Italian word of the day: ‘Deteinato’
You’re going to need to wake up if you want to learn about this word.
In the English language, when taking a sip of coffee or tea without caffeine in it, you’d refer to either as being decaffeinated. There is no difference between the two popular hot beverages in this case.
However, this is not true at all in the Italian language.
Should you refer to tea without caffeine as decaf tea, you may get a few odd looks. That’s because in Italy 'decaffeinated' tea is instead called tè deteinato.
The adjective deteinato (de·te·i·nà·to) is used to describe tea which has been largely stripped of its theine content (identical to caffeine) by means of a solvent named dichloromethane.
Theine (known as teina in Italian) is rarely, if not never, used in English. If you search either the Oxford or Cambridge dictionaries, it is not in them. That’s because caffeine is the general term used for it.
But in Italian, if you ask for a 'tè decaffeinato', Italians might think you're talking about two different drinks.
Let’s take a look at a scenario, first in English then in Italian.
Customer: one tea please.
Waiter: Would you like it with or without caffeine?
Customer: Decaf please. I need to sleep tonight.
Cliente: Un tè, per favore
Cameriere: Lo vorresti con teina o deteinato?
Cliente: Deteinato grazie. Ho bisogno di dormire stanotte
So next time you’re ordering a decaf tea in Italy, be sure to use the specific term or you might cause some confusion.
Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Don't miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
Comments
See Also
In the English language, when taking a sip of coffee or tea without caffeine in it, you’d refer to either as being decaffeinated. There is no difference between the two popular hot beverages in this case.
However, this is not true at all in the Italian language.
Should you refer to tea without caffeine as decaf tea, you may get a few odd looks. That’s because in Italy 'decaffeinated' tea is instead called tè deteinato.
The adjective deteinato (de·te·i·nà·to) is used to describe tea which has been largely stripped of its theine content (identical to caffeine) by means of a solvent named dichloromethane.
Theine (known as teina in Italian) is rarely, if not never, used in English. If you search either the Oxford or Cambridge dictionaries, it is not in them. That’s because caffeine is the general term used for it.
But in Italian, if you ask for a 'tè decaffeinato', Italians might think you're talking about two different drinks.
Let’s take a look at a scenario, first in English then in Italian.
Customer: one tea please.
Waiter: Would you like it with or without caffeine?
Customer: Decaf please. I need to sleep tonight.
Cliente: Un tè, per favore
Cameriere: Lo vorresti con teina o deteinato?
Cliente: Deteinato grazie. Ho bisogno di dormire stanotte
So next time you’re ordering a decaf tea in Italy, be sure to use the specific term or you might cause some confusion.
Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Don't miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
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.