One of the many characteristics of us Italians is that we are very superstitious and, even if we don’t want to admit it, everyone of us as thought at least once “it really is bad luck” or, on the contrary, “this is really a lucky charm!”.  In this article, we will talk about the most popular superstitions in Italy, and in general about all those beliefs (more or less valid) that make us do (or not do) certain things, to attract good luck and push away bad luck.

In this lesson we’ll talk about a very peculiar phenomenon of the Italian language, known as “variation between gender and meaning”. This simply means that in Italian there are some words whose meaning changes entirely according to their gender (feminine and masculine). It’s a pretty common thing, and that is why it is very important to learn how to not get confused between genders and meanings.

In this lesson, as you may have guessed from the title, I will talk about a very special word, which you may have heard spoken by some native Italian speakers, but which you will rarely have encountered in a written text. I’m talking about the word “manco“! In this video I will explain its meaning and I will show you the different contexts in which it can be used, giving you many examples, so that you can get a clear idea.

As you may have guessed from the title, in this lesson we’ll talk about the word BASTA, which is used in many situations and often with different nuances. You’ve definitely heard it used in some situations, but probably you wouldn’t know how to use it properly in certain contexts.  Well, that’s why we’re here: we’ll teach you the meaning of this word and then we’ll show you many examples that will help you to learn all the different uses of BASTA.