Buono o Bello?<\/strong><\/span><\/a> .<\/span><\/p>\nFrom its religious origin comes the main meaning of cattivo<\/strong> as bad in a moral sense. With this connotation it is used to describe people, animals, actions, thoughts and words: una persona cattiva<\/strong> (a bad person), il lupo cattivo<\/strong> (the Big Bad Wolf), parole cattive<\/strong> (words said with the intention of hurting somebody). <\/span><\/p>\nCattivo<\/strong> is also used to describe somebody who is not good at his\/her job or duty: un cattivo padre<\/strong> (a bad father), un cattivo insegnante<\/strong> (a bad teacher). In a similar vein it is used for physical and mental activities that are not functioning properly, or things that are in a bad state: cattiva digestione<\/strong> (poor digestion), cattiva memoria<\/strong> (poor memory), una strada cattiva<\/strong> (a bad road), un motore in cattive condizioni<\/strong> (an engine in a bad state). <\/span><\/p>\nJust like buono<\/strong>, cattivo<\/strong> is used for something that is unpleasant to the taste and the smell: cattivo sapore<\/strong> (bad taste), cattivo odore<\/strong> (bad smell). <\/span><\/p>\nBrutto<\/strong> is the direct opposite of bello (see my blog Buono o Bello?<\/strong>) and is used to describe an aesthetically unpleasant sensation in relationship to people, animals or objects: una persona brutta<\/strong> (an ugly person), un brutto naso<\/strong> (an ugly nose), un brutto cane<\/strong> (an ugly dog), un brutto vestito<\/strong> (an ugly dress). Because of its aesthetic judgment, brutto<\/strong> refers to things that are unpleasant to the senses of hearing and sight: una brutta voce<\/strong> (an ugly voice), una brutta musica<\/strong> (an unpleasant piece of music), un brutto quadro<\/strong> (a bad picture), un brutto film<\/strong> (a bad film).<\/span><\/p>\nThere are also situations in which brutto<\/strong> and cattivo<\/strong> are interchangeable such as when talking about weather, news, manners, events and fame: fa brutto\/cattivo<\/strong> tempo (the weather is bad), ricevere una brutta\/cattiva notizia<\/strong> (to get bad news), brutte\/cattive maniere<\/strong> (bad manners), fare un brutto\/cattivo viaggio<\/strong> (to have a bad journey), avere un brutto\/cattivo nome<\/strong> (to have a bad name).<\/span><\/p>\nSo \u2026 to return to the title of the film \u2018Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo\u2019:<\/strong> the literal Italian translation is: The Good, the Ugly and the Bad, and as you can see the order of the words is not the same as in the English title. This has probably been done for alliterative reasons. Il Buono, il Cattivo e il Brutto<\/strong> (the literal translation of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) simply doesn\u2019t sound right in Italian. For example, when young children are very angry and want to insult someone, particularly an adult, they say \u201cbrutto cattivo!\u201d<\/strong>. Trust me, it\u2019s an aesthetic thing, cattivo<\/strong> before brutto<\/strong> sounds\u2026\u2026well, brutto<\/strong>!<\/span><\/p>\nFinally, a quick word on male<\/strong>: male<\/strong> is the opposite of bene<\/strong> (see my blog Buono o Bello?<\/strong>). It\u2019s an adverb, not an adjective like the brutto<\/strong> and cattivo<\/strong>, therefore it qualifies verbs, not nouns: e.g. stare male<\/strong> (to be unwell), comportarsi male<\/strong> (to behave badly), funzionare male<\/strong> (to not work properly). <\/span><\/p>\nRight, time to go and watch that film! (whistles theme tune \u2026\u2026. ).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few days ago we came across a DVD of Sergio Leone\u2019s famous spaghetti western movie ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, starring Clint Eastwood and featuring Ennio Morricone\u2019s unforgettable haunting soundtrack. Its Italian title is Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo, and this prompted the question from Geoff: \u201cwhich is the Bad…<\/p>\n
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