Learn Italian Idioms

In this video I am going to talk about the comparison adverb "come" and about several Italian set phrases consisting of an adjective, the adverb "come" and a noun.

Basically, these are comparisons which have been fixed in the Italian language. These are real idiomatic phrases that should be used just like that.

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

Specifically, this video is geared toward those amazing people who understand Italian, but would like to expand their active vocabulary.

If you are looking for videos to learn how to speak Italian like a real native speaker, you are in the right place!

(Channel Intro)

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and in this video I wanted to talk about a number of phrases with the word "come".

You surely know the word "come", and you know that it can be used as an adverb introducing a comparison. So the word "come" can be used to make a comparison.

Some of these comparisons have been fixed in the Italian language and today can be regarded as real set phrases.

All the phrases that I'm gonna discuss in this video follow the same pattern. Namely, there's an adjective, the word "come" and next a noun. The noun may refer to an animal or an object.

Needless to say, these are just examples. In Italian quite possibly exist more similar phrases. I just wanted to give you some examples and point to some phrases which you can use when you speak. In the future, should more phrases come to my mind, I will add them in the comments below.

In the examples I'll be referring to the masculine singular of each adjective. It is clear that, depending on the context, you should use either the masculine singular, the feminine singular, the masculine plural, or the feminine plural.

For my convenience, I'll refer only to the masculine singular form. Then, depending on the situation, you should obviously use the appropriate adjective form.

But let's jump straight into our first example!

The first example is related to the adjective "chiaro" and is in fact the most complex, because there are at least 6 different versions.

The most common are for sure "chiaro come il sole" and "chiaro come l'oro". There also people who say "chiaro come il giorno" and people who say "chiaro come il cristallo".

According to the dictionary, some people also say "chiaro come l'ambra" but quite frankly I've never heard that. Honestly, I've never heard anyone saying "chiaro come l'ambra".

Like I said, most of the time I hear "chiaro come l'oro", or "chiaro come il sole". People say that because the sun, a crystal and gold are bright and shining. So they are very "chiari".

Many people also say "chiaro come l'olio". Honestly, I don't know why people say that, because in actual fact oil, especially olive oil, is all but crystal-clear. Quite the opposite: quality oil tends to be cloudy.

I for one prefer not to say "chiaro come l'olio". Because the reference doesn't seem too clear to me. But I mainly dislike this comparison because we also have "liscio come l'olio".

What does "liscio come l'olio" mean? Very smooth. For instance, if I say "È andato tutto liscio come l'olio", I mean that there were no problems. That is, everything went smoothly. It was plain sailing, so to speak.

Next, we have the adjective "stupido".

Alright. "Stupido" is typically associated with the noun "sasso". So we usually say "stupido come un sasso".

You know what "sasso" means. "Sasso" means stone. Why do people say that? Because a stone cannot apparently think. A stone doesn't think.

This is quite possibly the most common phrase, but many people also say "stupido come una capra".

You surely know what "capra" means, so it's not necessary that I explain to you what the word "capra" means.

Thing is, goats are typically associated with ignorance. That is, not so much with stupidity, but rather with ignorance. And people indeed usually say "ignorante come una capra".

This association is so strong, that in Italian you can also say "Sei una capra!". What does "sei una capra" mean? You are ignorant. So "capra" is an insult. Specifically, it is an insult meaning ignorant.

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Next, the adjective "stupido" is also associated with the noun "gallina". The feminine form is more common: "stupida come una gallina".

But I would say that this phrase is a bit unusual, precisely because in Italian there's also another idiom with the word "gallina" which precisely refers to stupidity.

Some time ago I made a video where I discussed several idiomatic phrases with the word "gallina", including an idiom specifically referring to stupidity. In the top corner I'll add a card to the video I made about this idiom.

So, well, if you want, you can say "stupido come una gallina", but this phrase is rather unusual.

Next, we have the adjective "furbo", which is usually associated with the fox. In many cultures the fox is the symbol of cunning and craftiness.

Keep in mind that in Italian the noun "volpe" is grammatically feminine while ending in -E.

Also referring to animals is the idiom "testardo come un mulo". "Il mulo" is an animal in-between a horse and a donkey.

In Italian this animal is associated with determination in a bad sense. That is, with being stubborn.

What are stubborn people like?

They are people who always want to do what they want, no matter what. That is, if you tell a stubborn person: "No, don't do that. Do this instead", the stubborn person will regardless do what they have decided to do. So a stubborn person is determined in a bad sense.

There's also a colloquial version of "testardo come un mulo", which is "cocciuto come un mulo".

Next we have the idiomatic phrase "duro come la roccia". You surely know what "roccia" means, I don't need to explain that to you. Some people also say "duro come la pietra". You can say either.

Next, we have "fastidioso come una zanzara". "La zanzara" is that annoying insect making this noise zzz - we call that "zanzara". So, if someone is really annoying, you can say that they are "fastidioso/a come una zanzara".

But let's go to what are quite possibly the most common adjectives: "bello" and "brutto".

Alright. In Italian people usually say "bello come il sole" and "brutto come la fame". In particular when talking about someone's looks.

So, if someone is very ugly, you can say they are "brutto/a come la fame". You know what "hunger" means, you know the phrase "Ho fame", or "Sto morendo di fame". Hunger is obviously bad. Well, the phrase "brutto come la fame" usually refers to someone's looks.

We also have a rather peculiar expression: "sano come un pesce". Alright. "Sano" means healthy, not sick. So, if you say that someone is "sano/a come un pesce", it means that they are completely healthy.

Let's move on to colours.

Three idioms come to my mind. Alright. "Rosso come un peperone". "Bianco come la neve". "E nero come la pece".

Well, you know what a sweet pepper looks like. Sweet peppers can be either red, yellow, or green. If someone feels embarrassed and blushes for the emotion, their face reddens, we can say that this person has become "rossa come un peperone".

Why do people say "rossa come un peperone" and not "rossa come il fuoco"? Because that's the way it is. There is no specific reason.

"Bianco come la neve" is an idiom that doesn't need explaining. Snow is apparently white. Incidentally, there is a very famous cartoon character, which in Italian is called Biancaneve.

The idiom "nero come la pece" is a bit more complex. You might also hear "scuro come la pece", but people usually say "nero come la pece".

You probably don't know the word "pece". "La pece" refers to a substance which was used in medieval times, for instance during a siege. The enemy besieged a castle, they tried to climb the walls, and people inside the castle poured hot pitch on people who were trying to climb the castle walls.

Pitch is really dark and this caused the idiom "nero come la pece" to spread. Right now we are not interested in the chemical composition of pitch. We just need to know that in Italian people say "nero come la pece".

Generally speaking, I'd say that in today's Italian the word "pece" is not used. That is because this substance is no longer used, as far as I know. In any case, in everyday speech the word "pece" is not used, it only remained in this idiom.

Next, there's the idiom "buono come il pane". This idiom doesn't refer to quality, but rather to kindness from a moral standpoint, if you will.

Some time ago I made a video about the phrase "essere un pezzo di pane", which is very similar to the idiom "buono come il pane". I'll add a card to it in the top corner. You might wanna take a look at it, so that you learn this idiom too.

Next, there's a quite simple idiom, which may be identical in your language: "puntuale come un orologio svizzero".

What does "puntuale" mean? That someone comes on time, they don't come late.

So, if we say that someone is "puntuale come un orologio svizzero", we mean that they always come on time. In particular, they come exactly at the agreed time. They don't come late, not even 5 minutes late. This idiomatic phrase specifically stresses that.

Next, we have "sudato come un cammello". Well, you know what "cammello" means, it is that animal living in the desert. When someone sweats a lot, in Italian we say that they are "sudato/a come un cammello". For example, if I sweat a lot, I can say: "Sono sudato come un cammello".

Next, there's the adjective "forte", and Italians typically say "forte come un toro". Or "forte come un bue". There was also "Forte come la morte", but that, well, that was the title of a novel, not an Italian idiom.

Well, I would like to stress that in Italian people don't say "forte come un cavallo". Because in the past I heard people saying "forte come un cavallo". People don't say that in Italian, though.

Next, there are 2 very funny idioms.

The first one is: "vecchio come il cucco". Alright. I cannot explain to you the origin of this idiom, because it is rather complex. In the future I may make a video explaining why people say "vecchio come il cucco".

In this video I just wanted to say that "vecchio come il cucco" means old, extremely old. And it can be said in reference to someone or something.

In particular, if used in reference to an individual, it's quite offensive, because "vecchio come il cucco" means that this person is very old and specifically slightly senile.

Usually I don't say that in reference to people, but in reference to things. And in this case "vecchio come il cucco" means the opposite of new, original.

For example, I could say: "Questa teoria è vecchia come il cucco". What does it mean? It is very old. It's not a new theory.

Then there's another idiom which technically speaking doesn't belong in this category, because it doesn't include an adjective, but an adverb.

The idiom is: "Fuori come un melone", or "fuori come un balcone". This idiomatic phrase refers to the fact that someone is not in their right mind. Like we say in Italian, someone "è un po' fuori di testa". That is, in other words, someone "fuori come un melone" or "fuori come un balcone" is completely crazy. Needless to say, this is an informal and playful idiom.

Next, we have "magro come un chiodo". I don't know if you know what "chiodo" means. Not long ago I made a video in which I explained the word "chiodo". I will add a card to it in the top corner. Check it out, so that you will understand what "chiodo" means.

Next, there's "sordo come una campana". "La campana" is that object located inside a belltower, which is part of a church. Or a buidling next to a church. A bell tolls, right?! In Italian for some strange reason people say "sordo come una campana". That is, if someone cannot hear anything, we say that they are "sordo/a come una campana".

If someone is very happy, we say "felice come una Pasqua", e.g. "È felice come una Pasqua".

Lastly, there's a comparison which actually is not a real set phrase, meaning that you won't hear it often. But I like it very much.

An ex of mine taught me this comparison. In particular, it's the same person who taught me the idiomatic expression "Passi lunghi e ben distesi". Here you can find a card to it.

Whatever, the idioms is: "Pesante come un elefante". I like this phrase because it is rhyming. "Pesante come un elefante".

In particular, I like to use it in reference to people who are figuratively "heavy", that is, not literally heavy, but boring. Meaning those people with whom one gets bored.

Well, that's it!

In the comments below please let me know if you like this format, if you want more videos like this.

In the top corner I'll add a card to another amazing video that you might wanna watch, if you wish to expand your vocabulary.

That being said - have a nice day!