In Italian, the usage of some nouns modified with suffixes (wondering how to use Italian suffixes?) is so well-established that they have given rise to idioms and fixed expressions. Their meanings iares immediately understood by native speakers, yet they remain obscure to Italian language learners.
The list of these Italian idiomatic expressions is endless, but here are some of the most common expressions for you along with their etymology. Many of these Italian idiomatic expressions are related to body parts and body language.
In Italian, to go together is:
Andare a braccetto
» to walk arm in arm; figuratively, to go together
(from braccio, "arm")
In Italian, the expression for “penny-pinching” is literally “to have short arms”
Avere il braccino corto
» penny-pinching
(from braccio, "arm")
Che bel quadretto! [often ironic]
» What a lovely scene! Or literally, “what a lovely painting!”
(from quadro, "painting")
In Italian, “to sleep like a baby” is literally “to sleep like a little angel”.
Dormire come un angioletto
» to sleep like a baby
(from angelo, "angel")
Fare la linguaccia
» to stick out one’s tongue
(from lingua, "tongue")
Fare l’occhiolino
» to wink at someone
(from occhio, "eye")
Fare spallucce
» to shrug one’s shoulders
(from spalla, "shoulder")
Fare una figuraccia
» to make a bad impression
(from figura, "impression")
In Italian, the expression equivalent to “pinky swear” is often used by children. It’s:
Giurin giurello!
» Pinky swear!
(from giurare, "to swear")
Lanciare una frecciatina
» to get in a dig at someone, literally “to throw an arrow”
(from frecciata, "arrow shot")
Stare al calduccio
» to lie snug in bed, literally “to stay warm”
(from caldo, warmth)
That’s it! Do you have a favorite Italian idiomatic expression? Share it with us in the comments below!
Want to know more? Check out our latest blog about the Top 45 Key Italian Travel Phrases as well!
---
About the Author: Viola Librenti is a translator who, as part of her work, translates for Drops.
"Love my fun language learning and practice with daily Drops sessions, and monthly Challenges to participate in, and quiz mode to test contextual learning - brilliant! So much thought, consideration and inclusivity has gone into the design and function of this app, I can't praise it highly enough."
"Great little learning app! I've learned at least 5-10 new words in Spanish in my first 5 minutes. Easy to pick up and thorough."
"Great language learning app! It helps you get daily words done in a short amount of time. I would highly recommend using drops to learn whatever language you want to learn."
"What an amazing app! I’ve tried several apps for language learning and I cannot recommend Drops enough. I don’t know how a short Drops session can teach me as much as 1 hour+ of focused use of other apps, it’s like magic."
"Amazing language learning tool. Excellent app for increasing vocabulary in your foreign language of choice. Useful for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. The repetition of the words makes them much easier to remember, and without the hassle of making your own flash cards. I have used Drops for two years now and have seen great results."
"Very engaging way of learning Yoruba in a stimulating way. Will be using to learn myself and to teach my child!"
"Less than a week in but using this alone with the popular one babbel working on German. When using just one app I got bored, babbel is not as fun. So using both at once actually let's my adhd do its thing but I still focused since I can switch easily between both apps and work in different areas. Also I like the quick little sessions makes me feel like I actually did something."
"So engaging. I speak Spanish well, but often forget words in conversation that I know I should know. This game is fun and quickly brings back vocabulary I may have put in the back of my brain after not using it for awhile. Case in point: I spent 11 years in construction, then went back to teaching in English and/or Spanish depending on the teacher/student"
"Amazing app"
"I have been desperate to find an app that really helps me learn Japanese and this is the best by far"
"I like that you can switch between different subjects and topics constantly and it’s really easy to learn a lot of vocabulary very quickly! This works perfect for me because I can learn a lot of words but then practice sentence structure with my grandmother whose from Croatia"
"Fantastic app great opportunity to learn languages on your spare time. Drops makes it easy to learn and retain words to formulate sentences."
"Best of the best. Awesome app in every sense"
"This app us the best and how I am doing Learning Ukraine is Helping me alot tnx"
"Definitely recommend! I'm using this to learn mandarin 10/10"
"Fun and interactive. Great for repetition!"
"Very engaging way of learning Yoruba in a stimulating way. Will be using to learn myself and to teach my child!"
"Amazing language learning tool. Excellent app for increasing vocabulary in your foreign language of choice. Useful for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. The repetition of the words makes them much easier to remember, and without the hassle of making your own flash cards. I have used Drops for two years now and have seen great results."
"Great little learning app! I've learned at least 5-10 new words in Spanish in my first 5 minutes. Easy to pick up and thorough."
"I have been desperate to find an app that really helps me learn Japanese and this is the best by far"
"I like that you can switch between different subjects and topics constantly and it’s really easy to learn a lot of vocabulary very quickly! This works perfect for me because I can learn a lot of words but then practice sentence structure with my grandmother whose from Croatia"
"Fantastic app great opportunity to learn languages on your spare time. Drops makes it easy to learn and retain words to formulate sentences."
"What an amazing app! I’ve tried several apps for language learning and I cannot recommend Drops enough. I don’t know how a short Drops session can teach me as much as 1 hour+ of focused use of other apps, it’s like magic."
"Love my fun language learning and practice with daily Drops sessions, and monthly Challenges to participate in, and quiz mode to test contextual learning - brilliant! So much thought, consideration and inclusivity has gone into the design and function of this app, I can't praise it highly enough."
"Definitely recommend! I'm using this to learn mandarin 10/10"
"This app us the best and how I am doing Learning Ukraine is Helping me alot tnx"
