Eight Italian exclamations that will make you sound like a local
The Italian language has no shortage of creative words or phrases to express anything from joy to disappointment to annoyance.
Che palle
Like many other languages, Italian has a habit of invoking balls and they’re not the kind you play pingpong with.
Literally translatable as ‘what balls!’, che palle does not correspond to the British exclamation ‘bollocks’ (nonsense). Rather, it means ‘what a pain’, ‘how annoying’, or ‘that sucks’.
Use it to demonstrate your frustration, boredom or disappointment.
È già lunedì…che palle.
It’s Monday already…what a bummer.
Basta
Basta is a wonderfully peremptory phrase to signal that you've had just about all you can take. It’s the Italian equivalent of 'enough!’.
READ ALSO: The essential vocabulary you'll need for an Italian summer
It can be used on its own or with con ('with') to specify exactly what you’ve had enough of.
Basta con le tue bugie!
Enough with your lies already!
Mai una gioia
Mai una gioia has no direct English equivalent but its literal translation – ‘never a joy’ – makes it easy enough to understand its meaning and the context you’ll want to use it in.
It’s the sort of ironic phrase you might use when you’re having one of those days where you wake up late, can’t find your keys, spill your coffee and then miss your train – all before 9am.
Use it in a light-hearted way to poke fun at the absurdity of the situation you’re in and at your own usual rotten luck.
Il tuo treno e’ appena partito. Mi dispiace.
Lo sapevo. Mai una gioia.
Your train’s just left. I’m sorry.
I knew it. Just my luck.
Meno male
Meno male is a way to welcome a positive piece of information while implying that the alternative outcome would have been a whole lot worse.
It expresses gladness, gratitude, but most of all, relief. That's why you might hear people use it with a big sigh and a wipe of the forehead, like we would say: 'phew!'
READ ALSO: 12 ways speaking Italian will mess up your English
Though it literally means ‘less bad’, meno male is generally translated as ‘thank goodness’.
Sei tornato! Meno male!
You're back! Thank goodness!
Mannaggia
Much like the English 'damn', mannaggia can be used to express irritation, frustration or disappointment.
Mannaggia, che guaio.
Damn, what a mess.
But, just like ‘damn’, it can also be used to curse someone or something. This is done by adding the preposition a between mannaggia and the person or object being cursed.
Mannaggia a te!
Damn you!
Evvai
A contraction of e vai (literally ‘and go’), evvai is a popular way to express joy over something and is generally translatable as ‘yay’ or ‘hooray’.
Ho vinto! Evvai!
I won! Yay!
But evvai can also be used as a form of encouragement or to congratulate someone else on their achievements.
Hai avuto il lavoro? Evvai!
You got the job? Way to go!
Chi se ne frega
Chi se ne frega (often pronounced as chissenefrega, as though it was one single word) is a fairly abrupt way to say that the subject of a conversation doesn’t really concern you and that whoever is doing the talking should button their lip.
Generally translatable as ‘who cares?’ or ‘who gives a damn?’, it can either kill a conversation stone-dead or be the start of a heated argument.
READ ALSO: Six ways to say you've had too much to drink in Italian
It’s advisable to avoid using chi se ne frega with people you don’t know very well as it’s definitely not the politest of forms.
Posso spiegare. Ho dei motivi validi.
Ma chi se ne frega dei tuoi motivi…
I can explain. I have some valid reasons.
Who gives a damn about your reasons…
Sì, vabbè
When a friend of yours tells you he could run the 100-metre dash in under 10 seconds as a kid, one of the best ways to dismiss their statement as a load of twaddle is sì, vabbè.
Sì, vabbè is the closest Italian equivalent of the sarcastic ‘yeah, right’ and can be used as a quick reply to pretty much anything that’s blatantly not true or made up.
Alzavo macchine con un solo braccio da giovane...
Sì, vabbè.
I used to lift cars with just one arm when I was younger...
Yeah, right.
Comments
See Also
Che palle
Like many other languages, Italian has a habit of invoking balls and they’re not the kind you play pingpong with.
Literally translatable as ‘what balls!’, che palle does not correspond to the British exclamation ‘bollocks’ (nonsense). Rather, it means ‘what a pain’, ‘how annoying’, or ‘that sucks’.
Use it to demonstrate your frustration, boredom or disappointment.
È già lunedì…che palle.
It’s Monday already…what a bummer.
Basta
Basta is a wonderfully peremptory phrase to signal that you've had just about all you can take. It’s the Italian equivalent of 'enough!’.
READ ALSO: The essential vocabulary you'll need for an Italian summer
It can be used on its own or with con ('with') to specify exactly what you’ve had enough of.
Basta con le tue bugie!
Enough with your lies already!
Mai una gioia
Mai una gioia has no direct English equivalent but its literal translation – ‘never a joy’ – makes it easy enough to understand its meaning and the context you’ll want to use it in.
It’s the sort of ironic phrase you might use when you’re having one of those days where you wake up late, can’t find your keys, spill your coffee and then miss your train – all before 9am.
Use it in a light-hearted way to poke fun at the absurdity of the situation you’re in and at your own usual rotten luck.
Il tuo treno e’ appena partito. Mi dispiace.
Lo sapevo. Mai una gioia.
Your train’s just left. I’m sorry.
I knew it. Just my luck.
Meno male
Meno male is a way to welcome a positive piece of information while implying that the alternative outcome would have been a whole lot worse.
It expresses gladness, gratitude, but most of all, relief. That's why you might hear people use it with a big sigh and a wipe of the forehead, like we would say: 'phew!'
READ ALSO: 12 ways speaking Italian will mess up your English
Though it literally means ‘less bad’, meno male is generally translated as ‘thank goodness’.
Sei tornato! Meno male!
You're back! Thank goodness!
Mannaggia
Much like the English 'damn', mannaggia can be used to express irritation, frustration or disappointment.
Mannaggia, che guaio.
Damn, what a mess.
But, just like ‘damn’, it can also be used to curse someone or something. This is done by adding the preposition a between mannaggia and the person or object being cursed.
Mannaggia a te!
Damn you!
Evvai
A contraction of e vai (literally ‘and go’), evvai is a popular way to express joy over something and is generally translatable as ‘yay’ or ‘hooray’.
Ho vinto! Evvai!
I won! Yay!
But evvai can also be used as a form of encouragement or to congratulate someone else on their achievements.
Hai avuto il lavoro? Evvai!
You got the job? Way to go!
Chi se ne frega
Chi se ne frega (often pronounced as chissenefrega, as though it was one single word) is a fairly abrupt way to say that the subject of a conversation doesn’t really concern you and that whoever is doing the talking should button their lip.
Generally translatable as ‘who cares?’ or ‘who gives a damn?’, it can either kill a conversation stone-dead or be the start of a heated argument.
READ ALSO: Six ways to say you've had too much to drink in Italian
It’s advisable to avoid using chi se ne frega with people you don’t know very well as it’s definitely not the politest of forms.
Posso spiegare. Ho dei motivi validi.
Ma chi se ne frega dei tuoi motivi…
I can explain. I have some valid reasons.
Who gives a damn about your reasons…
Sì, vabbè
When a friend of yours tells you he could run the 100-metre dash in under 10 seconds as a kid, one of the best ways to dismiss their statement as a load of twaddle is sì, vabbè.
Sì, vabbè is the closest Italian equivalent of the sarcastic ‘yeah, right’ and can be used as a quick reply to pretty much anything that’s blatantly not true or made up.
Alzavo macchine con un solo braccio da giovane...
Sì, vabbè.
I used to lift cars with just one arm when I was younger...
Yeah, right.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.