Italian words and expressions that can’t be translated in English

All languages have words and phrases that are particular to that language and cannot be translated directly into other languages. In English, for example, we understand that Off the hook means out of danger or freed from an obligation. Off the cuff means without previous preparation, or an apparently spontaneous remark. The fabulous Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable suggests that off the cuff may have originated from the habit of some after dinner speakers of jotting down remarks on their shirt cuffs as ideas for the speech they’re going to deliver occurred to them during the meal beforehand. Now try to find its exact equivalent in Italian, or any other language come to that. We’ll save you from wasting your time, as the simple answer is you won’t find an equivalent!

Just like English, Italian contains many words proverbs or phrases that simply defy translation through a dictionary search or online google translate. In this article we’re going to have some fun by making a list of words, proverbs and expressions that exist in Italian but not in English. And then we’ll get you to guess what they mean (answers at the end of the page). So here are some of our favourite Italian words and expressions that cannot be translated in English. See if you can work out their meaning for yourself (answers and explanations at the bottom):

Pantofolaio 

Mamma Mia

Abbiocco 

Boh! 

Meriggiare 

Gattare

Magari

Ti voglio bene

Tizio, Caio e Sempronio

E’ una passeggiata 

Dolce far niente

Explanations:

Pantofolaio: ‘couch-potato’. We all recognise one when we see one, right? The type of guy who spends most of the day slumped in front of the TV in his slippers and dressing gown. The word comes from pantofole (slippers). All Italians will know just what you mean from the word Pantofolaio, but have a go at translating ‘couch potato’ directly into Italian and you’ll come up with patata sul divana (potato on the couch). Sounds ridiculous!

Mamma Mia:  Is there an Italian alive that doesn’t use this phrase? If something’s great, if something’s awful, if you’re enjoying a delicious ice cream, if you’re exasperated etc. Over and over, we hear Italians using this phrase as a way of expressing ‘my goodness’. But in English? ‘My mother’. Doesn’t make much sense, does it? 

Abbiocco: award yourself several gold stars if you got this right. Abbiocco is one of those Italian words that is literally untranslatable in English. The closest you could come to translating it would be ‘food-coma’. You’ve eaten so much and so well that you’re incapable of doing anything and feel like passing out. It’s a great expression that’s tied into the importance that cuisine plays in Italian life and culture.

Boh! More of a sound than a word. Boh literally means ‘who knows’…that shrug of the shoulders we give if we haven’t got a clue and it’s really not that important to us anyway! Boh is almost a sentence of its own in three letters!

Meriggiare: Stemming from the word merrigio (noon). Meriggiare means to take a break around midday in a lovely, shady spot. 

Gattare: Are the caretakers of Italy’s stray cats! If you’ve ever visited the Colosseum or the Forum in Rome, you’re bound to have noticed the hundreds of stray cats that have made homes for themselves. Gattare, who are usually cat-loving female volunteers, make sure they’re well fed. 

Magari: is a difficult word to find an English equivalent as it has many different meanings. An online dictionary will most likely offer ‘maybe’ or ‘probably’ as a translation. But as an exclamation, Magari is an expression of powerful desire. For example, if someone asks you whether you own a Ferrari, in this context Magari would be mean ‘if only this were true’. 

Ti voglio Bene: Unlike Ti amo (I love you) that applies specifically to romantic feelings, ti voglio bene is used as a strong expression of affection for friends and family. 

Tizio, Ciao e Sempronio: Is an Italian expression used to refer to a group of people whose names we can’t remember or who we don’t know. There’s a reasonably similar English equivalent to this in the use of Tom, Dick, and Harry in similar circumstances. 

E’ una passeggiata: Literally translates in English as ‘it’s a walk’ but in Italian means something that’s very easy to do. ‘It’s a walk in the park’, the English might say. 

Dolce far niente: There really is no English translation for this Italian expression. It’s used to describe the Italian attitude to live for moments in the day without stress or a care in the world.