9 Italian idioms you should know

This video is for those who learned Italian as a foreign language. More specifically, this video is for those who understand Italian and would like to improve their level by learning new Italian idioms and phrases.

If your goal is to speak Italian naturally, this lesson is for you!

In this video I'm gonna explain 6 amazing Italian expressions that aren't typically taught in Italian courses for non-native speakers.

By watching this video, you will learn 6 idiomatic expressions that you could then use when speaking Italian.

If you use these phrases, everybody will be impressed in a positive way, because these phrases are used only by native speakers. By using them, you'll show that you know the Italian language very well.

I am Luca and welcome you to my channel!

If you want to improve your Italian, please consider subscribing, because on this channel I routinely publish lessons aimed at those who would like to go from intermediate to advanced level Italian.

That being said, let's move on to our idiomatic expressions.

For each phrase I'll give you 3 example sentences. Oh, yes, just a quick remark. These sentences are not related one to the other. That is, the examples which I'm gonna give you are not related one to the other.

If you have any questions about a specific expression, if you are not sure how to use it, feel free to leave a comment below! I'm going to gladly reply.

Similarly, if you want other examples, leave a comment.

Round 1.

1. My house is full of books. I have plenty.

2. The world is full of stupid people. There are plenty.

3. There's plenty of channels related to Italian language learning.

A bizzeffe.

Round 2.

1. I worked 12 hours a day and earned very little. In the end, I decided to close, to gather and pack my stuff, and to look for another job.

2. I had lived in that country for 10 years, but never enjoyed it. And so one day I packed all my stuff and left.

3. I was tired of working with those people. In the end, I took all my things and went to another company.

Baracca e burattini.

Round 3.

1. If the director has really said that, it means we have hit rock-bottom. The situation is tragic.

2. In my opinion, the project failed. There's nothing more to do. We have reached the bottom of the barrel!

3. That site gives increasingly absurd pieces of advice. They have hit the bottom of the barrel!

Siamo alla frutta.

Round 4.

1. Daniele is nuts. He talks nonsense.

2. Elisa does incomprehensible things. In my opinion, she is crazy.

3. That girl seems completely nuts. She talks nonsense.

Fuori di zucca.

Round 5.

1. He dedicates body and soul to that project. He works on it 10 hours a day.

2. He doesn't go out anymore. He spends the entire day studying. He dedicates body and soul to studying.

3. When his wife left him, he started dedicating body and soul to his job.

Gettarsi anima e corpo.

Round 6.

1. Her hair are greasy and oily. She says she washes them once a month.

2. He wears greasy and filthy trousers. I think that he never washes them.

3. He doesn't care about his look. He always wears greasy and grimy clothes.

Unti e bisunti.

Alright! In the comments below please let me know what's your favourite phrase. Please let me know, I'm curious!

Also, let me know if you like this format and if you want me to make more videos like this one.

In the top corner I'll add a card to a playlist I have created and where I have grouped all videos about informal Italian phrases. If you like sayings and idioms, you might wanna check it out!

(Second part - bonus phrases)

I don't know if you know the verb "seminare". "Seminare" means throwing seeds on the ground.

"Il seme" is that thingy from which plants grow, right? Keep in mind that "seme" is a word ending in E, but it is grammatically masculine. You should say: "il seme", "i semi".

So "seminare" means throwing seeds on the ground. So when you throw seed on the ground, right? Then the seed will grow and from it a plant will grow, a tree, or other kinds of plants.

In all likelihood, you don't know the word "zizzania", also because this is a word which is almost never used in Italian. It is used in this phrase only, that is, "seminare zizzania".

The noun "zizzania" refers to a type of plant, specifically a type of "erbaccia". I don't know if you know the word "erbaccia", singular, "erbacce" is the plural.

Well, "le erbacce" are those unwanted plants that basically grow everywhere, those annyoing plants, which, if you have a garden, then at some point also these unwanted plants will grow.

Why do we call them "erbacce", using a pejorative suffix? Because these plants are annoying and should be removed (pulled out). It's not that these plants grow and you say: "Wonderful! A plant has grown". Not at all. They are "erbacce" which in any case should be pulled out.

"Seminare zizzania" literally means spreading such unwanted crops.

What does it figuratively mean?

It means creating hostility between people. Typically, in a sneaky and mean way.

I'll give a practical example right away. That is: if I talk with Marco and I tell him "Eh, Luigi said that you are a fool"... and this may have never happened, that is, I made up this story. In a similar fashion, I talk with Luigi and tell him: "Marco said that you are a fool", and it may be the case that Marco never said that... - what am I doing? "Sto seminando zizzania".

What am I doing? I'm spreading discord. That is, I intentionally, in a mean and sneaky way, am trying to set them one against the other. So that in the end they will have an argument. That is, before that, these 2 people possibly went well along. But then my mean action takes place and this 2 people have an argument.

I'm pretty sure you see what "seminare zizzania" means.

Unfortunately, such behaviour is quite common. It's the favourite sport of certain people who literally spend their days spreading discord or bad blood. Hoping that they will get something out of it.

But let's move on to the next expression!

The other expression I wanted to discuss is the proverb "Chi semina vento raccoglie tempesta".

This saying is really simple to explain. It essentially means that those who harm others will be harmed to a bigger extent compared to damages they caused. Or, generally speaking, those who harm others will face the consequences of what they have done.

That is, going back to our previous example, if I try to spread discord between Luigi and Marco, hoping that I will get some advantage out of it, it is more likely that in the future this will harm me as well. Because if Luigi and Marco fight, I may be damaged as well.

So what's the take-home message of this proverb? The take-home message is this: whenever you plan harming someone, hoping that this will give you some sort of advantage, be warned that it is usually the case that such harm will get back at you. That is, it will be like a boomerang coming back and damaging you as well.

That is, for instance, if I try everything and the kitchen sink so that my colleague is fired, and I can take his position...

Well, in the end my colleague is fired, I get his position. Because he was fired, though, my company goes bankrupt and I lose my job.

Well, what happened in this case? That the evil I've sown, the evil I made, has hitten me as well.

Phrase number 3

This is the infinitive mood. I'd say that the most common form is for sure the first-person-singular, that is "ha il chiodo fisso".

This phrase is used to refer to those people, you surely know such people, talking all the time about the same thing. That is, whenever you meet them, these people always talk about the same topic. They always talk about the same thing. The obsessively repeat the same thing.

Well, in Italian we can say that such person "ha il chiodo fisso".

You may not know the word "chiodo". The noun "Il chiodo" refers to a small metal object which is driven into a wall, right? Using a hammer, right? It is hammered in. It is typically used for hanging paintings. So there's a wall, I take a nail, I drive it into the wall by hammering it in, and then I hang the painting.

Metaphorically, the nail represents an idea located in this person's head, right? Inside this person's head, someone has hammered this idea and this individual is repeating this thing over and over again.

I'm pretty sure that you know people like this, repeating over and over again the same thing. Or who have a favourite topic, they talk about this topic almost exclusively.

Well, in Italian we can say that such individual "ha il chiodo fisso"; alternatively, we could also say "è fissata con questa cosa".

If I may, "il chiodo fisso" is a humorous wording to refer to an obsession. If someone has "il chiodo fisso", they are - in a way - obsessed with something. The difference being that the word "ossessione" is clearly stronger. By contrast, the phrase "Ha il chiodo fisso" is humorous.

If you feel like it, in the comments below please tell me if you know people who have "il chiodo fisso". Please also explain what it is. I'm sure that you know people like this. We all know such people.

If you genuinely want to speak fluent Italian, don't forget to subscribe to this amazing channel. On this channel I've published hundreds of videos about the Italian language that might help you expand your vocabulary.

There's also another idiom with the word "chiodo", which is "chiodo scaccia chiodo".

Some months ago I made a video about the saying "chiodo scaccia chiodo". I'll add a card to it in the top corner. If you feel lik it, check it out!

(Channel Outro)