Learn Italian Idioms

Hi, everbody! I am Luca and this video is aimed at those amazing people who are learning Italian. If you are one of them, you are in the right place!

On this channel I have published hundreds of videos for learning Italian. If you want, check out my channel page, so that you get an idea of the type of videos which I usually publish.

That being said, in this episode I wanted to talk about three Italian phrases with the word "piega".

You probably know the noun "piega". "Piega" is a feminine noun clearly related to the verb "piegare".

For example, this is a sheet of paper. If I do this, what am I doing? "Lo piego", right? "Ho piegato il foglio". This one is called "piega". So "piega" refers both to the result of folding, and the point where I folded the sheet.

I gave you an example with a sheet, a piece of paper. The noun "piega" can also be used in reference to clothes. And it is often used in reference to clothes.

So "una piega" is when a piece of clothing - for instance, this shirt, right? If I "la piego", right? And leave it like this for a long time, then a fold will likely remain. The point where the shirt has been folded. Well, in this case too we use the word "piega".

When talking about clothes, "la piega" may refer to a crease made on purpose. For instance, on elegant trousers a vertical crease is typically ironed in the middle, right?! so that the trousers remain neat, right? Trousers can be specifically ironed so that they have such "piega".

Or when you leave a piece of clothing around, it gets folds, "viene stropicciato", like we say in Italian. People use the verb "stropicciare", so to speak. When it's all folds and wrinkles, if you will, we can also say "pestare un vestito".

Well, when it's like that, we can say that a piece of clothing is "pieno di pieghe". Just to be clear, a piece of clothing "pieno di pieghe" hasn't been ironed.

That being said, in this video I didn't want to discuss the literal meaning of the noun "piega", but rather three idiomatic expressions with this noun.

(Channel Intro)

The first phrase is: "Non ha fatto una piega".

This phrase is used in reference to people and you'll usually hear this form, that is, passato prossimo tense, third-person-singular. "Non ha fatto una piega".

"Non ha fatto una piega" essentially means that the person in question had no reaction, they were impassive. That is, we told this individual something, and this individual remained absolutely unmoved.

I don't know if you know the adjective "impassibile". Well, "impassibile" means precisely this: that someone remains impassive, they have no reactions.

So, I don't know, if we tell something to someone, we expect some kind of reaction. We may tell this person something important, something that should, I don't know, shock them. Or in any case something that should cause some emotion. Yet this person remains impassive, they remain indifferent, as if this thing doesn't concern them at all.

Well, in these cases we can say that this person "non ha fatto una piega".

I don't know if you know the idiom "Non ha battuto ciglio". Well, I would say that "Non ha fatto una piega" and "Non ha battuto ciglio" are two similar idioms.

Not long ago I made a video about the idiomatic phrase "Non ha battuto ciglio". I'll add a card to it in the top corner. If you want, check it out!

But let's move on to the second expression!

The second phrase I wanted to discuss is: "Non fa una piega".

You will usually hear this phrase in present tense third-person-singular and in reference to a line of reasoning. So an example could be: "Il tuo ragionamento non fa una piega".

What does it mean? It means that it is perfectly logical. That is, nothing can be objected to your line of reasoning.

"Il tuo ragionamento non fa una piega" means that your line of reasoning is perfectly logical. That is, in other words, a line of reasoning "che non fa una piega" is a reasoning that has no weaknesses, is a logical reasoning which cannot be defeated, so to speak.

I don't know if you know the idiom "Fa acqua da tutte le parti". Well, I'd say that "non fa una piega" is the opposite of "fa acqua da tutte le parti".

Some time ago I also made a video about the idiom "fa acqua da tutte le parti". I'll add a card to it in the top corner. If you want, check it out!

That being said, let's go to our third and last idiom with the word "piega".

Alright, the last expression I wanted to discuss is: "Sta prendendo una brutta piega".

What does "sta prendendo una brutta piega" mean? Someone is acquiring bad habits. Quite possibly by hanging out with people with bad habits, this individual too is acquiring bad habits.

This idiom is typically used in reference to young people, young men and women, who, by hanging out with people with bad habits, acquire themselves bad habits. To comment that, one may say: "Quel ragazzo sta prendendo una brutta piega". Which is a bit like saying: he is on the wrong track.

I mentioned young people, and this idiom is typically used in reference to the youth. But it could also be used to refer to other types of people, to anyone who, at a certain point, starts acquiring bad habits.

Well, this is the only meaning explained in dictionaries.

It should also be said, though, that the idiom "Sta prendendo una brutta piega" is also used in a different way, in reference to a situation.

I'll give you an example right away!

There are some people who say: "La situazione sta prendendo una brutta piega". What does it mean? The situation is degenerating. Or: The situation is getting worse.

This usage of the expression "Sta prendendo una brutta piega" is not indicated in dictionaries, but is quite common.

So "sta prendendo una brutta piega" can be used in reference to someone, to mean that they are acquiring bad habits, or in reference to a situation, to mean that the situation is getting worse or degenerating.

In this sense, we could rephrase this expression like so: The situation is starting to evolve in a bad way. That is, the situation was like this, then it began to worsen. To comment that, someone may say: "Sta prendendo una brutta piega".

Well, I hope you liked these three phrases with the word "piega".

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May the force of advanced Italian be with you!