Lesson #7 – Aperitivo Giugno 22, 2007

Who said that drinking is bad? Waking up with the delicious taste of fresh mint from your mojito still in your mouth is fantastic. Until you start throwing up, of course.

But why waste time on such trivial details! ^_^

Aperitivo is a classic Milanese tradition. It is sometimes called Happy Hour and it basically means that you go to a nice bar, order a cocktail or long drink of your choice (or even a soft drink, or wine) and then stuff yourself at the buffet. Basically, you pay a fixed price for your drink, and get a free dinner! Isn’t this marvellous.

Aperitivo normally runs from 6pm to 9pm, and is a great time for socializing and unwinding after a long day at work.

Forget chips, peanuts and pop-corn.. a typical buffet can offer a variety of delicacies ranging from pasta, risotto, cruditées, cheeses, potato salads, nachos, barbecue chicken or even steamed chinese dumplings, tempura and sushi! It all depends on the place you choose and the fantasy of the chef.

The dark side of aperitivo is that most probably you’ll end up drinking more than one drink, and start blabbering. You will go with the intention of staying just for an hour, and end up going home very, very late. You will get strange ideas from the too many caipirinhas. And you will eat one too many chicken nuggets before you realize that – oops! – this was your vegetarian week. Well fuck it!

What to say at aperitivo with friends:

“Dove ci sediamo?” – Where shall we sit?
“Stiamo fuori o dentro?” – Shall we stay outside or inside (the bar)?
“Sediamoci sul divanetto zebrato!!” – Let’s sit on the small zebra sofa!!

“Posso avere la lista?” – May I have the menu?
“Avete la menta fresca?” – Do you have fresh mint?
“Usate le fragole fresche o lo sciroppo?” – Do you use fresh strawberries or syrup?

“Allora, prendiamo un mojito, una capirinha con il frutto della passione, un long island ice tea, un negroni sbagliato e una virgin pina colada..” – So, we’ll have a mojito, a caipirinha with passion fruit (aka maracuja), a long island ice tea, a “negroni sbagliato” and a  virgin pina colada.

[BTW, "Negroni" is a typical milanese cocktail, containing Campari (another typical milanese liquor), red vermouth (aka red Martini) and gin, plus perhaps an orange slice. A "Negroni sbagliato" (wrong Negroni) has sparkling white wine instead of gin, which makes it a little lighter.]

“Sono 35 euro.. 7 euro a testa” – It’s 35 euros.. 7 euros each.

“Andiamo a prendere da mangiare?” – Shall we go and get something to eat?
“Il buffet sembra goloso” – The buffet looks yummy
“Ho una fame!!!” – I’m so hungry!!!
“Prendi un po’ di patatine anche per me” – Take some chips for me too

Considering that I’m still hungover from yesterday night, I think I’ll throw in (was I gonna say “up”??) a couple of useful sentences for the day after..

“Che mal di testa..” – What a headache..
“Mi viene da vomitare / Ho la nausea” – I feel like I’m going to throw up / I feel nauseous
“Basta, giuro che non berrò mai più la caipirinha” - That’s it, I swear I’m never drinking capirinha again
“Che idea del cazzo” – What a fucking stupid idea

So.. I guess I’ll see you at the next aperitivo!! Strictly non-alcoholic, and we’ll eat only fruit and veggies though.

— If you wanna be bad, you gotta be good —

Lesson #6 – Lunch break Giugno 20, 2007

Today, once again, I skipped lunch. That got me thinking about discussing lunch break and food choices in Italian! So… feast yourselves ^_^

“Hai fame?” – Are you hungry?
“Si, ho una fame cane!” - Yes, I’m darn hungry!
“Sto morendo di fame!” – I’m starving! (literally: I am dying from hunger)
“Ho sete” -  I’m thirsty
“Tra un po’ andiamo a mangiare” – In a little while, we’ll go and eat

“E’ ora di pranzo” – It’s lunch time
“Andiamo al bar?” – Shall we go to the bar/café?
“No dai, mangiamo la pizza oggi” – No come on, let’s eat pizza today
“Vieni al cinese con noi?” – Are you coming to the chinese (restaurant) with us?
“No, mi fa schifo il cibo cinese” – No, chinese food disgusts me
“Ok, però io prendo il sushi” – Ok, but I’m having sushi
“Adoro il wasabi!” – I love wasabi!
“Quella roba verde? Ma come fa a piacerti?” - That green stuff? But how can you like it?

“Buon appetito!” – Bon appetit!
“Hmmm… che buon odorino..” – Hmmm… what a nice smell..
“Mi passi il sale/il pepe/l’olio/l’aceto?” – Can you pass the salt/pepper/oil/vinegar?
“Non ho la forchetta/il cucchiaio/il coltello/il cucchiaino” -  I don’t have a fork/spoon/knife/teaspoon
“Che buono!” – So good!
“E’ troppo freddo/caldo” – It’s too cold/hot
“Quasi quasi, faccio il bis” – I think I might have a second helping

“Qual è il tuo cibo/piatto/dolce preferito?” – What’s your favorite food/dish/dessert?
“Ti piace il pesce (crudo)?” – Do you like (raw) fish?
“Sono intollerante al latte/ai latticini” – I am intolerant to milk/dairy
“Sono vegetariano” – I am a vegetarian
“Preferisco il dolce/il salato” – I prefer the sweet/salty taste

So, what’s good to eat for lunch in Italy? Or better, what do people normally eat during lunch break (pausa pranzo)?

• un panino - a sandwich
• una focaccia  – a “focaccia” (similar to pizza, but without tomato and cheese on it) 
• una pizzetta  -  a small pizza
• un piatto di pasta / un primo – a plate of pasta / a first course
• un’insalata – a salad
• un gelato – an ice-cream
• un ghiacciolo – an ice lolly
• una macedonia – a fruit salad
• primo, secondo e contorno – first course (can be pasta, ravioli, risotto, etc.), second course (usually some meat, fish or cheese) and side dish (vegetables)

Anyway, lunch break is over and I am starving!!! Guess I’ll have to wait for dinner (cena) or hope for an afternoon snack (merenda).  Sighhhhh!!!! :-/

Lesson #5 – Traveling Maggio 28, 2007

This lesson is dedicated to traveling.. by car (auto), by train (treno), by ferry (traghetto) or by plane (aereo). When I think about traveling (in italian, viaggiare), lots of fond memories come to my mind: driving through the countryside at night, sitting in a night train from Stockholm to Umeå, watching the stars from the top deck of a ferry while sailing to Sardegna, or flying across the atlantic and seeing the sun never setting.
Yeah, you guessed it, I like to travel at night time!

Here are some useful dialogues for when you are traveling.

Mi piace viaggiare (di notte) – I like to travel (at night)

— CARS —

Sai guidare? – Can you drive?
Hai la patente? – Do you have a driver’s license?
Andiamo in Polonia in macchina.. in fondo, sono solo 1300 chilometri – Let’s drive to Poland (literally, let’s go to Poland by car).. after all, it’s only 1300km
Soffro la macchina / Ho il mal d’auto – I have motion sickness
Non preoccuparti, guido benissimo da ubriaca – Don’t worry, I drive perfectly well when I’m drunk (literally, as a drunken person)
Ho finito la benzina / Sono in riserva – I am out of gas (literally – I have finished the gas) / (I am in reserve.. meaning my car is telling me that the tank is nearly empty)

— TRAINS —

Mi piace andare in treno! – I like to travel by train!
Hai prenotato il posto? – Have you reserved a seat?
Sono andata a Parigi in treno e ho dormito in cuccetta – I went to Paris by train and I slept in a couchette
I treni svedesi sono molto puliti e comodi – Swedish trains are very clean and comfortable
Ci vediamo in stazione! – We’ll meet at the station!
Faccio io i biglietti, ok? – I’ll buy the tickets, ok?
Ok, io intanto vado in edicola a comprare i cruciverba – Ok, in the meantime I’ll go to the newsstand to buy crosswords
Che palle, i treni sono sempre in ritardo – So boring, trains are always late

— BUSES —

Odio viaggiare in pullman – I hate to travel by coach
I sedili sono così scomodi.. – The seats are so uncomfortable..
Che palle, l’autobus ha una gomma a terra – So boring, the bus has a flat tyre
Una volta sono andata da Copenhagen a Bologna in pullman… un incubo – Once I went from Copenhagen to Bologna by coach… a nightmare
Gli autisti guidano come dei pazzi – Bus drivers drive like madmen

— BOATS —

Mi piace andare in barca – I like to travel by boat
Hai mai preso un traghetto? – Have you ever been on a ferry?
I traghetti dalla Svezia alla Finlandia sono spaziali – Ferries from Sweden to Finland are so cool (literally: from space)
La cosa che odio di più della nave è il piano bar – The thing that I hate the most about ships (ferries) is the “piano bar” (where normally some cheesy piano music is being played, if you are unlucky there will also be singing.. bleah)
Dormiamo sul ponte in sacco a pelo? - Shall we sleep on the deck in sleeping bags?
No dai, prendiamo una cabina – No come on, let’s get a cabin

— AIRPLANES —

Adoro gli aerei! – I adore planes!
Hai paura di volare? Io no. – Are you afraid of flying? I am not.
Mi piace l’idea di essere sospesa per aria – I like the idea of being suspended in mid air
Preferisco sedermi vicino al finestrino - I prefer to sit by the window
Mi diverto un mondo negli aeroporti – I have lots of fun in airports (literally, I have a world of fun)
Non capirò mai come fanno a volare gli aerei – I will never understand how planes can fly

— Chit chat —

Buon viaggio! – Have a nice trip!
Scrivimi! – Write me!
Ti chiamo quando arrivo – I’ll call you when I get there
Ti manderò una cartolina – I’ll send you a postcard
Posso venire anche io? – Can I come too?

*** Merry travels to all of you! ***

Lesson #4 – Yesterday, today and tomorrow Maggio 20, 2007

“Oggi è domenica” – Today is sunday
“Che cosa fai oggi?” – What are you going to do today?
“Io ho dormito tutto il giorno” – I have slept all day

“Ieri è stata una giornata strana” – Yesterday was a strange day
“Che cos’hai fatto ieri?” – What did you do yesterday?
“Ieri sera ho fatto una passeggiata al parco” – Last night I took a walk in the park

“Domani è un altro giorno!” – Tomorrow is another day
“Che fai domani?” – What are you going to do tomorrow?
“Domani cercherò di diventare vegetariana” – Tomorrow I’ll try to become a vegetarian

I giorni della settimana: (The days of the week)
Lunedì - monday
Martedì – tuesday
Mercoledì – wednesday
Giovedì - thursday
Venerdì – friday
Sabato - saturday
Domenica - sunday

Note
“Dì” is an old way to say “day” in italian.. for example, you can say “buondì” instead of “buongiorno”.

The days of the week take their names from the planets:
Lunedì —> day of the moon (la luna)
Martedì —> day of Mars (Marte)
Mercoledì —> day of Mercury (Mercurio)
Giovedì —> day of Jupiter (Giove)
Venerdì —> day of Venus (Venere)
Sabato —> comes from the jewish “Shabbath”, meaning day of rest, although it never really is, since saturday is officially shopping day for most Italians.
Domenica —> means “day of the Lord”, meaning that it should be a day in which to praise the Lord – and in fact, it is so for many catholics. Many Italians, though, also praise another deity on sunday, that is, the god of soccer! Sunday therefore becomes a day to spend at the soccer stadium, or in front of the tv watching the game. If, like me, you are not a practicing catholic nor a soccer fan, sunday becomes a true day of rest! Yay ^_^

Buona domenica a tutti!

Lesson #3 – Sleepless in Milano Maggio 17, 2007

“Awake. Shake dreams from your hair, my pretty child, my sweet one..”
So sang Jim Morrison, thinking about who knows what, or whom.

Today’s lesson is all about sleeping! Being sleepy, waking up, taking a nap and the like. The reason is that today I am feeling so so tired I could faint. Ah well!

Aprile dolce dormire.. (a saying, which means, “April, sweet sleeping”)
“Ho (tanto)  sonno!!” – I’m (so) sleepy!! (literally: I have (much) sleep)
“Sto morendo di sonno..” – I’m so darn sleepy.. (literally: I am dying of sleep)
“Vado a dormire / a letto” – I am going to sleep / to bed
“Buonanotte” – Goodnight (also, “notte!” – nightie night)
“Ma che bel pigiama!” – What nice pajamas!
“Mi sembri mio nonno (mia nonna).. hehe” – You look like my grandfather (my granny).. hehe
“Sogni d’oro” – Sweet dreams (literally: golden dreams)
“Sei (ancora) sveglio?” – Are you (still) awake? (change to sveglia if you are talking to a she!)
“Dormi?” – Are you asleep?
“Non più…” – Not anymore…

Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca (another saying that means “The morning has gold in its mouth”, meaning, you can do lots of good things in the morning)
“Buongiorno!” – Good morning!
“Hai dormito bene?” – Did you sleep well?
“Cos’hai sognato?” – What did you dream about?
“Ti porto la colazione a letto” – I’ll bring you breakfast in bed
“Facciamo colazione?” – Shall we have breakfast?
“Ti preparo un caffè” - I’ll make you a coffee
“Uffa, la sveglia!” – Oh no, the alarm clock!
“Che ore sono? / Che ora è?” -  What time is it?
“Cazzo, ma è tardissimo!!” - Fuck, it’s so late!!
“Dai, alzati!” – Come on, get up!
“Noooo…. lasciami dormire ancora un po’” – Noooo…. let me sleep a little bit more

Il pisolino (the nap)
“(yawn) Che sonno!” -  (yawn) I’m sleepy! (literally: such sleep!)
“Ho mangiato troppo” – I’ve eaten too much
“Fatti un pisolino!” – Take a nap! (literally: make yourself a nap..lol)
“Ci vorrebbe un’amaca” – A hammock would be nice
“Beh, puoi dormire sul divano se vuoi” – Well, you can sleep on the sofa if you want
“Non è una cattiva idea!” – It’s not a bad idea!
“Sei troppo pigro..” – You are so lazy.. (pigra if talking to a girl)
“Che pigrone..” – Such a lazy boy.. (pigrona if talking to a girl)
“Vuoi una coperta?” – Would you like a blanket?

Insonnia d’amore (italian title of the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”, which btw I haven’t seen)
“Soffro di insonnia” -  I suffer from insomnia
“Sono insonne” - I am insomniac
“Non riesco a dormire” – I can’t sleep
“Non ho sonno” – I’m not sleepy
“Sono 24 ore che non dormo” – I haven’t slept in 24 hours (literally: it’s 24 hours that I don’t sleep) (Note: 24 = ventiquattro)
“Hai le occhiaie!” - You have bags under your eyes!
“Ho gli occhi impastati di sonno” – Your eyes look drowsy
“Hai la voce impastata di sonno” – Your voice sounds drowsy
[literally, "impastato di sonno" means "kneaded with sleep"]
“Restiamo svegli a guardare l’eclisse di luna?” – Shall we stay up to watch the lunar eclipse?
“Dai, non ti addormentare..” – Come on, don’t fall asleep..

I’ll leave you with a nice song that mommies and nannies sing to babies and small  children to help them fall asleep.. the version provided is for a boy, substitute “questo bimbo –> questa bimba” and “lo –> la” if you want to sing it to a little girl. 

You could even try to hypnotize yourself to sleep.. might work! ;-)

Ninna nanna, ninna oh,
questo bimbo a chi lo do?
Lo darò alla Befana
che lo tiene una settimana.
Lo darò all’Uomo Nero
che lo tiene un anno intero.
Lo darò alla sua mamma
che gli canta la ninna nanna.

Lesson #2 – Greetings Maggio 16, 2007

“So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye..”
So goes the famous song in the classic musical “The Sound of Music”.. which in Italian, by the way, is called “Tutti insieme appassionatamente”. Oh well.

So, today we’ll talk about greetings and short catch-phrases that you can use with your italian friends, colleagues and random italian people that you might meet.

The basic greeting you need to learn is the omnipresent “ciao”. Ciao means both hello and goodbye; it is always used in informal situations and can also have other side meanings depending on intonation. Let’s see some examples.

You meet someone you know:
“Ciao! Come va?” (Hello! How’s it going?)
“Non male, e tu?” (Not bad, and you?)
“Bene, dai..” (Yeah, fine..)

No strings attached, generic meeting with friendly person:
“Ciao!” (Hello!)
“Heila, ciao” (Hello there)

When saying goodbye to a group of friends:
“Ciao, io vado!” (Bye, I’m leaving!)
“Ciao, a domani / a dopo” (Bye, see you tomorrow / later)

Saying goodbye to a friend or someone you are on good terms with:
“Ciaoooo” (See yaaaa)
“Ciao bella/bello” (See you, pretty)

Note on calling people names:
They don’t need to be actually pretty to call them “bello” or “bella”. Of course if they’re downright ugly perhaps you’ll get a weird aftertaste after saying this… An alternative is to call your friend (expecially among girls) any other name that is similar to “bella”, for example: ”bellina” (diminutive of pretty), “bellissima” (gorgeous), “bellezza” (beauty), “tesoro” (lit. treasure, but means, like, honey, darling), even “amore” (love). This does in no way indicate a lesbian attitude, it’s only a cute way to greet your girlfriends.
Another variation of this is to call your friend some ugly name, but you have to be on *very* good terms. When used, it can be heard among guys, not girls. Example: “Ciao vecchia checca” (Hello old fag).
Never call a girl a bad name, like, “ciao mostro” (hello monster), “ciao brutta racchia” (hello ugly — “racchia” means like monstruously ugly), unless you are ready to have your butt kicked and your reputation ruined! If you can’t stand the sight of her, just don’t say anything. At least not to her face!

When you want to greet someone that is not your pal, like a salesman, the cleaning lady, your direct boss or the ticket-collector, you can say “salve” instead of “ciao”. Some examples:

When buying a bus ticket:
“Salve, vorrei un biglietto dell’autobus.” (Hello, I’d like a bus ticket.)

At the bakery:
“Salve, mi da due brioches e un chilo di pane? Grazie.” (Hello, could you give me two croissants and a kilo of bread? Thank you.)

The more formal way to greet someone, which can also be used with your friends if you like, depends on the time of the day: “buongiorno” (good morning) or ”buonasera” (good evening) are the two possible options. This is used when greeting your mother in law, when calling up a government official, when saying hello to your elderly neighbor.

Wishing a fabulous day to the old lady who lives next door
“Buongiorno signora Lina! Ha visto che bel sole oggi?” (literally: Good morning ms. Lina! Have You seen what a beautiful sun today?)

When calling up the UK embassy for a tourist visa
“Buongiorno, parla inglese?” (Good morning, do You speak english? Yeah.. don’t even try to speak italian with a beurocrat, at least until you’ve reached lesson 100 of this course!!)

When greeting a group of older people as you walk down the street on the way back home // also to greet your friends sounding formal in a funny way:
“Buonasera..” (smile a little and make a small nod or hint of a bow with your head. That will win you the ladies over if you are a nice guy, and will fill the boys’ hearts with warmth if you are a girl.)

And last but not least, here’s how to say goodbye as in I Will Never See You Again. The word is “Addio!”. “Addio” is a word charged with meanings, of sadness, definitive parting, leaving, sorrow, and so on. It is usually spoken in bad movies and soap-operas. Normally, when italian people have to say goodbye to a friend or relative, they just say “ciao”, maybe with a sad face, or even “a presto” (see you soon). In  a more formal way, like when speaking to your mother in law, or to your professor, you can also say “arrivederci!” (see you again, farewell). It’s a little white lie that we say, nobody likes to say goodbye :-(

How to be theatrical when saying goodbye, for example, before pretending to kill yourself:
“Addio, mondo crudele!” (Farewell, cruel world!)

That’s it for today! E’ tutto per oggi! We’ll leave the catch-phrases to another lesson, man I never realized that greetings can be so complicated.. :-P

Buona giornata a tutti! (A good day to all of you!)

Lesson #1 – Rodents and assorted pets Maggio 15, 2007

Ok, so maybe this is not what you would expect as a first lesson of a language course, but nobody said this was going to be a standard course! ^_^

I really like rodents, pets and cute little animals, so I thought I’d start from here. Btw, rodents = roditori.

Sample conversation, at the park, between A (boy) and B (girl).

A: “Che bel cane!” (what a nice dog!)
B: “Grazie! Si chiama Fufi” (thanks! his name is Fufi — typical dog name)
A: “Mi piacerebbe avere un cane..” (I’d like to have a dog..)
B: “Davvero?” (oh really?)
A: “Sì sì. Ho un gatto però, sai?” (yeah. I have a cat though, you know?)
B: “Come si chiama?” (what’s his name?)
A: “Attila. Ho anche un criceto…” (Attila. I also have a hamster…)
B: “Che carino! E lui, come si chiama?” (so cute! and what’s his name?)
A: “Si chiama Polpetta.” (his name is Meatball)
B: “Hehe. Beh, comunque io mi chiamo A.” (hehe. anyway, my name is A.)
A: “Piacere, B.” (nice to meet you, (my name is) B.”
B: “Ciao, alla prossima!” (bye, (see you) next (time)!)
A: “Ciao ciaoooo” (bye byeeeee)

At this point, the conversation is over, it was all about cuteness and the girl is probably 15 or something. The boy will go home and have a hamster-stuffed-cat roast, and excogitate new and better ways to approach girls in parks..

Now it’s your turn!

• Read and memorize the main parts of this meaningful conversation.
• Try to start a conversation with someone by complimenting on their pet.

Please do post comments about questions, and obscure pets that you might have which are not covered here!

Feel free to record your conversations and send me the audio logs! ^_^

Hello world! Maggio 15, 2007

Hello and welcome to this very basic, politically correct and definitely unbiased tutorial on the italian language. For dummies.