Learn basic Italian vocabulary: words related to LEMONS

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and this video is aimed at those wonderful people who are learning Italian. I am referring to those who are studying the Italian language or in general are learning Italian as a second language.

Here I have a lemon, because in this video I would like to review a number of Italian words and phrases related to the word "limone". Or rather, I would like to take inspiration from this lemon to review specific phrases.

If you want to learn Italian well, you have come to the right place!

(Channel Intro)

Let's not waste our time and let's see right away how we can describe this object. Namely, what phrases and words we can use.

First of all, we can say "Questo è un limone".

What is a lemon?

A lemon is "un frutto". So we can say: "Il limone è un tipo di frutto.

Di che colore è il limone?

"Il limone è giallo". We can say that, or we can use slightly more formal wording and say: "Il limone è di colore giallo". Or: "Il limone è un frutto di colore giallo". So we can either say "è giallo" or "è di colore giallo".

Lemons typically have an oval shape. This one is a bit unusual because its shape is spherical rather than oval. We can say that an object "ha una forma ovale" if its shape looks like an egg. Or in any case if it's like an elongated circle. Well, lemons typically have a more stretched out shape.

The exterior part you can see is referred to as "buccia". "La buccia del limone" can be smooth (liscia) or rough (rugosa). In this case the skin is "rugosa". What does "rugosa" mean? It means that the skin is uneven.

That's all, as for the exterior look of a lemon, so to speak.

If we talk about the taste of a lemon, we should say that lemons, you know better than I, have a most peculiar taste. They taste extremely sour. We could say that lemons "sono molto acidi" or "sono acidissimi".

If we want, we could also use the adjective "acre" and say "il limone ha un sapore molto acre".

Lemons are part of a particular type of fruit which in Italian are called "agrumi". Technically speaking, the singular form is "agrume", while the plural is "agrumi". Technically speaking, we should say: "Il limone è un agrume", "I limoni sono degli agrumi".

Citrus fruits include very common fruits, such as: il limone, l'arancia, il mandarino, il pompelmo, il cedro and il bergamotto.

Alright. Let me say right off the bat that many Italians mistakenly say "l'arancio" to refer to the fruit. In fact, "l'arancio" refers to the tree, whereas the fruit is called "arancia". Therefore: "l'arancia". This is a grammatically feminine noun.

An orange clearly tastes less sour than a lemon. It tastes sweeter.

In addition to that, oranges are of a different colour. So we can say "il limone e l'arancia sono due frutti di colori diversi. L'arancia è arancione, oppure di colore arancione, il limone è giallo, oppure di colore giallo".

What can we do with a lemon? What's a lemon for?

Well, the first thing I can do is this. What am I doing?

I'm passing it from one hand to the other. Well, anyways, lemons aren't typically used for this purpose.

Can we say that lemons are eaten?

In actual fact no, because usually - at least in Italy, lemons are not eaten just like this. Differently from oranges. Lemons are typically used to flavour certain foods and drinks. Since they have a very strong taste, they are used for flavouring.

If I think about a lemon, two verbs comes to my mind, essentially. The first one is "tagliare", the second one is "spremere".

Well, you surely know what the verb "tagliare" means. We grab a knife and "tagliamo il limone". For instance, "lo tagliamo a metà". So, keep this phrase in mind. In Italian we say "tagliare il limone a metà". We don't say "tagliare il limone in due parti". We say "tagliare il limone a metà".

Here I precisely have "mezzo limone". I have cut it earlier to avoid wasting your time. You know, right? Just like in those cooking shows, where they cook before shooting the show, and show you the final result.

This one is referred to as "mezzo limone". It's not called "metà di un limone", "la metà di un limone", "una metà del limone". The phrase is "mezzo limone". What am I holding in my hand? In my hand I have "mezzo limone".

Basically, here you can see from the the cut the three parts of a lemon. Namely, "la buccia", which is the exterior part. The interior part, which is called "polpa". You can also see, or rather glimpse, the lemon seeds. So remember this: the outside is called "buccia", the inside is called "polpa".

The second verb that comes to my mind if I think about a lemon is "spremere". Pay attention that I said "spremere" and not "premere".

Here I have a glass to perform a practical demonstration of what "spremere" means. This is a lemon, I squeeze it.

So what does "spremere" mean?

It means squeezing it so that the juice drops. If you are lucky, when you squeeze a lemon, not a single seed will drop. In actual fact, more often than not, several seeds will fall.

Some people, instead of saying "spremere", say "strizzare". I for one prefer the verb "spremere".

What is the past participle of the verb "spremere"?

"Spremuto". And in Italian we have the noun "spremuta". Una spremuta, la spremuta. Which is typically used, tough, in reference to oranges. So "la spremuta d'arancia", "una spremuta d'arancia".

What does "spremuta d'arancia" mean?

It's a drink that you get by squeezing fresh oranges. If you go to a bar, you can say: "Vorrei una spremuta d'arancia". The barman will start squeezing some oranges and give you that drink.

"La spremuta di limone" does in theory exist, but nobody drinks it. The drink obtained from lemons is typically referred to as "limonata". I'd say that "la limonata" usually contains a fair percentage of water. By contrast, "la spremuta" usually contains just the juice of the squeezed oranges.

In Italian there is a saying: "spremere come un limone", which is normally used to refer to those people that use their best efforts working for a company, and then are fired. I mean, after they have been squeezed, that is, after they have been ruthlessly exploited, they are fired. A typical phrase could be: "Luigi l'hanno licenziato dopo averlo spremuto come un limone".

Many people drink "il tè al limone". What does "tè al limone" mean? "Il tè al limone" indicates tea in which some lemon drops have been squeezed.

Some people say "tè al limone", other people say "tè col limone". I for one prefer to say "tè al limone". And so do most companies selling cold tea. Cold tea is usually referred to as "tè al limone" or "tè alla pesca". So the preposition A is used.

If you go to a grocery store, next to beverages such as coke and orange soda, you will see "il tè al limone", or "tè alla pesca". I mean cold tea, not tea-bags.

Similarly, if you buy lemon ice-cream, on the packaging you will normally read "gelato al limone", not "gelato col limone". When we talk about flavours, (in Italian) we typically use the preposition A, AL, ALLA. For example "gelato al limone", "gelato alla fragola".

That's it it! I hope that you found this video helpful and that you learnt new words.