{"id":325,"date":"2010-03-17T08:33:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-17T08:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=325"},"modified":"2014-09-24T08:37:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T08:37:17","slug":"gesture-of-the-day-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/gesture-of-the-day-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Gesture of the day – part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to interpret yet another of those intriguing gestures that we Italians use, and today I\u2019m going to look at one that my uncle Luciano, who is originally from Rome, uses a lot. But before I describe the gesture I need to give you a bit of background information.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Fregarsene<\/u><\/font><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The verb fregarsene<\/strong> means to \u2018not give a damn about something\u2019. Let\u2019s say that it is a \u2018stronger\u2019 way of saying \u2018non mi importa\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018it doesn\u2019t matter to me\u2019, or \u2018I don\u2019t care\u2019). We even have the typically Italian term \u2018menefreghismo\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018not to give a damnism\u2019)<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The construction of this verb is a little bit confusing, especially as there are two different ways of using it. Here is how it works:<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Variation 1.<\/u><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

me ne frego<\/strong> \u2013 I don\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

te ne freghi<\/strong> \u2013 you (informal) don\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

se ne frega<\/strong> \u2013 he\/she doesn\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

ce ne freghiamo<\/strong> \u2013 we don\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

ve ne fregate<\/strong> \u2013 you (plural) don\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

se ne fregano<\/strong> \u2013 they don\u2019t give a damn<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Notice that because it is me or you who is \u2018not giving a damn\u2019 the ending of the verb fregare<\/strong> changes accordingly, i.e. io frego<\/span>,  tu freghi<\/span>, noi freghiamo<\/span><\/strong> etc.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Variation 2.<\/u><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non me ne frega niente<\/strong> \u2013 it doesn\u2019t bother me at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non te ne frega niente<\/strong> -  it doesn\u2019t bother you (singular informal) at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non gliene frega<\/strong> niente<\/strong> \u2013 it doesn\u2019t bother him\/her at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non ce ne frega<\/strong> niente<\/strong> \u2013 it doesn’t bother us at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non ve ne frega<\/strong> niente<\/strong> \u2013 it doesn\u2019t bother you (plural) at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

non gliene frega<\/strong> niente<\/strong> \u2013 it doesn\u2019t bother them at all<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Warning: you may need to read this next sentence a couple of times before it makes sense! <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

In this variant, because it is not me<\/span> that is \u2018not bothering\u2019 or \u2018giving a damn\u2019 but someone\/something else that \u2018doesn\u2019t bother me\u2019 fregare<\/strong> is only used in the third person singular (frega<\/span><\/strong>), even when the thing that doesn\u2019t bother me is plural, e.g \u2018non me ne frega<\/span> niente di quelle vecchie scarpe, buttale via!\u2019<\/strong> (I don\u2019t give a damn about those old shoes, throw them away!).<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

We also say: \u2018cosa me ne frega\u2019<\/strong> (what do I care), \u2018cosa te ne frega\u2019<\/strong> (what do you care) etc.<\/font><\/p>\n

Il gesto<\/strong> (the gesture):<\/u><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

1. lift your chin as if making a gesture of disdain.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

2. imagine that an annoying fly has just landed under you chin and, raising your hand with the palm towards your body, use the backs of you finger tips and nails to brush the fly away with an outward sweeping motion (ladies with long nails or men with bushy beards please take care when practicing this gesture).<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

This definitely works best if you think to yourself whilst practicing: \u2018huh, what a load of rubbish\u2019,  \u2018who cares!\u2019, or best of all \u2018me ne frego!\u2019<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Divertitevi!<\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to interpret yet another of those intriguing gestures that we Italians use, and today I\u2019m going to look at one that my uncle Luciano, who is originally from Rome, uses a lot. But before I describe the gesture I need to give you a bit of background information. Fregarsene The verb fregarsene means…<\/p>\n

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