{"id":3522,"date":"2015-08-05T04:21:21","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T08:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/?p=3522"},"modified":"2020-10-01T14:47:07","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T18:47:07","slug":"vocab-from-the-italian-dinner-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2015\/08\/05\/vocab-from-the-italian-dinner-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Vocab from the Italian Dinner Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Itchy<\/a><\/p>\n

In Italy, food is king.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve mentioned before<\/a>, food is the ultimate topic of conversation, and there\u2019s nowhere better to engage in a conversation about food than in Italy. I\u2019ve had dinners where literally 99% of the conversation had something to do with food \u2013 and dinners in Italy can last hours.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking of heading to the Land of Pasta, you\u2019re going to need to be prepared. Whether you\u2019re describing what you\u2019re currently eating, recounting a recent meal, planning what\u2019s on the menu tonight or tomorrow or, as in the comic above, describing alien foods from your home country, you\u2019ll need a stockpile of words and phrases to get you through the meal. Here are some of the ones in my personal collection, in the order that you will probably need them, along with a general overview of the Italian meal system (and don\u2019t forget that Italian is only half spoken \u2013 the other half is gestured<\/a><\/u>) \u2013 buon appetito!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mangiamo<\/strong> \u2013 let\u2019s eat!<\/em><\/p>\n

Aperitivo<\/strong> \u2013 aperitif. <\/em>This is where it begins. A course unto itself \u2013 more than simple appetizers, less than a full meal \u2013 the aperitivo<\/em> opens the meal, and is a light alcoholic bevande <\/em>(drink) and a snack.<\/p>\n

Ho fame<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m hungry. <\/em>I\u2019ll bet you are.<\/p>\n

Non vedo l\u2019ora<\/strong> \u2013 I can\u2019t wait<\/em>. Useful in combination with rubbing your hands together and an eager expression.<\/p>\n

Patatine <\/strong>\u2013 chips<\/em>. This can refer to either French fries or potato chips, but in the aperitivo<\/em> course it\u2019s generally chips. Other common aperitivo<\/em> snacks are olive <\/em>(olives), arachidi<\/em> (nuts) and formaggio <\/em>(cheese).<\/p>\n

Antipasto<\/strong> \u2013 appetizer<\/em>. As if an aperitivo <\/em>wasn\u2019t enough. Now we\u2019re getting our fingers greasy. Don\u2019t overdo it, though; there are still many courses to come.<\/p>\n

Salata\/o<\/strong> \u2013 salty<\/em>. The ending of adjectives depends on the gender of the noun being described. Salty ham is prosciutto<\/u> salato<\/u><\/em>, while salty bruschetta<\/em> would be bruschetta<\/u> salata<\/u><\/em>. Note that the adjective comes after<\/em> the noun.<\/p>\n

Fredda\/o<\/strong> \u2013 cold<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Buona\/o<\/strong> \u2013 good! <\/em>Definitely use this one liberally, drawing out the syllables as long as necessary to communicate just how realllllllly good it is. Variations:<\/u> molto buono<\/em> (very good), buonissimo<\/em> (great!), mamma, che buono!<\/em> (oh my god that\u2019s good). Not to be confused with<\/u>: bene<\/em>, which means \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cwell\u201d in a moral or adverbial sense, not<\/em> to describe food.<\/p>\n

Primo<\/strong> \u2013 first course<\/em>. Pastas, risottos, zuppe <\/em>(soups). The key to understanding the Italian meal structure is thinking of each course as a completely separate, inviolable category of food. Just as you at home would probably not eat ice cream before salad, equally distressing to the Italian is the idea of having a pasta dish for any other course than the primo<\/em> (or any other meal than lunch, for that matter. I learned that one the hard way). Again, don\u2019t overdo it; we\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n

Pesante<\/strong> \u2013 heavy<\/em>. Tough to digest. Used by Italians to describe German food.<\/p>\n

Troppa\/o<\/strong> \u2013 too<\/em>. As in, too much, too little, or troppo buono!<\/em><\/p>\n

Calda\/o<\/strong> \u2013 hot<\/em>. Not spicy, though; that\u2019d be piccante<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Gustosa\/o<\/strong> \u2013 tasty<\/em>. Because you can\u2019t have enough ways to say that.<\/p>\n

Secondo<\/strong> \u2013 second course<\/em>. This is where the meat comes in \u2013 from bistecca <\/em>(steak) to pollo<\/em> (chicken) to pesce<\/em> (fish) to agnello <\/em>(lamb), all decked in the most wonderful sauces and spices. This is generally considered the \u201cmain\u201d course, although depending where you are or the situation, the primo<\/em> might be more important. And by the way, if you think this bewildering multitude of courses are just for fancy dinner parties, think again. Every meal I\u2019ve ever had at my in-law\u2019s place, in a tiny countryside village, has featured at least <\/em>four of these courses. And we\u2019re not nearly through yet.<\/p>\n

Morbida\/o<\/strong> \u2013 soft<\/em>. Also: tender, in the sense of describing food.<\/p>\n

Perfetta\/o<\/strong> \u2013 perfect<\/em>. Nuff said.<\/p>\n

Contorno<\/strong> \u2013 vegetable course<\/em>. Steamed, cooked or raw verdure <\/em>(veggies), and yes, always<\/em> served as a separate dish, never with the meat. You should have seen the look on my Italian wife\u2019s face the first time we had Thanksgiving dinner in the USA and we just piled our plates full of everything.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ancora, per favore<\/strong> \u2013 more, please.<\/em> Perhaps no other phrase will ingratiate yourself more with your hosts. After all, an empty plate and licked lips speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

Cruda\/o<\/strong> \u2013 raw<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cotta\/o<\/strong> \u2013 cooked<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sono pieno \u2013 <\/em><\/strong>I\u2019m full<\/em>. That may be so, but this is a futile attempt, my friend.<\/p>\n

Finischilo\/la!<\/strong> \u2013 finish it!<\/em> This is generally what you\u2019ll hear as the last bite from the pan is scraped onto your plate by hosts eager to fill you up as much as physically possible.<\/p>\n

Insalata <\/strong>\u2013 salad course<\/em>. That\u2019s right, we\u2019re not out of the woods yet. Unlike back in the States, the salad is eaten after<\/em> the main courses, not before as some kind of appetizer. I personally don\u2019t care when I eat my salad, but the Italians around me seem to care a great deal, so as they say, \u201cwhen in Rome\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Secca\/o<\/strong> \u2013 dry<\/em>. In the sense of food, anyway.<\/p>\n

Fresca\/o<\/strong> \u2013 fresh.<\/em><\/p>\n

Il giardino <\/strong>\u2013 garden<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sono veramente pienissimo <\/strong>\u2013<\/em> I\u2019m really very full<\/em>. Nice try.<\/p>\n

Formaggi e frutta<\/strong> \u2013 cheese and fruit course<\/em>. Generally whatever\u2019s in season or a specialty of the region, such as mele<\/em> (apples). Arachidi<\/em> (nuts) might also be eaten.<\/p>\n

Dolce<\/strong> \u2013 dessert<\/em>; sweet<\/em>. Means both the dessert course, and to describe something as sweet tasting. You might have a tiramisu<\/em>, panna cotta<\/em>, or panettone<\/em> or pandoro<\/em> if it\u2019s around Natale <\/em>(Christmas). Gelato<\/em> and sorbetto<\/em> wouldn\u2019t be out of the question, either.<\/p>\n

Leggera\/o<\/strong> \u2013 light<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Caff\u00e8<\/strong> \u2013 coffee course<\/em>. Mandatory. We\u2019re almost<\/em> at the end here. This isn\u2019t a latte<\/em> or some kind of milky cappuccino<\/em>, now. This is a piping-hot shot of pure espresso <\/em>straight to the gut.<\/p>\n

Forte<\/strong> \u2013 strong.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Amara\/o<\/strong> \u2013 sour<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Digestivo<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cdigestive<\/em>\u201d. A shot of spirits to help that enormous meal make its way through your digestive system. Usually a grappa<\/em> or limoncello<\/em> or similar strong drink. After setting down your empty digestivo<\/em> glass, you now have permission to lean back, sigh happily, and begin talking about what a great meal it was.<\/p>\n

Fantastica\/o<\/strong> \u2013 fantastic.<\/em> To describe what you\u2019re eating, or the meal in general, if it was particularly good. See also: splendida\/o<\/em>, magnifica\/o<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ho mangiato bene<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve eaten well<\/em>. Doesn\u2019t translate particularly well into English, but it\u2019s a crucial phrase, believe me. Also used to compliment the quality of food in a place at which you\u2019ve eaten in the past, i.e., abbiamo mangiato molto bene la<\/em> (we ate very well there).<\/p>\n

Cosa mangiamo domani?<\/strong> \u2013 what\u2019re we eating tomorrow?<\/em> Because it literally never, ever stops.<\/p>\n

Bonus Venetian dialect expression<\/strong>: Magna e tasi<\/em> \u2013 shut up and eat!<\/p>\n

Any suggestions? Did I miss anything critical to the Italian mealtime experience?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

In Italy, food is king. As I\u2019ve mentioned before, food is the ultimate topic of conversation, and there\u2019s nowhere better to engage in a conversation about food than in Italy. I\u2019ve had dinners where literally 99% of the conversation had something to do with food \u2013 and dinners in Italy can last hours. If you\u2019re…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":3524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[542801],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archived-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9609,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/9609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}