Expand your Italian vocabulary

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and in this video I wanted to explain a number of Italian words and expressions related to this wonderful object.

This video is geared toward those amazing people who are learning Italian as a foreign language.

If you are one of them and your goal is to speak good Italian, you've come to the right place!

Like I said, in this video I wanted to "prendere spunto" from this object and explain some Italian words.

What does the phrase "prendere spunto da quest'oggetto" mean?

It means using this object as a starting point. Starting from this object and explaining a series of words related to this object.

First of all, what is this called? What do we call this one in Italian? What noun do we use in Italian to refer to this object?

In italian this object is called "marsupio". I hope you can see it. Anyways, (the word is) "marsupio".

You may have recognized the brand... I want to stress that in this video I don't want to advertise this brand, I just want to talk about this object, that is about (the words) "marsupio" and "marsupi" generally.

So the singular is "marsupio", while the plural is "marsupi".

Can we call this object "borsello" or "borsetta"?

No, we can't. This object is referred to as "marsupio". It is so called because its peculiarity is that it is worn around the waist. That is right below the belly.

So in Italian we say "mettere qualcosa in vita". "In vita" essentially means around the hips. I don't know how to explain that. You see what I mean. Just like a "cintura".

If you are wondering what the word "cintura" means - well, this one is called "una cintura". In particular, this is called "una cintura di pelle", "una cintura di pelle nera". Or "una cintura nera di pelle".

This is called a "cintura", this part is called "fibbia". So this one is referred to as "la fibbia della cintura". The singular is "fibbia", the plural is "fibbie".

You can hear that I pronounce a very strong B, precisely because this is a double B. So I say /fibbia/, not /fibia/.Fibbia.

You probably know the word "tibia". "Tibia" refers to a specific bone, right? So the word "tibia" is spelled with a single B, hence I pronounce it like /tibia/.

By contrast, the word "fibbia" is spelled with two Bs, and, as you can hear, I pronounce a much louder B sound.

Can you hear the difference between /fibbia/ and /tibia/?

Fanny bags don't have "una cintura", they have what we normally call "cinghia". We call this part here "cinghia" or "cinghietta".

What's the difference between (the nouns) "cinghia" and "cinghietta"? "Cinghia" is the standard noun, "cinghietta" is a diminutive word.

Basically, belly bags have a "cinghia" which is used for wearing them around the waist.

What does the phrase "mettersi qualcosa in vita" mean? It means wearing something like you would normally wear a belt. That is around the waist, below the belly. Just to be clear.

This part here, the "cinghia"'s final part, which is inserted here, is called "fibbia". So the final part of a "cinghia" and of a "cintura" is referred to with the noun "fibbia".

Next, fanny bags typically have this thingy here. What is this thingy called?

Well, properly speaking, in Italian this one is called "cerniera". Una cerniera, plural: cerniere. Una cerniera, delle cerniere.

"La cerniera" can be opened or closed.

Some people who want to sound more international say "zip". And use this word either as a masculine or a feminine noun Some say "la zip", others say "lo zip".

Properly speaking, in Italian you should say "cerniera". So "la cerniera" if there is only one, whereas "le cerniere" if there are 2.

Alright. As for the verbs related to the word "marsupio", I'd say that the first verb that comes to my mind is the verb "allacciare".

When we talk about belts, for instance seatbelts in cars, we use the verb "allacciarsi" So "allacciarsi le cinture". Or "allacciarsi la cintura".

Strictly speaking, "allacciare" means, in this case, when talking about belts and straps, and whenever there is a buckle, it means performing this movement. That is putting it in position and then fastening it.

If we consider a fanny bag, "allacciarsi il marsupio" means putting the bag in position and fastening it by closing the buckle.

Next, when talking about fanny bags, the (Italian) verbs "stringere" and "allargare" come to my mind.

"Stringere" is a rather odd verb because its present tense is "io stringo", its passato prossimo is "io ho stretto". In a similar fashion, we have "tu stringi" and "tu hai stretto".

Alright. You know better than I do that these buckles are typically adjusted by means of a rather complex system, I've never quite understood how it's supposed to work, by means of which, basically, the fanny bag can be tightened, that is you can make this circle smaller. Or, If you want, you can make it bigger.

If my fanny bag fits too tight, what should I do? I should loosen its strap.

By contrast, if the fanny bag fits too loose, what should I do? I should shorten its strap.

Incidentally, there's a very nice Italian idiom, which is "stringere la cinghia".

"Stringere la cinghia" literally means tightening a belt. So for instance, if a belt is too long for us, we shorten it.

For example, let's suppose that that were my belly, right? Let's pretend that were my belly, this belt is too long for me. What should I do? I should tighten it. In other words, I need to move this thingy, use another hole, and I have thus tightened my belt.

Anyway, going back to the idiomatic expression... In Italian you have the idiom "stringere la cinghia" which essentially means economizing. That is spending less and saving up more.

For example, you can use it in a sentence such as: "Siamo in un periodo di crisi, bisogna stringere la cinghia".

What does it mean? It essentially means that one should spend less. Metaphorically, it means that one should eat less and save up.

Next, well, the word "marsupio" is related to a word that is slightly more technical and is used in science, namely to a category of animals which are referred to as "marsupiali". I marsupiali.

For example, the kangaroo is "un marsupiale". Why? Because it has a kind of pouch in the front, over its belly. Well, (in Italian) these animals are called marsupiali.

Alright! That's it!

I hope this video helped you learn new Italian words and expressions.

Here you can find a card to another video that you might wanna watch, if you want to expand your Italian vocabulary. Check it out!

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