If you’ve spent time in northern Italy in autumn or winter, you're probably familiar with the experience of waking up to a wall of grey outside your window in the early morning.
One defining feature of this time of year in Italy is la nebbia (hear it pronounced here).
At least in the flat Po Valley area of northern Italy, including Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto, it can be so dense that visibility drops to almost nothing.
C'è una nebbia fitta stamattina.
There's thick fog this morning.
Non si vede niente con questa nebbia.
You can't see anything in this fog.
You'll hear weather forecasters warning about banchi di nebbia (fog banks) on the roads, and drivers complaining about the reduced visibility.
Guida piano, ci sono banchi di nebbia sull'autostrada.
Drive slowly, there are fog banks on the motorway.
Many Italians have strong feelings about la nebbia. For some it's atmospheric and romantic. For others it's depressing and dangerous - in the countryside, they might warn you ominously that the fog is coming.
The adjective is nebbioso (foggy).
È una giornata nebbiosa.
It's a foggy day.
There's also annebbiato – fogged up or clouded.
I vetri sono tutti annebbiati.
The windows are all fogged up.
Wherever you go in Italy, it’s also useful to know the expression essere nella nebbia (to be in the fog), which means basically the same thing as it would in English - that you’re confused or unclear about something.
Sono ancora nella nebbia su questo argomento.
I'm still foggy on this topic.
So next time your Italian friends or neighbours start complaining about the weather, see how many forms of this word you can hear - or can fit into the conversation.
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. Download our app (available on Apple and Android) and then select the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
Comments