Learn Advanced Italian!

In this video lesson I'm gonna explain three Italian words you should definitely know. The three words are not "cuore", "sole", "amore", but three compound nouns which aren't typically taught in Italian classes for non-native speakers.

If you use them when you speak Italian, you'll definitely make a good impression and show that you know the Italian language very well.

If you prefer, you can turn on Italian or English subtitles.

I am Luca and I welcome you to my channel. If you want to speak Italian naturally and authentically, please consider subscribing!

But let's move on to the three nouns which, in my opinion, every learner of Italian should know!

The first word I'd like to explain is "ficcanaso".

This is a compound noun. In fact, there are 2 parts: the part "ficca" from the verb "ficcare", and the word "naso". I mean, you surely know the word "naso". After all, this is an advanced Italian lesson, so I assume that you know the word "naso".

But let's jump straight into an example with the compound noun "ficcanaso"!

"Roberto è un ficcanaso. He wants to know everything and meddles in things that are none of his business".

Another example could be: "Mia moglie è una ficcanaso. Whenever I go out, she always ransacks my drawers.

I don't know if you know the verb "rovistare". Well, "rovistare" is a synonym of "frugare", and it means looking for something, searching through something.

So, from these examples you can see that a "ficcanaso" is an individual who, out of curiosity, meddles in affairs which don't involve them.

Literally speaking, "ficcare il naso" means sticking one's nose into something. Figuratively, it means involving oneself, or meddling, in something. Specifically, in other people's affairs.

I don't know if you know the pronominal verb "impicciarsi". For example: "Francesca si impiccia sempre di tutto". "Impicciarsi" is a colloquial version of the verb "intromettersi".

Another example with the verb "impicciarsi" could be: "Impicciati degli affari tuoi! Non impicciarti degli affari degli altri!" What does it mean? Mind your own business, don't involve yourself in other people's affairs.

People usually say "intromettersi in qualcosa" and "impicciarsi di qualcosa". Meaning that you should use different prepositions. Some people also say "impicciarsi in qualcosa", but in my opinion "impicciarsi di qualcosa" is much more common.

And in Italian there's also the noun "impiccione" which essentially is a synonym of "ficcanaso". But there's an important difference, which is not related to meaning, but to word forms.

Thing is, "ficcanaso" is an invariable compound noun. So I should say: "Paolo è un ficcanaso"; "Marta è una ficcanaso"; "Paolo e Roberto sono dei ficcanaso"; "Marta e Cristina sono delle ficcanaso".

According to the dictionary, there's also the form "ficcanasi". I for one have never heard it.

So keep this in mind: the word "ficcanaso" has one single form, which is used for masculine, feminine, singular and plural subjects.

The word "impiccione", by contrast, has several forms. The masculine singular will be "un impiccione". The feminine singular will be "un'impicciona".

What's the difference? The feminine version requires an apostrophe, because the article should be "una". In theory, we should say "una impicciona", but we remove A in "una", we add an apostrophe and say "un'impicciona".

In contrast, plural forms are: "degli impiccioni" (masculine) and "delle impiccione" (feminine).

But let's see the second word!

The second noun I would like to explain is "scansafatiche".

This too is a compound noun. We have two parts: we have the part "scansa" from the verb "scansare" and the noun "fatiche".

You probably don't know the verb "scansare", because it isn't usually taught in Italian language courses. "Scansare" essentially means dodging or avoiding something which is in our way or is coming towards us, that is, in our direction.

I'm gonna give you an example with the verb "scansare", so that you better understand what it means.

"Mario ha tirato un pugno a Luigi, ma Luigi l'ha scansato". What does "l'ha scansato" mean? He dodged the punch, that is, he evaded the punch, he avoided the punch.

Another example with this verb could be: "Sulla strada c'era un ostacolo, ma l'ho scansato". What does it mean? I was going along this road, there was an obstacle, I moved aside and avoided it.

The verb "scansare" can also be used in reference to unpleasant or dangerous events or situations. For instance, you can say "scansare i pericoli", "scansare le difficoltà", or, and this is what interests us the most, "scansare le fatiche".

You probably know the word "fatica". "Fatiche" is the plural of "fatica". "La fatica" is the physical effort required to complete a task.

"Uno scansafatiche" is someone who doesn't like working hard and "ducks" any hard duty, that is, any task requiring effort. Basically, a "scansafatiche" is an individual who doesn't want to work hard.

An example sentence could be this: "Il mio collega è proprio uno scansafatiche. He leaves all difficult tasks to me. He always tries to duck them."

Well, you too quite possibly had such colleagues, who, when something harder than usual needs to be done, always make up excuses and say "Look, it's better if you do this, because..." bla bla bla. Well, in Italian we call these people "scansafatiche".

Pay attention that "scansafatiche" is an invariable compound noun. So I should say: "Roberto è uno scansafatiche"; "Cristina è una scansafatiche"; "Roberto e Marco sono degli scansafatiche"; "Cristina e Laura sono delle scansafatiche".

So, as you can see, this word remains unchanged: "scansafatiche". Only the article changes.

Similarly, in case we have an adjective, the adjective should agree, no matter what. So we should say, for instance: "questo scansafatiche" (masculine singular), "questa scansafatiche" (feminine singular), "questi scansafatiche" (masculine plural) and "queste scansafatiche" (feminine plural).

In Italian there are other nice words to describe this type of people. I have in mind words such as "poltrone", "pelandrone", "lavativo", "sfaticato".

The forms of the word "poltrone" are: "un poltrone", "una poltrona", "dei poltroni", "delle poltrone". For example, I could say: "Roberto è un poltrone"; "Cristina è una poltrona"; "Roberto e Marco sono dei poltroni"; "Cristina e Laura sono delle poltrone".

The forms of the word "pelandrone" are: "un pelandrone", "una pelandrona", "dei pelandroni", "delle pelandrone". For example, I could say: "Roberto è un pelandrone"; "Cristina è una pelandrona"; "Roberto e Marco sono dei pelandroni"; "Cristina e Laura sono delle pelandrone".

The forms of the word "lavativo" are: "un lavativo", "una lavativa", "dei lavativi", "delle lavative". For example, I could say: "Roberto è un lavativo"; "Cristina è una lavativa"; "Roberto e Marco sono dei lavativi"; "Cristina e Laura sono delle lavative".

The forms of the word "sfaticato" are: "uno sfaticato", "una sfaticata", "degli sfaticati", "delle sfaticate". For example, I could say: "Roberto è uno sfaticato"; "Cristina è una sfaticata"; "Roberto e Marco sono degli sfaticati"; "Cristina e Laura sono delle sfaticate".

But let's move on to the third word!

The third word too is a compound noun and is "perdigiorno".

Again, we have two parts: the part "perdi" from the verb "perdere" and the part "giorno". Obviously, you already know these words, so I don't need to explain them to you.

"Un perdigiorno" is someone who spends their entire day without accomplishing anything productive or constructive. A "perdigiorno" doesn't work, doesn't study, has no interests, and spends their days lazing around, that is, doing nothing. I mean, from when they wake up, until when they go to sleep, a "perdigiorno" doesn't do anything productive. As we say in Italian, "passa le giornate a cazzeggiare".

If I have a feminine subject, I should say "una perdigiorno". For example: "Elisa è una perdigiorno".

If I have a masculine plural subject, I should say "dei perdigiorno". For example: "Mario e Luigi sono dei perdigiorno".

If I have a feminine plural subject, I should say "delle perdigiorno". For example: "Laura e Cristina sono delle perdigiorno".

A word similar to "perdigiorno" is "fannullone". Its forms are: "un fannullone", "una fannullona", "dei fannulloni", "delle fannullone".

I would say that the word "fannullone" is close both to the word "perdigiorno", and the word "scansafatiche". Because, as you can guess, the words "perdigiorno" and "scansafatiche" are rather close in meaning.

Well, I hope you liked these 3 Italian words! If you liked them, please leave an amazing Like! This helps me understand what type of lessons are appreciated the most.

Like I said in the introduction of this video lesson, these words aren't typically taught in Italian courses. But I'm sure that, if you use them when you speak Italian, you'll definitely make a good impression!

In the meantime, up here I'm gonna add a video lesson that you might wanna watch, if you wish to speak Italian naturally and authentically!

May the Force of the Italian language be with you!