12 Italian Words With No English Equivalent
By the Eachday team ·
Italian has a word for the drowsiness after a big lunch, another for the quiet hours when southern towns close for the heat, and a three-word phrase for the art of doing nothing well. Plenty of Italian vocabulary is about pleasure, rest and feeling, and much of it has no English counterpart.
None of these is truly untranslatable; you can always explain a word. What they lack is a single English word that lands the same way. Each comes from Eachday's Italian pack, with the pronunciation, an example sentence and the story behind it.
The words: la sprezzatura, lo struggimento, il meriggio, la passeggiata, il dolce far niente, l'abbiocco, il magone, la controra, il focolare, la spensieratezza, il batticuore, il tepore.
la sprezzatura studied effortlessness, nonchalant grace
/spret.tsaˈtu.ra/ · say spret-tsah-TOO-rah · noun
Effortless grace; the art of making something difficult look easy. Coined by Castiglione in 1528 for the courtier's art of making the difficult look easy — a certain studied nonchalance.
Indossa l'eleganza con sprezzatura.
He wears elegance with effortless ease.
Castiglione meant it as advice for courtiers. Today Italians use it for style that looks like no effort at all.
lo struggimento yearning, pining
/strud.dʒiˈmen.to/ · say strood-jee-MEN-toh · noun
An intense, melting longing or pining. From struggere, to melt or consume. A longing so intense it seems to melt you from within.
Uno struggimento dolce e malinconico.
A sweet, melancholy yearning.
Stronger than nostalgia, and it does not need an object in the past. You can feel struggimento for someone in the next room.
il meriggio midday, the still early afternoon
/meˈrid.dʒo/ · say meh-REED-joh · noun
Midday; the still, warm early afternoon. From Latin meridies, midday — the same root as 'meridian'. A literary word for the still, hot heart of the day.
Il meriggio estivo invita al riposo.
The summer midday invites rest.
Montale's poem Meriggiare pallido e assorto opens with its verb form: to while away the hot midday hours, pale and lost in thought.
la passeggiata a leisurely evening stroll
/pas.sedˈdʒa.ta/ · say pah-sed-JAH-tah · noun
A leisurely walk, especially the traditional evening stroll. From passeggiare, to stroll. The evening passeggiata — dressing up to walk and be seen — is a beloved Italian ritual.
Facciamo una passeggiata dopo cena.
Let's take a stroll after dinner.
In many Italian towns the evening stroll down the main street is still a daily ritual, best clothes included.
il dolce far niente the sweetness of doing nothing
/ˈdol.tʃe far ˈnjɛn.te/ · say DOL-cheh far NYEN-teh · phrase
The pleasant, guilt-free idleness of doing nothing. Literally 'sweet doing nothing' — dolce ('sweet') + far niente ('to do nothing'). A whole Italian art in three words.
Il pomeriggio trascorse nel dolce far niente.
The afternoon passed in sweet idleness.
Italians say it with pride, not guilt. Doing nothing well is a skill.
l'abbiocco post-meal drowsiness
/ab.ˈbjɔk.ko/ · say ahb-BYOK-koh · noun
The heavy, pleasant sleepiness that follows a big meal. A colloquial Roman word, tied to the image of a hen (chioccia) settling down — the drowsy slump after eating.
Dopo pranzo mi è venuto un abbiocco.
After lunch a wave of drowsiness came over me.
Everyone knows the feeling after Sunday lunch. Italian simply gave it a name.
il magone lump in the throat, heartache
/ma.ˈɡo.ne/ · say mah-GOH-neh · noun
A heavy tightness of sadness or emotion in the chest. From a northern Italian word for the stomach or gizzard — the ache felt in the pit of the body.
Alla partenza le venne un magone.
At the departure a lump came to her throat.
The lump in your throat at a goodbye, at the end of a film, at a station.
la controra early-afternoon rest hour
/kon.ˈtro.ra/ · say kohn-TROH-rah · noun
The hot, quiet hours after lunch when southern towns fall still. From contro ('against') + ora ('hour') — the 'counter-hour', the still time set against the heat of the day.
Durante la controra il paese dormiva.
During the afternoon rest the town slept.
In the south, the hours after lunch are not for errands. Shops close and streets empty until the heat passes.
il focolare hearth, fireside; home
/fo.koˈla.re/ · say foh-koh-LAH-reh · noun
The hearth or fireside; by extension, the home. From Latin focus, hearth — the very word that became English 'focus'. The fireplace was the focus, the centre, of the home.
Tutta la famiglia attorno al focolare.
The whole family around the hearth.
English focus comes from the same Latin word. The hearth was the centre of the house long before it was a lens.
la spensieratezza carefreeness
/spen.sje.ra.ˈtet.tsa/ · say spen-syeh-rah-TET-tsah · noun
A light, untroubled freedom from worry. From spensierato ('carefree'), from s- ('without') + pensiero ('thought, worry') — a state without cares.
Ricordava la spensieratezza dell'infanzia.
She remembered the carefreeness of childhood.
Often used about youth and summer holidays, the stretch of life before the worries arrived.
il batticuore racing heart, flutter
/bat.ti.ˈkwɔ.re/ · say baht-tee-KWOH-reh · noun
A quickened heartbeat from excitement or worry. From battere ('to beat') + cuore ('heart') — literally a 'beating of the heart'.
L'attesa le dava il batticuore.
The waiting set her heart racing.
A first date, an exam result, a phone ringing late at night. Italian names the heartbeat itself.
il tepore gentle warmth
/te.ˈpo.re/ · say teh-POH-reh · noun
A soft, mild, pleasant warmth. From Latin tepor ('mild warmth'), from tepere ('to be lukewarm') — kin to 'tepid'.
Godeva il tepore del sole d'autunno.
She enjoyed the gentle warmth of the autumn sun.
The warmth of a bed on a cold morning or sun through a window in November. Mild, and just right.
How to keep them
A new word becomes yours when you meet it again, spaced out over a few days, and use it once yourself. That is the short version of how to remember new vocabulary, and it is gentler than most study plans suggest.
Eachday puts one Italian word on your home screen every morning, with pronunciation, an example and the story behind it. The Italian word of the day page shows how it works. There is no streak, and no guilt if you skip a day. Consider it practice in dolce far niente.