Expand your Italian vocabulary

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and this video is for those who are learning the Italian language.

Specifically, this video is designed for those wonderful people who understand Italian, but would like to learn new words and expressions.

I have in mind those learners who have no problem understanding Italian, but, when speaking it, realize that they don't know certain words.

If you are one of them, you might wanna subscribe to my channel, because on this channel I regularly upload lessons on various topics related to the Italian language and grammar.

Having said that, in this lesson I wanted to start from this object and explain you a number of Italian phrases and words.

I hope you can see it. You've probably guessed what it is.

What do we call this object in Italian? (In Italian) this object is called "volantino". This is a "volantino". To refer to this object, in Italian we use the masculine noun "volantino".

What does "volantino" mean? Basically, "volantino" is some sheets, some sheets of paper with ads printed on them.

This is the brochure of an electronics store.

Well, for equal treatment I've taken three "volantini" from three competitor electronics brands. This is the first one, this is the second one, and this is the third one. I'm not advertising these stores, I've just taken these brochures. So here with me I have 3 "volantini": the first "volantino", the second "volantino" and the third "volantino".

Alright. A thing that I want to stress is this. The word "volantino" can refer to either an object like this one (made up of several sheets), or to a single-paper leaflet, "volantino" can be one or several sheets. These "volantini" are some kind of booklets made up of several sheets, several pages.

Stores typically print leaftlets showing products that are "in offerta". What does the phrase "in offerta" mean? It means that in a given period they are sold for a discounted price, with a big discount.

So pay attention that in Italian the phrase "in offerta" has this specific meaning. So, if I say that in a given period of time a product is "in offerta", it means that in that period it is sold with a very big discount. Typically with a 30, 40, or even 50% discount.

For instance, here, can you see? On the first paper of this brochure you can read: "50 prodotti al 50%". Understood: "50 per cento di sconto".

If a product is sold with a 50% discount, it means that it costs half the price. They make you pay half the price.

Similarly, on this brochure, can you see?

"Sconto trenta per cento".

"Fino al cinquanta per cento di sconto".

"Fino al sessanta per cento".

See here? "Migliaia di prodotti con socnti fino al sessanta per cento" - Really!

Alright. Let's see what types of products are sold by electronics stores. Or rather, let's see what we call these objects in Italian.

Well, there's this object right here, that you have surely recognized.

In italian this is called "frigorifero". "Frigorifero" is the full noun. It should be called "frigorifero", but almost everbody says just "frigo". There are also those who call it "frigor" with R, but that is another story...

Monster!

You see? Here we have various types of fridges. The variety of fridges that are sold in this store. Here you can read their price, that is how much each of them costs, and next to each price you can see the discount that is applied.

Because, as I told you, leaflets typically show products on special offer.

I'm pretty sure that you have recognized this object. What is this? In Italian this is called "televisore".

"Televisore" is a masculine noun, so we say "il televisore".

See here? On these pages you have other "televisori".

Non-native speakers learning Italian often ask me what's the difference between the words "televisore" and "televisione".

Well, first of all "televisore" is masculine, while "televisione" is feminine. Hence: "il televisore", "la televisione". Both nouns end in E; however, one of them is masculine, while the other is feminine.

Having said that, there's also another difference. "Televisore" refers to a concrete object, so I'd say that this store sells "televisori". By contrast, the noun "televisione" is more abstract, and also refers to the shows being broadcast. So "la televisione" has a more abstract meaning.

Therefore, if we want to refer to a concrete object, we use the word "televisore", "il televisore, i televisori". By contrast, if we want to refer to all shows, or to the show business, ecc., we say "la televisione".

So, if you buy one such object, you should say that you bought "un televisore", not that you bought "una televisione".

Then we have another very interesting object, a very popular object, that is, basically, what we call "un portatile". So in Italian this type of computer is referred to with the noun "portatile" (un portatile, un computer portatile).

Here, see? Other "portatili", right? The size of their screen can vary. There are laptops with a 15 inches display and laptops with a 13 or 14 inches display.

In any case, this is called "portatile" precisely as to distinguish it from this type of computer, which lately is not that popular anymore. Can you see it? This is called in Italian "computer da tavolo". This one is a "computer da tavolo" and this is a monitor.

Then, well, needless to say, the most popular objects in this period are smartphones.

Here, as you can see, you have a full page dedicated to phones.

Then, electronics stores typically also sell what we call in Italian "i grossi elettrodomestici". Earlier I showed you a fridge, so the fridge is (considered) "un grosso elettrodomestico".

The same obviously goes for "la lavatrice" as well. "La lavatrice" is this object that is used to wash clothes. In italian, the noun "lavatrice" ends in E and is a feminine noun.

For washing machines you are shown "la classe energetica", i.e. how much power it uses. Nowadays I think that the best classe energetica is A with triple +: A+++.

You are also shown "il numero massimo di giri al minuto" when centrifuging.

And you are also shown "il carico massimo", that is, how much clothing you can put in it. For instance, this washing machine has a maximum load capacity of 9 kg, this one of 8 kg.

Then another discounted object, (with a 50% discount!), is this. This is called "un microonde", "un forno microonde". If you want, you can also say "forno a microonde". I'd say that most Italians just say "microonde". So they use the word "microonde" as a noun. Nobody says "un forno a microonde". Everybody says "il microonde".

Then these stores usually also sell (what we call) "ferri da stiro". "I ferri da stiro" are those objects used for ironing.

By the way, if you are wondering why we say "ferro da stiro" - and not "ferro per stirare" - well, some time ago I made a video about this very topic. That is: (I made) a video about the Italian preposition DA used to point to a purpose. Here you can find a card to it, please check it out!

What about this? In Italian this is called "condizionatore", "un condizionatore". This object is used for air cooling. Especially during summer, when it's hot and wet, some people at home have an air conditioning unit and so, when it's really hot, they can turn it on and it will keep the rooms cool.

In the comments below please let me know if you knew all these words or if you indeed didn't know some of these words.

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