I'll second BellaLuna's love of SB with sbrighiamoci and add an SP with spiegare. I had always thought Piacenza would be a lovely place with such a name...until I read some accounts of how badly it was hit by the plague--che citta poverina!

Stefania

I always liked pescevendolo (fishmonger) and fagiolini (string beans)...

Those always stuck out in my head from high school Italian class.

Have I missed "Caro" as someone else's favourite word?

If not I propose it now.

It's so soothing to say as well as to sing,thanks to Puccini for "O mio babbino caro"

Wendy

noone mentioned "Mamma mia !" ?
very used and very sweet
ciao da roma
pincopallo_it@yahoo.it

I know this is kind of an old topic, but I love to talk about neat Italian words. I just joined the website and as I posted under the introduction section, I chose my username Chiocciola because it is my favorite Italian word! I guess it is kind of along the lines of cucchiaino.

So:
1. Chiocciola (which means @, and sounds so much nicer than the English "at", Spanish "arroba" or Norwegian "krollalfa/alfakroll"!)

2. Cucciolo (puppy). I especially like it when they say cucciolo di cane. Such a sweet sound! And I don't even really like dogs...

3. Magari

4. Dunque

5. Comunque

6. Infatti

These last ones I like because of their usage.

I love to hear "quindi," and any word that ends with "mente" (solamente, probabilmente).

quote:

Originally posted by Chiocciola:
1. Chiocciola (which means @, and sounds so much nicer than the English "at", Spanish "arroba" or Norwegian "krollalfa/alfakroll"!)

Actually chiocciola means snail, or rather the kind of snail with the large shell on their back .

quote:

Actually chiocciola means snail,

Well, yes - but it's also used to vocalise the @ sign when reading out e-mail addresses. And since Philippa is a string player, I must add that it's used to label what we'd call a scroll (that curly thing at the top of a violin's pegbox.

Jonathan

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think there is any word in Italian that I DON'T like. What a beautiful language. Forse dovremo scrivere un po' in questa bellissima lingua. Cose ne pensate?
Emily

Alice, Jonathan: Cool, now I know three meanings of my favorite word! And cool how they all kind of look the same.

Em: I agree, all Italian words are nice! One I don't like very much, however, is "grembiule" (apron). Just sounds weird!

I vote for allora, too. While studying in Italy, my professor used it constantly. It sounded like a song.

ahaha great topic !!!

mine is babbo

when I think of when pinocchio calls his daddy I almost start crying ... babbo, babbino mio

and let me add also mamma (just in case my parents ever read this )

Having just spent 3 weeks in Florence, my first time there...with very little command of the Italian language...after repeatedly starting many conversations with "Mi scusi, che non parlo molto bene italiano...mi scusi, per favore...," my new favorite Italian word has become 'niente'...because the very kind people of Italy who patiently listened while I excused my poor Italian, most often replied with a warm smile and a wave of the hand, "E niente, signora...niente!"

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles." ~ Washington Irving
Brenda

My wife has rooted in, "Ma noooo.." cracks me up whenever she starts in with it.

My favorite is 'magari' it is so versatile and has so many ways it can be used. There is no one true translation but 'would that it were so' covers a lot of ways magari is used.
Magari qualcuno sapesse di più!

Magari i tuoi vini arrivassero in California!

Originally posted by tuscanartist:
PATACCA ...
A patacca is a fake gucci bag.
A patacca is a thailandese rolex.
A patacca is that leather coat that you discover is not leather.
A Patacca in Romagna idiom is a stupid person

rispondo: magari i miei vini una volta arrivati in California e arriverano, fossero assititi magari da noi!

La mia parola italiana favorita è: formaggio.
Gli gradisco il suono.

Se c'è ne di queste frasi sono scritte male, correggalo per favore.

quote:

Originally posted by Xirian:
La mia parola italiana favorita è: formaggio.
Gli gradisco il suono.
Gradisco (mi piace) il suo suono.

Se c'è ne di queste frasi sono scritte male, correggalo per favore.

Se una di queste frasi è scritta male, per favore correggetela.
Non ci è felicità nel possedere qualche cosa che non sia ripartito."-Seneca
Non c'è felicità nel possedere qualcosa che non sia condivisa.
Fatti non foste per viver come bruti, ma per seguir virtute e conoscenza. Dante Alighieri

Nice to see this post revived.
Another word I like to USE is 'Strega'. Usually when I'm driving and some stupid woman cuts me off. As in, "You stupid strega!"

I just applied for personalized plates for my car. A check of the Missouri plate registery list indicates that the word "ALLORA" has not yet been taken. Can you believe it!
My other choices were: Italia, Cin Cin, Vino, and Umbria. All were already taken. So were Salute, Pronto, and Ciao. I'm not surprised about any of them but perhaps Umbria.

I sent off my application for Allora, post haste.

Now all I have to do is hope that noone else sent one in before me. It takes up to 6 weeks to get your plates, and they don't guarantee you will get the name you choose.
You select up to six choices in case your 1st choice is taken. My back-ups are:
Si Vino
Vino Si
No Lira
Strega
Basta

Tony,

I know what you mean about

perche no

It is wonderful. I have just started trying to learn Italian, as a child I spoke ehat i refer to as 'kitchen Italian' with my grandmother.

My father was Italian and mother Australian. Unfortunately my father believed in assimilation and never spoke Italian to us at home.

But perche no brings back strong memories of my grandparents.

Anne

Deborah: an old feminist slogan was "Tremate, tremate, le streghe son tornate" ^___^

I'm one of the "allora" fans. It's just so sing-songy, light and sweet. I'm also a big on using "mamma mia" as well.

Okay, I admit it. I like putana too...

Back in college, in the early 70's, I loved it when my Italian teacher started off a discussion with, "Dunque..." Something about the way she used the expression, maybe her bravado (or should I say "bravada") just sent me! Signora Fidel was a beautiful, elegant and sophisticated woman from Trieste and I'll always remember her confidence as she summed up our discussions beginning with "Dunque..."

This is a fun thread.. I love words that start with "giu" and "gia".. Giacomo, giusto, Giuseppe...

I got my letter from the Missouri division of motor vehicles. My new personalized licence plate was ready to pick up --- ALLORE.
They turned the a into an e !
So I went down to the license office to find out what to do about it.
They checked to see if ALLORA was still available, and it is. So I had to reapply. That means I wait another 8 weeks!