Category Archives: Italian Vocabulary

Italian Lentil Soup💰Recipe for a Lucky Year

Prefer to read this post in English? Skip to the text in  green.      Secondo l’usanza italiana, se ti vuoi assicurare di un nuovo anno fortunato, a Capodanno devi mangiare le lenticchie. Piatte e tonde, assomigliano le monete, e per … Continue reading

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The Vowel Sound U/ooh/ – “It’s Never About YOU” | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Navigating Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓   This week’s Italian Language Nugget is brought to you by yet another vowel sound pronunciation landmine. The letter in question is U. Just like the vowels A [“Don’t Call Me Al“] … Continue reading

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The Vowel Sound i/ee/ – “Rhymes with Tree” | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Navigating Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ Buongiornoooo! This week’s Language Nugget is brought to you by yet another pronunciation landmine Vowel Sound – today we’re looking at the Italian Vowel Sound i – which in Italian rhymes with … Continue reading

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The Vowel Sound A – “Don’t Call Me Al” | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ Today’s language nugget/pronunciation landmine is brought to you by the Italian Vowel Sound A.  Such an innocent looking letter. You’d think it’d be easy. And yet, it fools many a student (especially, … Continue reading

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The Three Stooges Sound | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ This week’s Language Nugget features another common Italian pronunciation landmine
 one that has the dubious distinction of being voted by my students as “Most Obnoxious Sound in Italian.” Can you guess which … Continue reading

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Italian Z’s, Part I: The Hot Z | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ Just to set the record straight, this week’s Language Nugget isn’t about sleeping, Italian style 😉  Rather, we’ll be talking about the pronunciation of what I call the Hot Z. Just as … Continue reading

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La Pasqua: Easter Eye Candy [a foto blog]

Prefer to read this post in English? Skip to the text in  green. CosĂŹ come guardare le vetrine non incide sui nostri budget, concedersi la bellezza di queste bellissime vetrine italiane decorate con esposizioni elaborate di dolci pasquali non ci … Continue reading

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“Blackbird Days”: Italy’s Distant Cousin to Groundhog Day

Christmas holidays have come and gone, and by the end of January, many of us have had it with cold, gray, rainy or snowy weather. How much more of this and how much longer ’til spring? If you’re in the … Continue reading

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A proposito di propositi… Speaking of Resolutions… + Quizlet Practice Set!

So yes, the title if this blog post is a play on words: A proposito di, meaning “speaking of,” propositi, meaning “intentions/aims/objectives/goals”, as in the expression i buoni propositi per l’anno nuovo, or New Year’s resolutions. And speaking of resolutions, … Continue reading

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Arriva la Befana | The Befana Is Coming

Around Italy, i ragazzi, the kids, are getting ready to hang their calze, stockings, by il camino, the chimney, with care, in hopes that la Befana soon will be there. i bravi, the good ones, will get caramelle, candies, and … Continue reading

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