{"id":3678,"date":"2016-03-03T20:02:27","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T20:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=3678"},"modified":"2017-08-23T16:30:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T16:30:47","slug":"5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italian culture is probably one of the most admired in the world. After all, who doesn\u2019t love a country with incredible food, gorgeous sights, and a lovely language? A lot of people learn Italian for the sheer beauty of it. This language sounds like music to the ears and the attraction factor of anyone speaking it automatically doubles. Like any language, Italian features several unique words and phrases for which, unfortunately for us poor English speakers, there are no adequate translations. There\u2019s something charming (and maybe a little romantic) about these words, so read on to discover five of
\n<\/a>them and maybe you\u2019ll be inspired to pick up this delightful tongue!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image via PhotoPin<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

1. Gattara\/o = an elderly person who cares for stray cats.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Italy is big on cat love, even if those cats are strays. In fact, the term gatti liberi <\/i>refers to \u201cfree cats\u201d or cats that live on the streets in what are known as cat colonies. But just because these kitties are out roaming the streets it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re left to scrounging for scraps from the trash or subject to abuse as strays. Nope. In Italy local law enforcement usually protects cats and an elderly man or woman will take over the responsibility of feeding them on a daily basis. These feeders are called gattaras <\/i>(for females) or gattaros<\/i> (for males). Can I hear a collective \u201cAwwwwww!\u201d?<\/p>\n

2. Abbiocco = the drowsiness that follows a big meal.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In Italy meals are often prolonged affairs and can last for upward of two hours. Since they are social events, you\u2019re expected to take time to chat while you work your way through plenty of delicious food and wine. Without a doubt hearty meals are king in Italy which means you\u2019ll probably experience abbiocco<\/i> on a daily basis if you visit. Back home you can reserve that feeling of abbiocco <\/i>for big holiday or family dinners!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image via PhotoPin<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

3. Apericena = pre-dinner food and drinks.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Italians love their food so much that they can\u2019t help but indulge in pre-meal food! Apericena <\/i>is a combination of the words aperitivo<\/i> (pre-dinner drink) and cena <\/i>(dinner) and usually involves drinks such as cocktails, beers, and sparkling wines along with small snacks. The best part of ordering apericena<\/i>? The food is free! That\u2019s right, you order your beverage and are given complimentary snacks to go along with it. Who wouldn\u2019t want to indulge in this fun Italian tradition?<\/p>\n

Trying your hand at learning Italian? Check out our <\/b>free placement test<\/b><\/a> to see how your level measures up!<\/b><\/p>\n

4. Culaccino = a mark left on a table by a chilled glass.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking of beverages, have you ever wondered what you would call that moist ring left behind on the table after taking away your beer mug? Probably not, but no matter Italian still has a word for it. You probably never knew you needed a term just to describe it, but culaccino <\/i>does have a sort of whimsical, romantic vibe to it. Definitely much better than \u201cwet ring\u201d or whatever the English equivalent would be!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image via PhotoPhin<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

5. Meriggiare = to get away from the heat by resting in the shade.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

One of my absolute favourite things about Italy is that the concept of siesta is really important. In fact, many shops and attractions close down between the hours of 1PM to 4PM just so people can take their afternoon rest! It\u2019s a myth that Italians spend these hours napping, in fact most return home for a nice afternoon meal and short rest before heading back to work. Since 1PM-4PM is considered one of the hottest parts of the day, you can probably understand why people take a break during that time. This also explains the concept behind meriggiare<\/i> which, let\u2019s face it, is just another term for siesta!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard not to fall in amore <\/i>with the wonderful Italian language, is it? All these little idiosyncrasies, special phrases, and unique words definitely make learning Italian worth the effort \u2013 whether you\u2019re doing it for business purposes or just for fun. Knowing words like these will also set you apart from the Italian learning pack and help you to sound more like a local!<\/p>\n

Perhaps you know some great untranslatable Italian words and phrases of your own! Share your favourites and tell us why you love them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italian culture is probably one of the most admired in the world. After all, who doesn\u2019t love a country with incredible food, gorgeous sights, and a lovely language? A lot of people learn Italian for the sheer beauty of it. This language sounds like music to the ears and the attraction factor of anyone speaking(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":3679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[500,38,478,324,31],"class_list":["post-3678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humour-offbeat","tag-amazing-languages","tag-italian","tag-learn-italian","tag-untranslatable","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Listen & Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-03T20:02:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-08-23T16:30:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juan Nario\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Juan Nario\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/\",\"name\":\"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-03T20:02:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-23T16:30:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20\"},\"description\":\"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg\",\"width\":768,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Listen & Learn\",\"description\":\"Language Courses and Language Services UK\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20\",\"name\":\"Juan Nario\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Juan Nario\"},\"description\":\"Juan is an English major with a passion for languages. Upon getting his B.Ed. in English, he has been collaborating as a content writer with clients from all around the globe. A language enthusiast, Juan is now learning French and German and hopes to always be learning new things. When he is not working or learning languages, he likes taking pictures of people, reading novels, and watching films.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/juannario\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)","description":"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)","og_description":"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/","og_site_name":"Listen & Learn","article_published_time":"2016-03-03T20:02:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-08-23T16:30:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Juan Nario","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Juan Nario","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/","name":"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-03T20:02:27+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-23T16:30:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20"},"description":"As with any language, somethings just don't translate. Italian is definitely no exception! Check out these 5 great words and see how you can translate them!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photo1-3.jpg","width":768,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-italian-words-we-wish-were-translatable-but-arent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Italian Words We Wish Were Translatable (But Aren\u2019t)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/","name":"Listen & Learn","description":"Language Courses and Language Services UK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20","name":"Juan Nario","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Juan Nario"},"description":"Juan is an English major with a passion for languages. Upon getting his B.Ed. in English, he has been collaborating as a content writer with clients from all around the globe. A language enthusiast, Juan is now learning French and German and hopes to always be learning new things. When he is not working or learning languages, he likes taking pictures of people, reading novels, and watching films.","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/juannario\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3678"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4473,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions\/4473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}