#idiomatic sentences

[sayitaliano]

Swearing in Italian without really swearing

By now I bet y'all know Italian swearing words and how to create new ones I guess, so let's move on to when you want to swear but you cannot (eithe rbecause of your beliefs, because you're with kids or people you don't know...). There's a way out, if muttering feels a little too dangerous. You can "swear" using random words (even cute ones lol). These are some of the most common I can think of:

porca paletta = lit. holy spade porca ciabattina = lit. holy little slipper porca miseria (a little heavier tbh) = lit. holy misery porca vacca = lit. holy cow (at times we use the English literal translation "santa mucca" too) mannaggia/mannaggina = darn it porco mondo (heavier) = lit. holy world

These all could be considered an equivalent of "crap" or "dang" tbh. Reminder that "porca" is used as an adjective as to underline the incredible amount of negativity of the noun it comes with (basically it works as "lurid", "indecent".... Porco = swine, pig) and also to throw out a little bit of stress.

[sayitaliano]

The English saying "Only the brave(s)" is often compared with (and translated as) the Italian "Succede solo a chi ci crede".

Here you have the literal translations: Only the brave(s) = Solo il coraggioso/colui che ha coraggio (Solo i coraggiosi) It happens only to those who believe in it = Succede solo a chi ci crede

The general acception is the same (i.e. to fully believe you need to be brave), that's why we tend to use them equally. [In Italian "Solo i coraggiosi" doesn't make much sense per se tbh, unless we openly refer to the English's translation ofc.]

[sayitaliano]

How to use the idiomatic sentence "Mi sono cadute le palle" in a speech.

Basically you use when you tell somoene else about something disappointing you have been through or someone told you. It could be used also with irony, so to tell this event with a ironic/funny acception (it's nothing too bad anyway, so you can "laugh" about it when you recall it)

For example, let's suppose you had an appointment with someone on a certain day and let's suppose they cancel it because they forgot about another plan or they actually didn't want to come with you (rude, yeah, but eg.). Your first direct reaction would be "Ma non me lo potevi dire prima?" = Couldn't you tell me beforehands?

So when you tell about this to your friend you could say "Dovevamo andare insieme a X (=posto) ma mi ha scritto la notte prima dicendomi che si era dimenticat* di avere un altro impegno/ch enon voleva più venire con me.... Mi sono cadute le palle" = "So we had to go together to X (=place) but they wrote me like the night before to tell me they forgot they had another plan for the next day/they don't want to come anymore... my balls fell."

Another example kinda from irl. Let's suppose you're telling this to your friend again: "Allora ho chiesto questo documento, ma mi hanno detto di andare a ritirarlo dopo 3 settimane. Quando sono andata a ritirarlo, mi hanno detto che dovevo ritirarlo da un'altra parte. Così sono andata là e quando sono arrivata, la guardia all'ingresso mi ha detto che quel giorno era chiuso... mi sono cadute le palle, non hai idea!" = So I asked for this document, but they told me to go come pick it up in 3 weeks. When I went to pick it up, they told me I had to go to another structure. So I went there, and when I arrived, the guard told me that on that day they were closed... my balls fell, you have no idea"

Ofc if you don't actually have balls, you could also add (not mandatory, as it's just an hyperbole you're using): Mi sono cadute le palle anche se non le ho = even if I don't have them. And to add more "fun" right after: Le ho sentite proprio fisicamente staccarsi dal mio corpo. = I really felt them physically break away from my body.

[sayitaliano]

Hi, I love your blog so much, thank you for devoting your time to help us learn your beautiful language! <3 Maybe you can help me clear up a doubt I have: I came across the expression "Mi sa che..." Does it mean the same as "Lo so che..."? Can you explain if there's any difference and when "mi sa" would be used? Is it just more colloquial? Thank you so much and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Ciao!!

thank you for your nice words, it's nice to hear them sometimes! :)

"Mi sa che" and "Lo so che" are used in two different situations. "Lo so che" means "I know that", "I am sure that", so you use it for situation in which you are sure/certain of something, especially of the thing you're stating. eg. Lo so che hai sonno, ma per favore resisti ancora un po'. = I know that you're sleepy, but please hold on a little more. eg. Lo so che ti fa male = I know it pains you eg. Lo so che hai provato = I know that you tried

"Mi sa che", instead, is indeed a more colloquial expression, also for its use of the verb "sapere" (in its "taste/smell-related" old acception, in particular). It can be translated as "I guess/think that", "I suppose that", "I imagine that", "it seems to me that".... any verb that has the speaker making a supposition. Literally, could be translated as "it is of taste to me", like when you first taste some new food and try to guess what it is about and if you like it. That guessing idea/feeling is the same one we take into our everyday life through this expression. You make a guess or come to a possible conclusion by observing/thinking about situations/words/things.... Ofc, the speaker can make guesses about themselves too. eg. Mi sa che hai sonno... = I think you're sleepy... eg. Mi sa che Luca è uscito: non risponde al telefono = I think Luca went out: he doesn't answer the phone. eg. Mi sa che ho sbagliato un paio di risposte del test = I think I got a couple of answers wrong in the test eg. Mi sa che tra un attimo piove = I guess it's gonna rain in a moment Using "Mi sa" also makes things a little more polite/less harsh when you need to tell something (your opinion) to others -we may make also a "bad" face like saying IDK... (despite we sometimes know). It can also have an ironic acception: eg. Mi sa che hai torto... = I think you're wrong eg. eeeh... mi sa che hai sbagliato.... = eeeh... I think you were wrong... (let's give a back story to this last sentence: for example this person made a supposition about something, like two people you know didn't like each other, but then you come to understand they are a couple or you see them kissing. You can tell to this person this sentence, to "joke" about them having made a wrong supposition and maybe add "Mi sa proprio di sì"/"Mi sa che è proprio così" = I think it's really so).

Not related but... Similarly to "Mi sa", we could say "Qualcosa/Questa cosa mi puzza..." if there's something that doesn't feel right (puzza = bad smell -like when you smell the air trying to guess where a smell comes from). Maybe things are going so well that you think there must be something behind all this good luck, like it cannot be true. You could simply say this when something you perceive cannot be real/true happens. And unconsciously fear there will be some bad news all of a sudden so it cannot realize. (There's also a saying: "Sento puzza di bruciato" = "I smell something burning", that can be used in the same situation).

This just cause we may use our senses in other ways, to give different acceptions to our speech :)

Hope this helps, happy Easter!!

Ps. Mi sa che ho preso/mi viene il raffreddore = I think I got a cold (pretty common expression, not just my real life atm LOL)

[sayitaliano]

can you teach us some slang italian kids say nowadays? penso che parlo come un vecchio d'ottanta anni 😭 grazie!

Ahaha beh, mi sa che hai chiesto alla persona sbagliata allora, perché... io ho ottant'anni O.O! Jokes aside, from what I get, many young people here now use slang words from TikTok, which is not exactly my ideal place (no hate, it's just that I haven't really realized how to use it -it stresses me LOL).

The main thing atm is the "corsivo" speech, which happens for any gender in different ways (at least, from what I noticed also in music: masculine people tend to speak in the same tone, almost accentless makes me so sad -check Sangiovanni for example, I swear 70% of the young guys I had to interact with or heard on TV, had his same tone- while feminine add "i"s anywhere, but I linked you my only post about it :'D). Ofc, not everyone does this (luckily, let me add).

+ there are these posts I have written in the past and you can scroll through the #slang to check more: adoro | beccare | starci | a palla | pieno | botto | sbatti | sbatta | figata | a molla | pizza | stica | I had written this post but ofc many of the words there are not very used anymore or are too Regional (com'è, raga, limonare, farsi... these are some of those still used for example... I think LOL). Ofc there are Regional slangs too to take into consideration, but living near Milan makes it tougher for me to realize them cause we get a lot of influence from the city. Recently guys tend to call their besties "bro" or "fra"/"frate" (same as in English: brother/fratello; differently from the older generation, the accent has disappeared: was "fraté" sometimes, but I never heard about it anymore); while girls call their besties "amo" or better, in corsivo, "amio" (=amore, love). Rarely "sister" but I'm not sure. I think the old slang "raga" stays for mixed groups. A lot of the slang words originate from English these days and you can get more from music (especially trap music, which is the main genre going on between youngers).

Again y'all, I'm an oldie and I am not having too many deep interactions with young people these days (especially those using lot of slang), so... I'm leaving it up to y'all!

[sayitaliano]

Gira voce

This is the Italian version of "rumor has it"/ "there's a rumor about" / "people/sb says", but literally translates as "(a) voice goes around". It works as in English, so you can use it basically the same way:

e.g. Gira voce che tu abbia comprato una barca = Rumor has it that you have brought a boat.

Just remember to make a sentence, you have to add the "che" and the subjunctive mood right after it (despite ofc we are losing its usage and going for indicative mood, but I'm a subjunctive supporter anyway).

[sayitaliano]

About water (some sayings/slang)

Facile come bere un bicchier(e) d'acqua = Easy peasy (literally: As easy as drinking a glass of water)

Perdersi/Affogare in un bicchier(e) d'acqua = Drown in an inch of water (literally: Lose oneself/drown in a glass of water)

Buttare/Gettare acqua sul fuoco = To throw water on a fire (literal translation), to calm a situation

Trovarsi/Essere con l'acqua alla gola = To find oneself in hot water (literally: To find oneself/To be with water at your throat level)

Una persona/Una ragazza acqua e sapone = Sb natural, pure and simple, "girl next door", fresh-faced (literally: A person/ A girl water and soap) -> More common when talking about girls

Essere/Assomigliarsi come due gocce d'acqua = To be identical (literally: To be like/To resemble each other as two drops of water)

Tirare acqua al proprio mulino = To further your own cause (literally: To throw/bring water to your own mill)

Acqua passata (non macina più) = Water under the bridge (literally: Water that has passed doesn't grind anymore) -> We generally only say "(è) acqua passata" meaning that is something that doesn't matter anymore, but the original saying includes the part between brackets.

Ne è passata di acqua sotto i ponti = It's been a long time (literally: A lot of water has passed under the bridges)

Acqua cheta (rompe i ponti) = Beware of still water (literally: Still water breaks bridges) -> We often just say "Attent* all'acqua cheta" meaning "beware of still water".

All'acqua di rose = Low quality, poorly, easy (literally: At rose water) -> Rose water has healing properties but it cannot be considered a medicine, so whenever we go through a situation or study a matter that is not too complex, something that we can go through superficially without putting too much effort in it, we say it's "all'acqua di rose".

Acqua in bocca = Lips sealed, mum's the word (literally: Water in your mouth) -> Because... how can you talk if you keep water in your mouth? :)

Fare un buco nell'acqua = To try in vain, fail (literally: To make/dig a hole in the water)

Sentirsi come un pesce fuor d'acqua = To be like a fish out of water (literal translation)

[sayitaliano]

Ciao! I have a question: Can "farsene" mean something like " to treat yourself to something"? Someone told me that (the context was that I'll see 2 concerts soon, the sentence was "Ah, te ne fai due? Bellissimo!"). The thing is, I looked for other example sentences to understand better how it is used, and I couldn't find a single one, I only find "farsene" in the context of "knowing what to do with something". Can you confirm/deny that it also has this other meaning? Thank you so much for all the work you do for us on here! I hope you have a lovely day 😊

Ciao!

"Farsene" in such a context holds a very colloquial/slang meaning, so I'm not surprised you couldn't find examples! I'd just translate it as "Ah, you go to two?" though. "Farsi un concerto" = Going to a concert and experience it. Despite this is a very good thing (happy for you btw!), "farsene" doesn't strictly refer to treating yourself to sth, as you could even do something bad/boring/annoying: e.g. let's suppose that instead of two concerts, you have to participate to two boring job meetings, maybe even in the same day. If I told you "Ah, te ne fai due?" I'd mean "Ah, you have two/you go to two?". Honestly we could also be talking about pizzas, mozzarellas, oranges or any food: Ah, te ne fai due? = Ah, are you eating/having two?

The main verb here is "farsi" (reflexive, fare + si) + the particella ne (=of sth; check the pronomi section here). It's complex but the whole verb farsene roughly means "fare *qualcosa* di qualcosa". And generally the verb "fare" takes on another verb's meaning (implied in the context of your speech).

As you found, farsene can be used as "not/knowing what to do with something" (e.g. Non so che/cosa farmene di questo foglio = I don't know what to do with this paper) but also as "Deve farsene una ragione" = "s/he has to make up her/his mind about it". This version though could be used in all the personal pronouns: yourself, with the 1st person pronoun (farmene), or the 2nd (fartene = you as a subject: devi fartene una ragione)... but any person really. It's buildt as: fare + personal pronoun + ne =it/of sth -> roughly "do for yourself sth of it *do/make/create for you a reason out of a situation*".

Hope this helps!