italian proverbs

5 Italian sayings on love

1. L’amore non è bello, se non è litigarello

There is no equivalent in English, although searching, I came across a quote by Shakespeare that sums up the meaning of the Italian provarb above.

“The course of true love never runs smooth.”

When do Italians say “l’amore non è bello se non è litigarello?”

This Italian proverb pretends to ease the tension after a little quarrel by objecting that a relationship can’t always be “bella‘(or healthy) without a small fight from time to time. Of course, the hardest times make your relationship stronger. The adjective litigarello (originating from the verb litigare) is not used in any other expressions, but this one.

2. Chi s’assomiglia si piglia

Literally, those who are alike end up with each other.

The proverb originates from the Tuscany dialect and means that those who have similar features (both in their bodies and their characters) are attracted to each other.

3. Sfortunato al gioco fortunato in amore

Literally: unlucky at cards, lucky in love.

This Italian saying is often used to ease the pain of somebody who is losing while playing a game, usually playing cards.

4. Il primo amore non si scorda mai

English: You never forget your first love. The proverb explains itself.

5. Al cuore non si comanda

English: Love is blind, or you can’t rule the heart. A person who is in love might not see the faults in his/her partner the way others might see them. It sounds pretty malicious, but I have heard it a few times.

BELLO vs. BEL/QUELLO vs. QUEL

Everybody knows that quello means that and bello means beautiful or nice.

And if you have been learning Italian for a while, you may have noticed that sometimes bello and quello are used in different forms.

In fact, it is not rare that bello becomes bel or begli or bei and quello becomes quel or quegli or quei.

Many students are not sure about the difference between bel and bello in Italian, or between quel and quello. Their use is easier than you think, and I’ll explain why in the followings sections.

Bello, bel, bei, begli

What is the difference between bello and bel/begli/bei?

When bello is positioned before a noun, it changes its ending in the same way as the definite articles (il, l’, gli, i).

In other words, the root of the adjective (be-) merges with the definite articles that would precede the noun, and so it results in the following variations:

Bel libro – nice book
Bell’albero – beautiful tree
Begli alberi – beautiful trees
Bei libri – nice books
Bella donna – beautiful woman
Belle donne – beautiful women

If the adjective bello follows the noun or the verb essere, it doesn’t follow the above rule, but it will simply change its ending just as a regular adjective does.

Questa casa è bella – this house is beautiful
Queste case sono belle – these houses are beautiful
Questo uomo è bello – this guy is handsom
Questi uomini sono belli – these guys are handsome

Quello, quel, quei, quegli

When does quello change its form and become quello/quel/ quei/quegli?

The rule for bello applies to quello too.

If quello is positioned before a noun (and so it is used as an adjective), its spelling changes by merging its root with the definite articles (il, lo, la, i, gli, le) that would normally precede the noun, as in the following examples.

Quel libro – that book
Quell’albero – that tree
Quegli alberi – those trees
Quei libri – those books
Quella donna – that woman
Quelle donne – those women

The above varieties are possible only when quello is used as an adjective.

If quello is used as a pronoun instead of an adjective, the changes only reflect gender and the number of people in the group.

Quello è il mio gatto – That one is my cat
Quelle sono le mie amiche – those are my girlfriends

Buono, buon

What is the difference between buon and buono?

The same rule for bello and quello applies to the adjective buono.

Buono changes its endings by following the pattern of the indefinite adjective (uno, una, un, un’), when preceding a noun.

un buon amico – a good friend
una buon’amica – a good girl-friend

How to express positive emotions in Italian

Italians have a reputation for being emotional and sentimental, and this is entirely right. No need to say, we like to express positive and (negative) emotions with friends and family, and we do it often.

Have you ever wondered what the most common ways to say in “well done” or” was happy about..” or “cool‘” are?

Keep reading this article to find it out!

RIMANERE + ADJECTIVE

By using the present perfect of rimanere followed by an adjective you will mean you were happy/excited/ satisfied with something

Sono rimasto soddisfatto della lezione di ieri
Lucia è rimasta molto contenta del regalo che hai ricevuto
L’insegnante rimane contento del mio livello di italiano durante ogni lezione

Don’t forget, most adjectives expressing feelings are followed by the preposition di and the verb infinitive

Essere /rimanere felice di + infinito
Essere /rimanere contento di+ infinito
Essere /rimanere soddisfatto di + infinito
Essere /rimanere scioccato di + infinito
Essere /rimanere sorpreso di + infinito
Avere paura di + infinito

POSITIVE EXCLAMATIONS

Exclamations are the most everyday ways to express positive emotions.

Many joyous Italian exclamations result from the combination of che with adjectives.

Che bello! – How beautiful!
Che buono! – How good!
Che dolce! – How sweet!
Che piacere! – How nice!
Che bel film! – What an excellent movie!
Che bella donna! – What a beautiful woman!
Che giornata fantastica! –What a fantastic day!

There are also many other exclamations used in day to day Italian that take the shape of simple adjectives.

Bravissimo! – Well done!
Ottimo! – Excellent!
Bello! – Beautiful!
Figo! – Cool! (very informal)
Eccezionale! – Outstanding!

Another way to express satisfaction or happiness in Italian is using the expression fare piacere a qualcuno (literally: making pleasure for someone)

Mi fa molto piacere che tu sia arrivato
Mi fa piacere che tu abba superato l’esame

Remember that the subjunctive must follow the expression “mi fa piacere the.”

Fare piacere is an impersonal expression; so it has to be conjugated in the same way you would conjugate the verb piacere:

Mi fa piacere – mi ha fatto piacere

Tti fa piacere – ti ha fatto piacere

Gli fa piacere – gli ha fatto piacere

Ci fa piacere – ci ha fatto piacere

Vi fa piacere – vi ha fatto piacere

Gli fa piacere – gli ha fatto piacere

SHOWING APPROVAL IN ITALIAN

Expressing positive emotions can take the shape of showing approval. The most common ways to show support or approval in Italian are:

Va bene! – All right!
D’accordo! – Agreed!
Giusto! – Correct!
Certo! – Of course!
Esatto! – Precisely!

SHOWING RELIEF IN ITALIAN

Last but not least, let’s see how to express relief in Italian:

Meno male! – Thank goodness!
Per fortuna! – Luckily!
Grazie a Dio! – Thank God!

Meno male is Italy’s most common verbal sigh of relief. This phrase is used when you want to explain that you have prevented a possible situation, like in the following examples:

Meno male che ho preso l’autobus delle 11, sennò avrei perso l’aereo.
Meno male che Lucia è arrivata in orario per l’appuntamento con il capo.

Both Grazie a Dio and per fortuna are used with the same meaning. However, meno male is the expression you are most likely to hear in your Italian conversations.

Compunds verbs: auxiliary Essere o Avere?

Tenses are normally divided into simple and compound ones, the letter result from the union of the past participle and the conjugated form of the verb essere (to be) or avere (to have). Many students have come to be with doubts concerning the use of the one or the other auxiliary.

Although it might sound confusing whether to opt for the first or second option, all you need to know can be summed up in a few rules that you need to remember whenever you need to conjugate a compound verb in Italian.

The verbs that take the auxiliary avere are the transitive verbs that take a direct object, for example:

Ho fatto una torta stasera. I have made a cake tonight.

Ho pulito la casa. I have cleaned the house.

Ho guidato l’auto. I have driven the care.

The verbs that take the auxiliary essere are the intransitive verbs such as the verbs of movement (andare, salire, scendere, tornare, arrivare), the reflexive verbs (arrabiarsi, lavarsi, vestirsi), the pronominal verbs (accorgersi, vergognarsi) and the impersonal verbs (succedere).

Sono salito sull’areo senza valigie. I got on the plane without any luggage.

Mi sono arrabbiato con i miei oggi. I got mad at my parents today.

Mi sono accorto troppo tardi di aver perso il portafogli. I realized too late that I had lost my wallet.

Cosa é successo? What happened?

There are some verbs that can take both ESSERE and AVERE.

They are the verbs that describe the weather conditions (piovere, grandinare, nevicare) or the verbs, vivere, volare e scivolare.

The Italian modal verbs, aka verbi servili, take the auxiliary AVERE when they are simple tenses, while in the compound tenses followed by an infinitive, they takes the auxiliary of the infinitive.

For example:

Sono dovuto andare mangiare. I had to go to eat.

Ho dovuto cucinare in fretta, non avevo tempo. I had to cook in a rush, I was short of time.