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What is a typical situation to use "disgraziato!"?

What kind of emotion is associated with the word?

I.M.
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Memming
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3 Answers3

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"Disgraziato" is equivalent to "wretched" and it can be associated with different feelings: it may be about someone who has done something very very wrong and you think they should feel ashamed by that; it may be about a very unlucky person and you feel sorry for them; or it may be about a person who is behaving cheeky and you have a benevolent feeling about it (for example a child who is being a "rascal").

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The usage you're probably asking about is the one where you address the word to someone whose behavior you want to criticize/condemn or deprecate. It has also other uses, but as far as your question is concerned, that's basically it.

Alenanno
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    The negative use is not the only one. Two other common uses are 1) as a joke, e.g. with a friend (Disgraziato! Non ti fai più sentire!) 2) used in a "cute" way, e.g. to a child (Hai mangiato tutta la torta? Disgraziato!). – nico Nov 30 '13 at 23:38
  • @nico Sure, but I was addressing the OP's question which to me looked about the dramatic one. There are even more uses than the ones you listed. :P – Alenanno Dec 01 '13 at 00:42
  • I cannot really feel that the OP is referring to that specific situation though... Really this is one situation where body language would tell way more than any dictionary! :) – nico Dec 01 '13 at 09:30
  • @nico True, body language helps. :P But the question asks about "what is the typical situation", and considering the quote, what other than the dramatic use? If the question had asked for related uses I might have listed those as well. – Alenanno Dec 01 '13 at 10:44
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    well, I mostly use disgraziato in a joking way as I feel it's kind of a retro insult. It is difficult to define a typical situation, also because I am pretty sure there will be regionality issues in the use of the word (I would say you hear it more often in the South than in the North) – nico Dec 02 '13 at 08:05
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1) Image this scene: You are 7, ate all -for example marmalade- that your mum need to do something. Then she discover it and starts to scream: "Disgraziato! Che hai fatto?" In this case your mum is growling at you but she is not really only angry, but also a little bit wry. I think in souther Italy "disgraziato" is used also in more severe situation (100% angry and a wooden shoe flying to you).

2) You saw a really unlucky person, maybe he lost all his money or someone of his family recently died and you say, in a sad tone (and not directly to him, it can be offensive): "Che disgraziato, è stato proprio sfortunato."

3) As a joke, like with a friend.

Andrea
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