Learn Italian idioms with animals

In this video I'm gonna talk about three Italian phrases and one saying with the word "gallina".

This video is designed for those who are studying Italian and would like to learn Italian idioms used by native speakers.

If you want to learn Italian well and speak it like a native speaker, you've come to the right place!

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and in this amazing video I wanted to talk about 4 Italian expressions with the word "GALLINA". To be precise, I wanted to talk about 3 idiomatic phrases and one proverb with the word "gallina". I will leave the proverb last because it is undoubtedbly the funniest of the 4 idioms.

You surely know the word "gallina", or I should hope so. It's not necessary that I explain to you what "gallina" means.

Just to be clear, "gallina" refers to that animal laying eggs that are later sold in grocery stores. In Italian we usually say "la gallina fa le uova". A more technical verb, though, would be "deporre". Hence, one can say "la gallina depone le uova".

The first idiom I wanted to discuss with you is: "cervello di gallina". Some people also say "cervello da gallina".

This idiomatic expression is typically used with the verb "avere". So you have: "avere un cervello da gallina", "avere un cervello di gallina". Alternatively, you can opt for a definite article, like so: "avere il cervello di gallina", "avere il cervello da gallina".

But let's do an example right away!

I could say, referring to a friend of mine - let's pretend that her name is, for a change, Laura. I could say: "Laura ha un cervello di gallina".

Alternatively, I could say: "Laura ha il cervello di gallina", or, if I wanted, I could also say: "Laura ha un cervello da gallina".

Something that I want to stress is that this idiomatic phrase is "cervello di gallina", not just "gallina".

Because I noticed that many non-native speakers make this mistake: they just say "sei una gallina". But if you speak Italian and simply say "Sei una gallina"... - in fact, that's not how the real idiom sounds. Properly speaking, this idiom is "hai un cervello di gallina", not "sei una gallina".

If you just tell somebody "Sei una gallina", or if you simply call someone "gallina", it's likely that people will misunderstand you. So remember: you should always say "cervello di gallina" and not just "gallina".

In Italian there are several insults referring to animals, such as "capra", that can be used like this, i.e. "Sei una capra!".

When it comes to the word "gallina", though, you should say "cervello di gallina", "Hai un cervello di gallina". You can't say "Sei una gallina".

Alright, then. You probably know what (the word) "il cervello" means. "Il cervello" is a quite important organ located inside the skull. So inside the head there is "il cervello". "Il cervello" is used for thinking and reasoning.

So, if I say that somebody "ha un cervello di gallina", I mean that this individual is not too smart, that they are stupid.

Because in the the past it was believed that hens were stupid. In actual fact, it seems that... - more recently research has been done suggesting that hens aren't in fact that stupid at all.

In any case, this phrase means this: that a given individual is stupid. I'd say that "Ha un cervello di gallina" is a strong insult. Or rather, is not that strong, because it's not rude, but, if somebody says that, they clearly mean that that person is stupid, really stupid.

So use this idiom with caution. Because if you tell one of your friends "Hai un cervello di gallina", your friend could get offended.

I don't know if you know the phrase "Non è un'aquila". Well, some time ago I made a video about this expression as well, here you can find a card to it. Anyway, I'd say that the phrases "Ha un cervello di gallina" and "Non è un'aquila" are quite similar.

But let's go the second (idiomatic) expression I wanted to discuss!

The second Italian idiom I wanted to explain is "zampe di gallina". Specifically, "scrittura a zampe di gallina", or some people also say "scrittura a zampa di gallina". People also say "scrivere a zampe di gallina".

What does it mean? Writing illegibly.

You surely know people who write illegibly. Well, you can say that they "scrivono a zampe di gallina".

Why? Because the marks they leave on paper look like chicken footprints.

But let's go to our third expression!

Alright. The other idiom I wanted to explain is "andare a dormire con le galline". Alternatively, you could also say: "andare a dormire insieme alle galline", which literally means going to sleep when chickens go to sleep, that is, very early.

And indeed we use this expression when we want to say that somebody goes to sleep very early, for instance at 8 or 9 PM.

So, when somebody goes to sleep very early, we can say that they "va a dormire con le galline". Or: "va a dormire insieme alle galline". There are also people who say: "va a dormire come le galline". But (most) people usually say: "Va a dormire con le galline".

That's because chickens fall asleep as soon as it gets dark. At least I think so. Frankly, I'm not an expert in chickens, so I may be mistaken.

But let's go to the most amusing expression, that is to the proverb.

This Italian proverb says: "Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo".

Alright. First, I'm gonna explain to you what that literally means and what's the origin of this proverb.

Well, thing is, when a hen gets older, her meat gets tougher. So it should be cooked for a longer period of time. So, when you put an old hen in a pot, she should be kept there for longer.

Why? Because older chickens have tough meat. To be fit to be eaten, they should cook longer.

Given that they cook longer, tough, this has a serious consequence, namely, "il brodo" (the broth), that is the water in which the hen cooks, gets more tasty.

Why? Because the hen is kept in water for a longer period.

Therefore, while on the one hand it's true that older hens' meat is tougher compared to that of younger chickens, on the other hand it is also true that broth made with an older chicken is typically more tasty because the hen was cooked longer.

Alright, then. That's the literal meaning.

Figuratively, this saying means that older people, even if on the one hand they are older, on the other they also have positive qualities, in particular experience, which younger people don't have.

So it often happens that older people are, so to speak, discriminated against because they are old, one may say "No, not him. He is too old", right?

But in reality elderly people often have more experience and may even do certain things better. Exactly because they are more experienced.

So you see in what cases this proverb is used. When there's somebody considering age as a discriminating factor in a bad sense, another person can answer them: "Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo".

What does it mean? It means: you are mistaken in underrating older people only because they are older, because in actual fact in many cases older people can do certain things better, because they are experienced.

So, more often than not, you will hear this proverb in reply to someone critizing older people, to someone considering age as a discriminating factor in a bad way.

For instance, if someone says "No, he is not suited (for that) because he is too old", you can answer them: "Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo".

Well, in this sense, I'd personally put this saying, this proverb, in the same category in which I put the proverb "Nella botte piccola c'è il vino buono".

Some time ago I made a video about this saying as well, here you can find a card to it. If you wanna learn this amazing Italian saying too, you might wanna take a look at it!

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