Italian vocabulary related to the beach (p.1)

This video lesson is aimed at those who are learning Italian and would like to expand their vocabulary.

More specifically, this video is aimed at those amazing people who already understand Italian, but would like to expand their active vocabulary.

If you are looking for videos for learning Italian well and speaking it like a native, you've come to the right place!

By the way, if you are wondering why I have dressed like this - well, the answer is simple. I have dressed like this because I'm gonna talk about the beach.

Let's go!

(Channel Intro)

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and in this video I wanted to discuss several words related to the beach.

If you are watching this video, you know what "spiaggia" means. So I don't need to explain to you what the word "spiaggia" means. Anyways, the word "spiaggia" refers to that special place where people go when they are on holiday.

By the way, if you are wondering why I have dressed like this.... By the way, if you are wondering why I have dressed like this - well, the answer is simple. I have dressed like this because I'm gonna talk about the beach.

Therefore, this 80s style shirt seemed to me the most appropriate of all to talk about the beach and the words related to the beach. In the comments below please let me know what you think about this shirt.

In this video I'm gonna talk about some words that you quite possibly know, but I will also talk about words and idioms that you may not know. Therefore, you might wanna watch the entire video. That is, please watch this video until the end.

Alright. Let's start from the first thing I wanted to tell you about the beach. Alright. In Italian we can say "andare alla spiaggia". So we use the preposition A. I for one prefer to say that. And I think that most Italians prefer to say that.

You could as easily say "andare in spiaggia". So, instead of the preposition "A", we can use the preposition "IN". In fact, this is one of those words with which we can use either preposition.

To mind come words such as "università" and "ospedale". For example, we can say "andare in università" or "andare all'università". Similarly, we can say "andare in ospedale" or "andare all'ospedale".

For example, if I run into a friend of mine and he asks me: "Where are you going?", I can answer: "Sto andando in università", Or "Sto andando all'università". Similarly, I can answer him "Sto andando alla spiaggia" or "Sto andando in spiaggia".

So, when we talk about these words, you should keep this in mind. Some people prefer to use the preposition A, other prefer to use the preposition IN.

Me personally, with "spiaggia" I prefer to use "A". Why? Because it's easier to pronounce. Or rather, it allows for a more fluent pronunciation. Because if I say "alla spiaggia" it's a thing, if I say "in spiaggia" it's another thing.

You could argue: "Come on, Luca! What's the difference? To me they are the same". The difference is that, due to consonant articulation manner, it's easier to say "alla spiaggia". It's easier to pronounce it smoohtly.

I guess this is the very reason why in older Italian people didn't say "in spiaggia", but they said "in ispiaggia". That is, a vowel was added. So in the 18th century people said "Sto andando in ispiaggia" - not "Sto andando in spiaggia".

In other words, a vowel was added to make the word easier to pronounce. This vowel was written too. And, if you read novels from that period, you will find, like I was saying, "in ispiaggia". This also applies to similar words which start with S + consonant.

Now, in today's Italian, this vowel is no longer written or pronounced. Except in few exceptional cases.

You may know the phrase "per iscritto". People say "per iscritto" - not "per scritto". Well, we can say that this form is a "fossil" from that old rule. In today's Italian, people still say "mettere il contratto per iscritto". Like I said, though, in all other words the letter I is no longer written or pronounced.

Well, I talked about "complemento di moto a luogo", i.e. "andare alla spiaggia" or "andare in spiaggia". Let's now talk about the so called "complemento di stato in luogo". That is "essere alla spiaggia", or "essere in spiaggia", or "sulla spiaggia".

These three phrases are all acceptable and permissible. Some people prefer to say "Sono alla spiaggia". Other people say "Sono in spiaggia". Other people say "Sono sulla spiaggia".

Me personally, but maybe it's jsut me, I tend to perceive "Sono alla spiaggia" as a more abstract phrase and "Sono sulla spiaggia" as a more concrete phrase.

That is, "alla spiaggia" makes me think of the beach as an abstract space. By contrast, "sulla spiaggia" makes me think of the concrete place itself. Therefore, if I were to describe a specific beach, I would probably say "sulla spiaggia". By contrast, if I were to talk about the beach in general, about the general idea of beach, I would probably say "alla spiaggia".

But, anyway, this is a difference you could easily ignore. Let's say that with "andare" it's ok to use either "alla spiaggia" or "in spiaggia". "Andare sulla spiaggia", though, would definitely sound quite awkward. By contrast, "essere sulla spiaggia" seems more acceptable to me, because it precisely refers to the surface.

That being said, let's move to the first word coming to mind when we talk about the beach.

Well, the first word that comes to mind is probably "sabbia".

What does it mean? "La sabbia" refers to that soil-like substance you can find on a beach. It is not called "terra", it is called "sabbia". You quite possibly know the noun "sabbia".

You may not know the phrase "granello di sabbia". What does "granello di sabbia" mean? "Un granello di sabbia" refers to one of those tiny units which sand consists of. So the singular is "granello", while the plural is "granelli".

Therefore, well, pay attention that in Italian people say "granelli di sabbia" and not, for instance, "chicchi di sabbia".

You probably know the word "chicco" - "chicchi". Which is used, for example, in reference to wheat. "Un chicco di grano". Or in reference to corn: "un chicco di mais". Or in reference to rice: "un chicco di riso". "Chicco" is apparently bigger than "granello". In reference to sand, we should say "granelli", not "chicchi".

The adjective from the the noun "sabbia" is "sabbioso" - sabbioso, sabbiosa, sabbiosi, sabbiose. For example, we can say "terreno sabbioso".

From the noun "sabbia" there's also the verb "sabbiare", which honestly is a rather technical verb. And in your entire life you will hardly ever need to use this verb. I'm gonna explain it, but let me say straight away that it is a technical verb.

The verb "sabbiare" refers the process which in Italian is called "sabbiatura". Basically, "sabbiare" is a verb, whereas "sabbiatura" is the name of this process. "Sabbiatura" refers to a process which consists in smoothing a given surface with sand. And there's a specifically made tool which, if my memory serves me right, is called "pistola-sabbiatrice". Anyway, these are technical terms.

There also a compound verb, "insabbiare", which is also used in everyday speech. Basically, "sabbiare" is hardly ever used, while "insabbiare"is a much more common verb.

"Insabbiare" literally means covering something in sand. However, it is used figuratively, with a rather peculiar meaning. The verb "insabbiare" is often used by journalists as a synonym for "nascondere", "occultare". Well, "occultare" is quite possibly the most accurate synonym.

Because "insabbiare" literally means covering something in sand. Figuratively, though, it means "occultare", that is, hiding, covering up, putting something in a place where it won't be found.

So, if someone "insabbia" something, it means that they hide something, they put it somewhere so that other people will forget it.

And journalists often talk about "insabbiamento delle prove". What does the phrase "insabbiamento delle prove" mean? It means concealment of evidence. Meaning that someone found some evidence, which could be used in a trial, could be useful to understand, for instance, who commited a given murder, - this individual take such evidence and conceal it.

Well, journalists often say that someone "ha insabbiato le prove". Because they have essentially hidden the evidence, they have covered it up.

Needless to say, if you cover something in sand, other people won't see it.

Concealment of evidence is often done by those who are in charge of an investigation. For example, if policemen or "carabinieri" get to a crime scene, and find evidence that later they make disappear, that is, they hide, we can talk about "insabbiamento delle prove". For example, if someone has been killed and in the crime scene a hammer is found, and someone makes this hammer disappear, we can use the phrase "insabbiamento delle prove".

Well, I gave you the simplest example, the simplest case. Namely, someone takes an object and makes it disappear. As if that object had never been in the crime scene. This is the simplest case.

There are clearly more complex ways to conceal evidence. And unfortunately in the past there have been such cases, where people in charge of an investigation in actual fact omitted certain details in their reports. This too can be referred to as "insabbiamento".

It should also be said that the words "insabbiamento" and "insabbiare" are also used more broadly, with a more general meaning, to mean hindering or obstructing something. That is, slowing something down, so that eventually people will forget it.

So it doesn't mean hiding or concealing something, it means taking something, putting it aside, so that it will fall into oblivion, as we say in Italian. That is, it will be forgotten.

In this case, people say, for example, "insabbiamento di un procedimento", "insabbiamento di un processo", "insabbiamento di una domanda".

For example, you submit an application, or another type of official request, but there are people who don't want that your request is accepted. That is, they wish that nothing is done. So in the relevant office this request may be "insabbiata". Meaning that it is put aside. That is, people receive your request, and instead of saying: "Ehy, we need to do this, that and that" - they receive it and "cover it in sand".

So, well, the verb "insabbiare" can mean hiding something or putting something aside. People do that because they clearly have an interest in doing so.

And in the past there have been notorious cases, published on newspapers, where some people, some officers concealed evidence or covered something up.

Next, sand is obviously related to castles. What do children do on the beach? They build sand castles.

Well, I'd like to take this chance to point something out. In theory, one could also say "costruire un castello di sabbia". But I'd say that everybody says "fare un castello di sabbia".

You surely know what sand castels are, so I don't need to explain that to you.

What tools do children use to build sand castles? They use what we call in Italian "il secchiello" and "la paletta". "Il secchiello" refers to a small bucket, "la paletta" refers to a small shovel.

Another thing children use with sand is what we call "le formine". That is, plastic objects with a a specific shape. Which can be a circle, a square, a star, or a little animal. Well, children use these objects to build sand shapes.

Go to the second part of this lesson.