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1500 questions
5
votes
4 answers
Is the adjective "maledetto" current usage in Italian? Where in Italy is it used?
The adjective "maledetto" is translated into English as "accursed", "damned" or "cursed". Is it current usage in Italian? Is it a regional term? Is it a swearword?
Centaurus
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votes
2 answers
Bidirectional Italian-English dictionary with more than 400,000 translations
I am looking for a large Italian-English bidirectional dictionary. Currently, the Oxford Paravia Italian Dictionary (third edition) with 450,000 translations is out of print, and the Collins Italian Dictionary (third edition) only has 230,000…
user2964
5
votes
2 answers
Sull'espressione "fare repulisti"
Repulisti è un latinismo che è sopravvissuto e si è bene adattato al linguaggio contemporaneo soprattutto nell'espressione "fare repulisti":
Repulisti s. m. [voce lat. dei Salmi (42, 2: quare me repulisti? «perché mi hai respinto?»; 43, 10,…
user519
5
votes
2 answers
Double meaning of "traduttore, traditore"
I am familiar with the phrase "translator, traitor" and have no issue with its meaning in English. But what is the pun referred to on this Wikipedia page:
"Similarly, consider the Italian adage "traduttore, traditore": a literal translation is…
zadrozny
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votes
1 answer
In italiano, quando si usa il presente e quando il gerundio?
In English it is very common to use the present-conjugation of 'to be' plus the ing-gerund form of the verb to describe an action in progress.
Ex: "I am talking to Tom".
Would both of the following be correct?
1) Parlo con/a Tom
2) Sto parlando…
pj2452
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5
votes
1 answer
"Fare" o "lasciare" come traduzione di "let"?
Ho visto che l'inglese let si traduce spesso con il verbo fare:
Come on, let me see! = Ma dai, fammi vedere!
Let me know if you need anything = Fammi sapere se hai bisogno di qualcosa
Di solito traduco let come lasciare, ma mi sa che in questo…
Yay
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5
votes
2 answers
Dog command to drop in Italian
I'm training my dog by giving commands in Italian and wondering is there any specific word to tell a dog to drop something from a mouth. I believe both "cadere" or "scendere" could be used but I'm wondering is there a common "doggy" word for…
Nina
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5
votes
1 answer
Sul termine “tampa”
“Tampa” significa “buca” o “osteria” ed è un termine marcatamente piemontese, tanto che Riccardo Regis, nella voce “Geosinonimi” dell’Enciclopedia dell’italiano lo menziona fra gli esempi di “geosinonimi di rango dialettale, a volte difformi dal…
DaG
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5
votes
2 answers
Non-causal use of *se*
According to this discussion the conjuction se can have a causal function (rather than introducing a conditional clause) meaning that the sentence
scusa se non ti piace il regalo
actually means “sorry that you don’t like the gift”, not “sorry if you…
George Law
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votes
3 answers
Modal Verbs and Changes in Meaning
I found a useful chart in Kinder & Saviani's 'Using Italian' reference book. It outlined different uses of modal verbs (dovere, potere, and volere) in different tenses and their impact on meaning. However, I noticed that a few possible combinations…
Scoiattolo
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5
votes
3 answers
Uso di “ora di”
Sento e leggo ogni tanto locuzioni temporali introdotte da “ora di X” nel senso di “giunto X”. Per esempio “ora di sera, Gianni era tornato a casa” nel senso appunto di “giunta la sera, Gianni era tornato a casa” o “a sera Gianni era ormai tornato a…
DaG
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5
votes
1 answer
What ages are these nouns used to refer to?
What ages (roughly) would refer to the people listed below?
bimbo/a
neonato/a
bambino/a
ragazzo/a
giovane
giovanotto/a
figlio/a
uomo/donna
and
ragazzo/a
vs.
fidanzato/a
Scoiattolo
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5
votes
2 answers
Italian equivalent of a Persian proverb
In the following question the user is asking for the English equivalent of a Persian proverb.
The concept is that of someone/something bad which is substituted by someone/something that isn't any better so that you can't tell which is worse.
It…
user519
5
votes
1 answer
The chess proverb
There is a famous Italian proverb and I am trying to discover its most authentic wording. It is as follows, according to a forum posting:
Quando finisce la partita, i pedoni, le torri, i cavalli, i vescovi, i
due re e le due regine tutti vanno…
Tyler Durden
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5
votes
1 answer
Prosodic stress in Italian
Just when you think you've got your ear attuned to when one ought to drop a note/ tone (or whatever it should be called) when speaking an Italian sentence, you listen to words that don't seem to follow this "pattern".
Can anyone give a concise…
Dan
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