trust nobody!)

6. FIGO! / CHE FIGATA!

From a more adult expression, let’s move to one  (or better , two) quite juvenile! These two have the same meaning and they indicate something amazing, spectacular, “cool” as English-Speaking people would say!

Example:

– Hanno aperto una nuova discoteca con 5 piani! Ci andiamo? (They opened a new disco with 5 floors! Are we going there?)

– Che figata! Assolutamente sì! (Great! Absolutely!)

NB: The adjective “figo/a” (but not “Che figata!”) can be also used to refer to an attractive, good looking person!

Example:

 Richard Gere è ancora un figo, nonostante la sua età! (Richard Gere is still gorgeous, despite his age!)

7. NEMMENO/NEPPURE/NEANCHE PER SOGNO!

This expression is used to strongly negate something, it means “Assolutamente no!” (No way!)

Example:

– Facciamo paracadutismo? (How about we do skydiving?)

– Nemmeno per sogno! Soffro di vertigini! (No way! I’m afraid of heights!)

Other versions with the same meaning : “NEMMENO/NEPPURE/NEANCHE SE MI PAGHI!” or “NEMMENO/NEPPURE/NEANCHE PER IDEA!” and the more juvenile “MA ANCHE NO!”

8. HAI FATTO LA SCOPERTA DELL’AMERICA / DELL’ACQUA CALDA

Thee funny expressions are used to answer to someon who says something obvious, something that is already kown or it is dicovered long time ago… Just like America or hot water!

Example:

– Guarda! Hanno introdotto la funzione per calcolare quanto tempo passi al cellulare! (Look! They introduced the function to calculate how much time you spend on the phone!)  

– Hai fatto la scoperta dell’acqua calda! Sai da quanto tempo c’è? (You reinvented the wheel! Do you know how long there is?)

9. FARE UN CASINO / FARE CASINO

FARE UN CASINO means to do something kinda serious, giving rise to a problem.

Not to be mistaken with FARE CASINO, usually used as synonym of “fare rumore” (make noise).

Example:

– Per colpa dei nostri vicini di casa che fanno sempre casino, ho fatto un casino con il pc e si sono cancellati tutti i file! (Because of our neighbors who always make noise , I made a mess with my computer ad all the files got cancelled!) 

10. TANTO PER CAMBIARE!

Literally , this expression means “solo per fare qualcosa di diverso” ( just a chance to do something different). But be careful! It’s especially used in a derogatory sense!! Therefore to indicate the exact opposite, something you always do!

Example:

– Cosa stai facendo? (What are you doing?)

– Sto su Instagram, tanto per cambiare! (I’m on Instagram, for a change) (it means I always do it, therefore it’s not a novelty)

Do you know also the things Italians always do?

Let’s see if you’ve mastered the contents of this class. Have a go at completing the exercises!

Caricamento quiz in corso…

Esercizio: Le 10 Espressioni Italiane Più Comuni

Scopri le frasi che gli italiani dicono più spesso nella vita quotidiana. Testa la tua conoscenza dell’italiano colloquiale e impara le espressioni autentiche. Esercizio gratuito per studenti di italiano.

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