As a Catholic country, Christmas is one of the major holidays celebrated in Italy. The word for Christmas is Natale (referring to the birth of Christ).

Buon Natale!
[boo-OHN nah-TAH-leh]
Merry Christmas!

Of course, during this time of year, there are some other sayings you may want to learn as well.

Buone Feste
[boo-OH-neh FEST-eh]
Happy Holidays

Felice Anno Nuovo or Buon Anno
[feh-LEE-cheh AH-noh noo-OH-voh] or [boo-OHN AH-noh]
Happy New Year

Il Capodanno
[eel CAH-poh-dah-noh]
New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve festivities

I migliori auguri
[ee mee-YOH-ree aoo-GOO-ree]
Best wishes

And if you’re looking for gift ideas for your Italy-loving friends and family members, be sure to take a look at this list of Italy-inspired Christmas gift ideas!

Buon Natale, Buone Feste, e Felice Anno Nuovo a tutti!
(Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone!)

See related:
How do you say vacation in Italian?

The straight translation of idiot should look familiar: it’s idiota [ee-dee-OH-tah]. Be aware that the word idiota always end in -a, regardless of whether you’re talking about a male or female.

Idiota will certainly get your point across, but there is also some slang that you can use. When the word coglione [coh-YOH-neh] is used in reference to a person, it means idiot. Coglione literally means testicle, but it’s also common to hear it used to mean idiot when referencing a person.

Silvio Berlusconi famously used this word. He said that anyone who didn’t vote for him was a coglione.

To learn more Italian slang, be sure to check out the italian slang dictionary.

“My boyfriend” can be il mio ragazzo [eel MEE-oh rah-GAHT-zoh] for a casual relationship, or il mio fidanzato [eel MEE-oh fee-dahn-ZAH-toh] for a more serious relationship.

This confuses a lot of people, because fidanzato seems very similar to the English fiancé, but fidanzato does not necessarily mean engaged to be married. It simply means being in love or in a serious relationship.

See related:
How do you say girlfriend in Italian?
How do you say I love you in Italian?
How do you say kiss in Italian?

For a girl talking about her friend who is also a girl, you can say mia amica [MEE-ah ah-MEE-cah].

For a romantic relationship, you can say la mia ragazza [lah MEE-ah rah-GAHT-zah].

Maria é la mia ragazza.
Maria is my girlfriend.

In Italy, the use of la mia fidanzata [lah MEE-ah fee-dahn-ZAH-tah] is very common, and it also means girlfriend. This confuses a lot of people, because it’s similar to the English word fiancé. However, fidanzata does not necessarily mean engaged to be married. It simply implies being in love or in a serious relationship.

So guys, if you would say, “Yes, this is my girlfriend,” then she is also your fidanzata.

See related:
How do you say boyfriend in Italian?
How do you say I love you in Italian?
How do you say kiss in Italian?

The Italian words for television are pretty similar to their English equivalents. Television is la televisione [lah teh-leh-vee-SEE-oh-neh]. Just like TV in English, Italians say la TV, but be careful with the pronunciation! It’s pronounced [lah TEE-VOO], not TEE-VEE.

Italian is known as a language of love. If you plan on finding out why, one good word to add to your vocab is un bacio [oon BAH-choh], or a kiss, as well as the plural kisses: baci [BAH-chee].

Dammi un bacio.
[DAH-mee oon BAH-choh]
Give me a kiss.

Baciami.
[BAH-chah-mee]
Kiss me.

Ti voglio barciare.
[tee VOH-yoh bah-CHA-reh]
I want to kiss you.

Baci e abbracci
[BAH-chee eh ah-BRAH-chee]
Hugs and kisses (lit. kisses and hugs, like at the end of a letter)

See related:
How do you say I love you in Italian?

The basic word for vacation in Italian is vacanza [vah-CAHN-zah], and “to go on vacation” is andare in vacanza or fare vacanza.

Andiamo in vacanza a Barcelona questa settimana.
We’re going on vacation in Barcelona this week.

For the kids, the summer break/school holiday is le vacanze scolastiche.

A vacation from work is ferie. Better yet, a paid vacation is ferie retribuite.

C’é Angela? No, Angela é in ferie.
Is Angela here? No, she’s on vacation.

In Italy, August 15th is a national holiday known as ferragosto (ferie di agosto), and most Italians head out to the beach or the mountains on this day.

The best way to say alcoholic, as in someone who is addicted to alcohol, is alcolista [all-coh-LEE-stah].

É un alcolista.
He is an alcoholic.

Another way to address it is:

Ho problemi con l’alcol.
I have a drinking problem.

You may see alcolizzato in the dictionary for alcoholic. This is true, but it has a strong negative connotation implying a degenerate or a drunkard, much like ubriacone. Alcolista is a more moderate term without the negative connotation.

Of course, if you want to say a drink is alcoholic, you say alcolico or bevanda alcolica. A non-alcoholic drink is a bevanda analcolica.

Alcoholics Anonymous is found all over the world, including Italy. If you want to go to a meeting in Italy and you want to be able to say the basic line “My name is — and I am an alcoholic,” you can use alcolista here. In fact, the name of the famous organization in Italian is Alcolisti Anonimi.

Ciao, mi chiamo Sam e sono alcolista.
Hi, my name is Sam, and I am an alcoholic.

Here is a translation of information on AA from the Alcolisti Anonimi website:

Alcolisti Anonimi è un’associazione di uomini e donne che mettono in comune la loro esperienza, forza e speranza al fine di risolvere il loro problema comune e di aiutare altri a recuperarsi dall’alcolismo.
Alcoholic Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others recover from alcoholism.

L’unico requisito per divenirne membri è desiderare smettere di bere.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

Non vi sono quote o tasse per essere membri di A.A.; noi siamo autonomi mediante i nostri propri contributi.
There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

A.A. non è affiliata ad alcuna setta, confessione, idea politica, organizzazione o istituzione; non intende impegnarsi in alcuna controversia, né sostenere od opporsi ad alcuna causa.
AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.

Il nostro scopo primario è rimanere sobri e aiutare altri alcolisti a raggiungere la sobrietà.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Italians have a fine eye for beauty, style, and aesthetics. It is not surprising that the word beautiful is one that you will hear often in Italy. The word for beautiful in Italian is bello [BEH-loh] (masculine) or bella [BEH-lah] (feminine). When used in reference to a man, it basically means handsome. Guys, you should be aware that if you become friends with Italian guys, they may call you bello as a term of endearment. Ladies, don’t be surprised to hear an Italian guy say to you, “sei bellissima!” (you’re beautiful!). Bello/a can also mean nice or good.

Some more tidbits:

Bellezza
Beauty

Cosa fai di bello stasera?
What are you up to tonight?

Dimmi qualcosa di bello.
Tell me something good/nice.

Oggi fa bello.
It’s nice today/It’s a nice day.

Le belle arti
The fine arts

To say that something or someone is pretty or cute, you can say carino [cah-REE-noh] (masculine) or carina [cah-REE-nah] (feminine).

When talking about style, there are also some foreign words that Italians use.

Lei é molto chic.
She’s very chic.

Quella gonna é sexy.
That skirt is sexy.

Have you ever wanted to find a certain word or phrase in Italian, and you just can’t seem to find an adequate answer? Maybe you saw an entry in a dictionary, but you wanted to know more. This has happened to me countless times, so I decided to start this site.

How To Say In Italian is a site dedicated to making it easy for people to find Italian vocabulary on specific subjects they are interested in. The goal is to give you more context and a fuller understanding so you feel confident using your newly learned vocabulary. New topics will be posted periodically as they come up. Enjoy!