| Subject | Date Asked |
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| Italian surnames ending in -engo | 11/5/2009 |
Q: I am a Ukrainian and my name is Olexander Martinenko. During my very first visit to Italy, on my ...
A: the information you have learnt is correct: many words in Italian have a Germanic (mainly Gothic or ...
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| l'inferno canto I, line 103 | 7/4/2009 |
Q: "Questi non cibera terra ne peltro" All English translations I've come across apparently take ...
A: "questi" means "this one" (even though it looks plural, it is used as a singular pronoun; modern ...
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| Italian slang | 6/17/2009 |
Q: My question has more to do with Italian-Americanisms; in other words, taking American English words ...
A: Italian-Americanisms are often based on dialectal words, more than standard Italian. Scupalone, is ...
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| translation | 6/8/2009 |
Q: Can you please help me translate the question below into English: “Lei poi che c'entra?” I ...
A: "lei poi che c'entra?" can be translated as "what's her part in it?" or "does she has anything to do ...
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| My Family, My Heart Translation | 6/2/2009 |
Q: I was wondering if the phrase would translate properly in Italian. Im considering having this ...
A: your phrase can be translated as "la mia famiglia, il mio cuore". It doesn't sound ridiculous at ...
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| English to Italian Translation | 4/14/2009 |
Q: My name is Megan and it would be a great help if you could translate the following phrase from ...
A: here you are your translations! "Dio, dammi la serenita' di accettare le cose che non posso ...
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| Andare & Vado | 4/7/2009 |
Q: Buon giorno! What is the difference between andare and vado? I believe andare is "to go" but is ...
A: you are right, andare means "to go" and vado is "I go". "I'm going" is translated as "sto andando", ...
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| dialect lyric | 2/19/2009 |
Q: I speak Italian fairly fluently, and am often asked by singers to translate lyrics. This one is ...
A: "odassi" is a variant, used mainly in literature and poems, of "si oda" = may it be heard; it's ...
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| una lacrima sul viso-bobby solo | 2/6/2009 |
Q: Mr. Marchesani, I have always loved this song, some of my cousins who speak much more fluent italian ...
A: Here you are! From a teardrop on (your) face I understood many things after so many many months now ...
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| First Names | 1/31/2009 |
Q: Fracenso, I'm am about to have twins. A boy and girl. I'd like to name my son after my great ...
A: the most common name for which Gino is a diminutive, is Luigi (=Louis). Other options can be Luigino ...
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| Trevellin family name, Italian? | 1/22/2009 |
Q: ever since I was little I have always felt that my last name 'Trevellin' did not sound really ...
A: Trevellin is indeed an Italian family name: in the Veneto region most names end with an -n instead ...
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| Translation | 1/20/2009 |
Q: I'm considering getting a tattoo in Italian dedicated to my family, Unfortunately having never ...
A: first of all, sorry for the delay in my answer. I would translate your phrase as "Per chi amo. Per ...
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| plurals | 11/3/2008 |
Q: can you kindly give me the plural of the following la giornata lo stivale l'isola la macchina la ...
A: Here you are: la giornata - le giornate lo stivale - gli stivali l'isola - le isole la macchina - ...
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| De and de | 11/1/2008 |
Q: There was an earlier question posted on this site regarding the use of a capital or lower case d in ...
A: actually there's no true reason why a name should be spelled De or de, it's mainly a matter of ...
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| mia per sempre | 10/30/2008 |
Q: i am having great difficulty finding a site to provide the english translation of the italian song ...
A: I've translated it for you: You my only life You my only heart Inside how many hearts will you ...
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| le infinite domande | 10/23/2008 |
Q: Salve Francesco Io imparai la tua bellissima lingua soltanto con i 2 volumi del libro "la lingua ...
A: Ciao, e ancora complimenti per il tuo italiano buonissimo! Un sito molto utile e' ...
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| My daughters last name | 10/21/2008 |
Q: My daughter's last name is Cha. Many people think it's Asian because it sounds Asian. My ...
A: actually Cha is not an Italian name: following Spanish (and English) pronunciation, it's Italian ...
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| difficolta linguistiche nei romanzi italiani | 10/15/2008 |
Q: Caro Francesco Salve Leggendo il secondo capitolo del romanzo Pinocchio ,mi e' capitato un ...
A: Complimenti per il suo italiano, e' veramente molto buono! Pinocchio contiene molte parole ed ...
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| how do i translate these 2 phrases | 9/20/2008 |
Q: how do i translate MY FAMILY MY LIFE and JUSTIFY YOUR EXISTANCE into italian and possibly latin. ...
A: I would translate the two phrases as: MY FAMILY MY LIFE: Italian: la mia famiglia e' la mia vita ...
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| my last name | 8/28/2008 |
Q: Everyone in my family says my last name differently. Can you tell me the Italian pronunciation of ...
A: -cia is pronounced like "CHA", for example in "chastity" or "charme", but the A has to be pronounced ...
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| English to Italian translation | 8/26/2008 |
Q: I'm looking to translate "let go," as in to let go of an emotion, to Italian. Can you please help? ...
A: Actually they are the same thing: lasciar andare is the infinitive form (to let go), while lascia ...
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| translations please? | 8/16/2008 |
Q: "live for love" "love rules without rules" and "live life" ANSWER: Hello, here you are: live for ...
A: "vivere" means "to live", while "vivi" means "live!" (imperative). Since you want a tattoo out of ...
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| translation | 8/11/2008 |
Q: Greetings Francesco. Am trying to help a friend learn the Italian spelling of the English phonetics ...
A: that's not easy to guess... but I think your friend's relatives might call themselves "marchigiani", ...
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| My last name | 7/1/2008 |
Q: My last name is Manes. It is pronounced (Mah-ness) People always tell me I am not italian because my ...
A: Manes is an existing Italian surname; you can check its location in Italy on the following website: ...
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| last name | 6/27/2008 |
Q: every one tells me my last name is Italian, my last name is patrono what does it mean and were did ...
A: Patrono is, most probably, from the Puglia region, in southern Italy; it comes from Latin patronus = ...
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| some sentences | 6/11/2008 |
Q: Ciao!, i've been searching for some sentences for so long, I was wondering if you could maybe help ...
A: Ciao, here you are your translations: 1. la tua galleria e' davvero bella 2. sai che non ti ...
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| Please Help! -- English to Italian phrase translation | 3/31/2008 |
Q: I'm hoping you can help me translate this phrase from English to Italian. - let the light shine in ...
A: I'd translate "let the light shine within" as lascia che la luce risplenda dentro di te (you - ...
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| marciano etc. | 3/28/2008 |
Q: I gather that “marciano” is simply an adjective meaning “connected with St. Mark”. Is that its only ...
A: marciano has a double meaning: connected to St. Mark the evangelist (San Marco), or connected to ...
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| Basili | 3/12/2008 |
Q: My last name is Basili. I know there is a region in Italia called Basilicata.. do you think there ...
A: your last name is actually connected to Basilicata, even thought in an indirect way: Basileus, in ...
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| could you translate this 2 italian for me please!!! | 3/5/2008 |
Q: "Forever young and free. Heart. Soul. Body. Mind."
A: here you are your translation: "Per sempre giovane e libera. Cuore. Anima. Corpo. Mente." I assume ...
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| Wedding Thank You in Italian? | 3/3/2008 |
Q: i need help!. I am writing our wedding thank yous and i need a couple in Italian. Something along ...
A: You can write something like this: Grazie per avere partecipato al nostro matrimonio. Speriamo che ...
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| Translation | 2/24/2008 |
Q: I've been looking at all your answers and hoping you could help me translate this into Italian for a ...
A: here you are the translation for your friend: Ciao bello, come stai? Mi manchi moltissimo, mi sento ...
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| Italian Music | 2/22/2008 |
Q: I am restoring 1940-1950 78 rpm records my grandfather recorded. I was able to decipher most of his ...
A: even though I'm not a big music expert, please try and send samples of the music; it would be also ...
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| language | 2/4/2008 |
Q: can you translate, 'believe in love'. I know there's different dialects so whatever is the most ...
A: even though there are many dialects in Italy, I'll give you a translation in standard Italian, which ...
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| last name origin | 1/24/2008 |
Q: Can you solve our family name mystery. My last name is "Piantaggini" My grandfater came from ...
A: it's never easy to find the correct etymology for a name, however the easiest choice for Piantaggini ...
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| Italian phrase | 1/21/2008 |
Q: I am wanting to get an Italian saying as a tattoo. In English it will mean "Lover of God" but I ...
A: you can say "amante di Dio": amante has the same usage as "lover" in English, meaning a sexual lover ...
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| Mariotti | 11/30/2007 |
Q: I love my Italian last name, Mariotti, but never know what it means. I can never find it on any ...
A: the origin of Mariotti is from Mario, through the deminutive Mariotto (=little Mario) which was ...
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| Italian pronunciation of "dessert" | 11/29/2007 |
Q: This question concerns the pronunciation of the word "dessert" in Italian. Is the "t" at the end of ...
A: dessert is sometimes pronounced as it was an Italian word, that is including the final t, but this ...
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| Verb Evolution | 11/28/2007 |
Q: I am an old student of the Latin language and a recent student of the Italian. It helps me to see ...
A: since the conditional tense is not present in Latin, the Italian language developed it from a mix of ...
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| meaning of word | 10/24/2007 |
Q: can you please help me with the meaning of agenzia
A: "agenzia" means agency, but can also mean board, branch, with the same meanings these words have in ...
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| roccolta raccolto | 10/21/2007 |
Q: Can you please help me to understand the difference between the words "raccolta" and "raccolto" - ...
A: "raccolta" is the act of collecting something, and usually needs a specification term, such as in ...
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| "o" and "oppure" | 10/20/2007 |
Q: Can you please explain what is the difference between "o" and "oppure"? Thank you very much. ...
A: gramatically there's no different between "o" and "oppure", both meaning Or. However, since ...
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| Ergastolo and edicola | 10/19/2007 |
Q: What is the origin of these two words, please? -- ergastolo (for life sentence) and edicola (as in a ...
A: "latitante" is from the verb "latitare" = to be hidden, to be at large. It's from the same very in ...
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| Ergastolo and edicola | 10/12/2007 |
Q: What is the origin of these two words, please? -- ergastolo (for life sentence) and edicola (as in a ...
A: Ergastolo comes from the Latin Ergastulum, and Greek Ergasteion (= working place); for the Romans, ...
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| last name | 10/3/2007 |
Q: i want to know which part of Italy my last name "Maione" came from ANSWER: Hello, Maione comes, ...
A: Vanuccio can be an Italian last name, it's nowadays not present in Italy. Maybe it was mispelled ...
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| last name | 10/2/2007 |
Q: i want to know which part of Italy my last name "Maione" came from
A: Maione comes, most probably, from the area around Naples, where the highest number of Maiones live ...
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| Vivaldi Cantata translation | 9/25/2007 |
Q: I am asking you for a translation of a cantata I am singing because I have noticed you have ...
A: here you are my translation of Vivaldi's cantata, hoping I'm not ruining it's gracefullness :-) ...
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| translation | 9/23/2007 |
Q: Can you please translate the following for me: "Dove sono le informazione" ...
A: "informazioni", in this context, is usually understood as "ufficio informazioni", so it's a kind of ...
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| Translation | 9/17/2007 |
Q: Can you help me translate this? My trip to Rome was very scary. It was difficult to understand the ...
A: here you are your translation: Il mio viaggio a Roma e' stato pauroso: era difficile capire ...
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| italian language courses in pavia | 9/5/2007 |
Q: perhaps why). I am a total beginner and need to learn quickly as have just moved to Pavia. Having 3 ...
A: you can go to the British Institutes, they have courses of Italian for foreigners. Address is: corso ...
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| Loreto | 8/7/2007 |
Q: Please, what is the correct pronunciation of the place name “Loreto”? (In particular, what kind of E ...
A: O is spelled in Italian as in English "mOst", E instead is something like "lEt", "sEt" etc. Loreto ...
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| Translation | 8/6/2007 |
Q: I would appreciate if you could translate the following messages I have recieved into English for ...
A: Here you are the translation: Grazie tesoro ti adoro a dopo. Baci. Thank you dear (lit. ...
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| question! help please | 4/24/2007 |
Q: i want to get a cool tatoo in italian.. "la dolce vita"? is that [the sweet life]? piccola is ...
A: yes it's correct Italian, even though, for some reason, it doesn't sound very very right... ...
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| Learning Italian | 4/14/2007 |
Q: I am an adult learner, and have been studying Italian for a few months now. So far, I have been ...
A: your problem with translating sentences from English to Italian is common to every learner of a ...
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| web sites | 11/6/2006 |
Q: Ciao Franceso, Im trying to teach myself Italian and was wondering if there were any free websites ...
A: Ciao, there are not many free course of Italian onlone... but you can try this one, from the RAI ...
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| Last Name Origin | 10/29/2006 |
Q: The only other question I have is that my grandmother said she spoke with family members that still ...
A: Are you sure your relatives in Italy carry the name Sylvestris (with y) and not Silvestris (with i)? ...
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| Last Name Origin | 10/28/2006 |
Q: My entire family can trace their roots to Italy. My Mothers maiden name is Daddino. However, my ...
A: Silvestri (and Silvestris - many Italian names end with a consonant, often -s or -n) is a very ...
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| corregere la grammatica | 10/27/2006 |
Q: ciao sono un canadese che sta imparando la lingua italiana. devo scrivere un componimento ed vorrei ...
A: just a few corrections well needed, well done! La prima cosa che mi viene in mente quando le parole ...
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| More phrases to use with a girlfriend | 10/19/2006 |
Q: I would like to know some more phrases I can use with my girlfriend, such as: "Thank you for last ...
A: Here you are some phrases: thank you for last night = grazie per la notte scorsa. I love waking up ...
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| Italian grammar | 10/12/2006 |
Q: Vorrei sapere se si potesse dire: "Il telefono e' cominicato a squillare." Oppure si puo' dire "Il ...
A: Salve, "cominciare" puo' avere due usi (transitivo e intransitivo), come i seguenti esempi: ...
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| an italian good luck charm? | 10/7/2006 |
Q: I use to work in Little Italy in Toronto and an Italian friend of mine had this key chain which was ...
A: your friend's talisman includes various traditional Italian good luck charms: - an horseshoe (as, in ...
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| Italian sentence | 8/17/2006 |
Q: In the Italian phrase book that I am studying, there is one sentence that confuses me. It is in ...
A: the Italian sentence is correct... and the English one too! The English sentence uses "unless... ...
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| help translate into an italian love letter | 7/5/2006 |
Q: Francesco, After spending a month in Italy, I met a gorgeous italian man (go figure!) and would like ...
A: What a lucky man, to receive such a nice letter :-) Caro mio Paolo, buon compleanno! Sono riuscita ...
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| Tristezza | 6/23/2006 |
Q: I am a music student learning some music from Francesco Paolo Tosti. I have not been able to find a ...
A: Here it is! Guarda; lontan lontano (Look, far far away) muore ne l'onde il sol; (the sun dies in ...
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| last names | 6/10/2006 |
Q: What are some examples of Italian last names that do not end in a vowel?
A: most names in the region around Venice, in the northeast of Italy, end with a consonant (usually a ...
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| translation please | 3/30/2006 |
Q: ..I am working on an art piece about women who have survived breast cancer. I need the phrases: "My ...
A: here you are the translations: "my body is my temple" Italian: il mio corpo e' il mio tempio Latin: ...
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| correction translation | 3/28/2006 |
Q: it is possible to correct this translation from english to italian? I translate it myself but I ...
A: your translation is mostly correct: Molti anni fa, negli anni '50, i giovani avevano molta più ...
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| Italian language | 3/19/2006 |
Q: Can you translate for me, literally and colloquially, the question Que pasticcio?
A: "che pasticcio!" can be translated as "what a mess!". Pasticcio is, literally, a dish made with ...
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| Italian Genealogy | 2/21/2006 |
Q: I am interested in Italian genealogy - especially since that is my family background. My ...
A: Gencarello/i is variant of Giancarello, meaning "son, descendant of Giancarlo" or also "little ...
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| Anema e core and quando, quando | 2/17/2006 |
Q: I like to sing and sing Italian songs in particular. I also like to understand the lyrics so as to ...
A: here you are the two translations; actually, Anema e core is Neapolitan dialect, not Italian: Let's ...
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| Translation | 1/12/2006 |
Q: I am writing a novel about the 3rd Crusade and need a little help making sure my Italian ...
A: here you are the translations: 1) Non of you may leave = nessuno di voi può partire 2) I seek a man ...
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| Italian language compared to the English language | 9/29/2005 |
Q: I am attending college and I am trying to do a paper about the Italian language. My background is ...
A: please excuse me for the delayed answer, I hope I can be still helpful! Find some informations about ...
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| Venezia | 7/10/2005 |
Q: Salve Francesco, I visited Venice in 1986 and have wanted to go back ever since. I can afford to ...
A: I don't know any US travel agency, I'm sorry for it. However, I've read good comments about this ...
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| Italian prepositions | 7/1/2005 |
Q: I teach singing in Italy every summer. I get frustrated because I can translate many songs and ...
A: actually preositions are one of the most difficult gramatical features of the Italian language! You ...
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| The Italian song | 5/27/2005 |
Q: Can you translate phonetic Italian? Oh ma la oh oh me giova oh pe dolae gia po va po e sha me co oh ...
A: actually the Italian Song means... nothing! Jon and Vangelis invented a language (they called this ...
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| language | 4/4/2005 |
Q: i was wondering if you could give me an opinion on this question? what are the advantages of ...
A: I think that studying a new language can be helpful for two reasons: first, it helps you meld with ...
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| prepositions | 3/1/2005 |
Q: buongiorno! i have a question about when to use 'in' and 'a' i do not understand why there is a ...
A: usually "a" means "at", it's used when you need to talk about moving around, going somewhere etc. ...
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| Greetings of endearment | 2/16/2005 |
Q: I understand a gentleman may use the greeting "ciao bella" for a lady. Is there an equivalent or a ...
A: actually "ciao bella" is used by young people, or people who know each other very well, since it ...
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| Pronounciation of Attimi | 1/31/2005 |
Q: I want to name my portrait studio by an Italian name. I was considering Moments or Beautiful ...
A: "moments" literally translates as "momenti" (i = ee as in employEE), so "beautiful moments" can be ...
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| Italian Surnames | 11/29/2004 |
Q: Why do some Italian last names not end in a vowel? I know several people of Italian descent of ...
A: in the Veneto region, the local dialect often drops the final vowel of a word. this is expecially ...
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| gaining fluency | 10/26/2004 |
Q: Salve Francesco, I am a law student and have an opportunity to take courses at La Sapienza and also ...
A: Ciao Linda, and please excuse me for the delay in my answer. Actually I don't know any good software ...
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| abbreviations | 8/16/2004 |
Q: I can't find what the Italian abbreviations are for the days of the week. The abbreviations for the ...
A: you can use these abbreviations for the days of the week, and for the months of the year (please ...
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| Salve | 7/27/2004 |
Q: I cannot understand the meaning of some of these sentences from a book I'm reading and was hoping ...
A: here you are my translations: -Credo di non averlo mai avvertito prima, vivendo con lui, se non in ...
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| pronounciation | 7/15/2004 |
Q: I just purchased a beautiful boat and I want to name her tramonti bei. How do you correctly say it? ...
A: Tramonti bei is not correct... I'd say bei tramonti, or tramonti belli (both meaning beautiful ...
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| Root names | 6/22/2004 |
Q: Ok, I know that 'Marriotti' is an Italian name. My last name is Marriott. but Marriott appears to be ...
A: most probably, Marriott is an English name with a French origin: it is recorded as Mériot, Mériat, ...
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| allergy translation | 6/14/2004 |
Q: I will be travelling to Tuscany in a week for my honeymoon and I have one problem...I am allergic to ...
A: you can write this on a piece of paper for the waiters: Sono allergico alla frutta secca: mandorle ...
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| Italian Phrases | 6/12/2004 |
Q: I am writing a book based on Italian Characters, I need some phrases that I can use. Such as "Boy ...
A: I'd translate "boy what's wrong with you?" as "che c'è che non va?" ("what's wrong?") or "hai ...
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| origins of GILEO | 5/2/2004 |
Q: I hope you can help! I must say, I have a rather tough question. My great-grandafther's birth name ...
A: I don't have many informations for you: nowadays the Gileo surname has disappeared in Italy. It was ...
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| Love sentences | 4/5/2004 |
Q: I would like to have some Love sentences translated in Italian. I have tried to translate it by ...
A: here you are your translations: I miss you so much --> mi manchi tantissimo I am longing to hold ...
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| Help with spelling/translation | 3/30/2004 |
Q: Marchesani, I've heard this Italian word all my life, but I have no idea how to spell it or what ...
A: I'm sorry, I cannot understand such a word! It must be some dialectal word, since there's no Italian ...
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| surname TUA | 3/22/2004 |
Q: I know that TUA means "yours" in Italian. But I can't understand how it was applied as a surname. ...
A: Tua is a surname mostly found in the Piedmont region (area around Turin). It is not related to ...
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| Italian phrases | 3/10/2004 |
Q: I am writing a book and one of my characters is an Italian man in his 40's. He's in love with a ...
A: here you are a few translations for the phrases you want to use: I love you, my darling Ti amo, ...
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| Italian Surnames | 6/13/2003 |
Q: I have a question about Italian surnames. I am half Italian and my maiden name is "Maio". I have ...
A: Italian surnames were born during the Middle Ages, as a way to identify people after the Roman name ...
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| translation | 1/31/2003 |
Q: I found this phrase on a vintage travel poster of a fox walking through the snow Sii Furbo! ...
A: that phrase was probably part of a campaign to promote winter holidays, so it means "be clever, go ...
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| song translation | 12/7/2002 |
Q: Marchesani, My question concerns the song Al Di La. I know that translations of songs rarely carry ...
A: Al di là (Beyond) I couldn't believe it was possible For these words to be said: Beyond the most ...
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| Help with spelling/translation | 9/19/2002 |
Q: Mr. Marchesani, I am an Italian-American who is compiling a cookbook of my family's recipes, most ...
A: believe it or not, there's a website devoted to pizzelle! www.pizzelle.com The word pizzella ...
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| rolling r's | 7/26/2002 |
Q: My name is Chrissy and I am just starting to learn to speak Italian, the only problem is that I ...
A: Rolling r's can be quite difficult if you are not used to it, even some italians cannot do it ...
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| I need a song translated.. | 7/21/2002 |
Q: I hope this isn't too much or come off as completely stupid, considering translating the words will ...
A: here you are the translation: it's not literal, because some expressions are not used in talian as ...
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