Italian Language Blog
Menu
Search

Benvenuto! Posted by on Mar 22, 2013 in Italian Language

The two adverbs bene (well, good) and male (bad, badly) are combined with a variety of words in order to express a positive or negative value. Today  we’ll be looking at some of the most common words built with ‘bene’, starting with the greetings:

benvenuto/a/i/ebene plus venire (to come) = welcome: Siete sempre benvenute in casa mia (You are always welcome in my house)

benarrivato/a/i/e – bene plus arrivare (to arrive) = welcome: Benarrivati! avete fatto buon viaggio? (Welcome! did you have a nice journey?)

bentornato/a/i/ebene plus tornare (to come back) = welcome back: Bentornata, Maria! Hai fatto una buona vacanza? (Welcome back Maria! Did you have a nice holiday?)

bentrovato/a/i/ebene plus trovare (to find), formula used to greet somebody whom you happen to meet by chance: Chi si rivede! bentrovato! (Look who’s here! Nice to see you!)

benalzato/a/i/e – bene plus alzarsi (to get up) = Good morning, only used to greet somebody who has just woken up: Benalzato! Hai dormito bene? (Good morning! Did you sleep well?)

Other common adjectives built with ‘bene’ are:

benaccetto/a/i/ebene plus accettare (to accept) = welcome: speriamo che il regalo gli sia benaccetto (let’s hope that he will appreciate the present; lit: let’s hope that the present will be well accepted by him)

benamato/a/i/e, or beneamato/a/i/ebene plus amare (to love) = beloved: questa è la mia benamata nipotina (this is my beloved granddaughter)

beneducato/a/i/ebene plus educare (to educate) = well-behaved, well-mannered: Giorgio è un bambino così beneducato (Giorgio is such a well-behaved child)

benvoluto/a/i/ebene plus volere (to want) = well-liked, popular: la nuova maestra è benvoluta da tutti gli alunni (the new teacher is well-liked by all the pupils)

benevolo/a/i/ebene plus volere (to want) = benevolent, kindly, favourable: il suo primo libro è stato accolto in modo benevolo dalla critica (his first book had a favourable reception by the critics)

benvisto/a/i/ebene plus vedere (to see) = liked, well-thought of: il suo atteggiamento non è benvisto dai colleghi (his attitude is not well-thought of by his colleagues)

benedetto/a/i/ebene plus dire (to say) = blessed, thank God: benedetta questa pioggia, l’orto ne aveva proprio bisogno! (thank God for this rain, the vegetable garden really needed it!)

benefico/a/i/ebene plus fare (to do) = beneficent, beneficial, helpful: le tue parole mi sono state benefiche (what you said was helpful to me)

benigno/a/i/ebene plus Latin ‘gignere’ (to generate) = benign, kind, favourable: la sorte ci è  stata benigna (fate was kind to us)

Finally, here is a list of nouns and idiomatic expressions containing the word ‘bene’:

benefattore/benefattrice – bene plus fare (to do) = benefactor, patron: un anonimo benefattore ha pagato la mensa scolastica per i bambini svantaggiati (an anonymous benefactor paid for school meals for the disadvantaged children)

benessere –bene plus essere (to be) = wellbeing, welfare: praticare lo Yoga mi dà un senso di benessere (doing Yoga gives me a sense of wellbeing)

beneplacito – bene plus Latin ‘placere’, Italian ‘piacere’ (to like) = assent, approval: non mi serve il tuo beneplacito (I don’t need your approval)

benestarebene plus stare (to be) = authorization: ci vuole il benestare del sindaco (it needs the mayor’s authorization)

bendidio bene di Dio (gift of God) = abundance: alla festa c’era ogni bendidio (at the party there were all sorts of good things)

bengodi or Bengodibene plus godere (to enjoy) = the land of plenty: poveracci, vengono in Italia sperando di trovare il bengodi (poor people, they come to Italy hoping to find the land of plenty)

benservitobene plus servire (to serve); dare la lettera di benservito originally indicated the reference letter which was given to someone when they left his/her job, but now it’s normally used in the euphemistic expression dare il benservito meaning “to fire someone” or “to dismiss someone”: gli hanno dato il benservito senza neanche farlo parlare (they dismissed him without even letting him explain)

Tags:
Keep learning Italian with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

Comments:

  1. Kathryn:

    ben fatto!

  2. Mona:

    Molto Interessante!!!!!


Leave a comment: