Italian vocabulary related to STATIONERY

In this episode of the Italian course we will make a virtual tour in a stationery shop.

A stationery shop is a particular type of shop where they sell various items which are typically used at school or in offices.

These objects, that is, the objects sold in a stationery shop, are collectively referred to as "articoli di cancelleria". This is the technical term indicating this category of items: "articoli di cancelleria".

Please do pay attention to the word "cancelleria", which should not be mixed up with two words that sound somewhat similar.

The first is "cancelliera". This word refers to a political function in certain countries. At the moment, the most famous "cancelliera" in the world is quite possibly Angela Merkel. So, well, on the one hand there's the word "cancelliera", and on the other there's the word "cancelleria", which is the word that interests us here.

Also, do be careful and don't mix up the word "cancelleria" with the word "Pantelleria", which is the name of an island.

That being said, in this episode I'd like to explain several words to indicate a series of items of stationery. By the way, many people also say "articoli di cartoleria". So "articoli di cancelleria" and "articoli di cartoleria" are synonyms.

When talking about stationery, the first item that comes to mind is quite possibly this. What is this called? It's called "penna". What's in my hand? In my hand there are three "penne".

At this point I would like to make a short comment on the pronunciation of this word. Many people say /pénna/ with a close E, but, if you want to sound cooler and speak like someone from Milan, you can say /pènna/ with an open E. That is, not with the /é/ sound, but with the /è/ sound: pènna.

Honestly, to tell you the truth, I always find it a little strange whenever I hear someone saying /pénna/ with a close /é/. I don't know how to explain it, but I find it strange. The reason could be that I'm used to hearing /pènna/, and when I hear /pénna/, I find it strange.

It makes me think of a dialogue like this. "Desidera una penna, signore? Ecco la penna". I don't know, such a dialogue comes to my mind.

Anyway, you can say as you prefer. You can say /pènna/, or you can say /pénna/. I for one say /pènna/, you can say whatever the (beep) you want.

This is a pen too. It's a rather peculiar pen. As you can see, here there's a star, because this isn't just a pen, this is Sailor Moon's wand!

So you can use it for writing - you see? here it has a writing tip like all pens. In addition, it has this star that allows you to transform into Sailor Moon. In the name of the moon!

By the way, the word "penna" is also used for this object. It's a type of pasta. This is also called "penna", "una penna". And these are called "penne". So it's a type of pasta. The word is the same.

Here, you see, right? "Penne rigate". I hope that you can see it, so you understand that I'm not lying. These are also called "penne".

Usually, these "penne" are not used for writing and are not part of stationery items. Therefore, they aren't usually sold in a stationery shop. I say "usually" because in life you never know.

These "penne" are part of a class of items which is called "articoli alimentari" or "generi alimentari".

What else can we buy in a stationery store? In a stationery store we can buy, for example, one or more pencils.

This is the typical pencil, a simple pencil.

This pencil is slightly different. Here it has what we call "un gommino". What does "gommino" mean? "Un gommino" is a small "gomma".

This is called "gomma". These are two "gomme". Erasers are used for removing marks. If you want to remove pencil marks, you can use an eraser.

You can call this either "gomma per cancellare" or "gomma per..." You can call this either "gomma per cancellare" or "gomma da cancellare".

I for one prefer the version with the preposition "per" and therefore always say "gomma per cancellare". I don't particularly like the phrase "gomma da cancellare", because the preposition "da" followed by an infinitive usually has a passive meaning. I mean, not usually, but often it does have such meaning.

Anyway, you can say either "gomma per cancellare", or "gomma da cancellare". In most cases, you won't need to specify that, because even if you just say "gomma", people will understand what you're referring to.

In any case, please do be careful and don't mix up the phrases "gomma da cancellare" and "gomma da masticare".

Anyway, I've had these two erasers for thirty years now, they have become as hard as stone and don't erase anymore. If I want to erase something, I'd better use a stone.

As I said, this is a pencil with a cap eraser, it has a small eraser.

This pencil is a bit peculiar, because not only does it have a small eraser, but it also has glitter. You see, right? These things that sparkle, so to speak. I call them "brillantini". In addition, this pencil, as you can see, is new. So here there's no tip yet.

To sharpen the point of a pencil, you should use this object, this tiny little object, which is called "temperino" or "temperamatite". We insert the pencil, we rotate it, trac trac trac, and sharpen the tip of the pencil.

Obviously, there are different types of pencil sharpeners. For example, this is also a sharpener, and this one is a sharpener too. This sharpener is shaped like a hat.

Here I have another very peculiar pencil, which has some printed characters on it. In particular, on this pencil there are what we call "le tabelline".

What does the word "tabelline" mean? For example, what does "la tabellina del 2" mean? "La tabellina del 2" is this: one time two is two, two times two is four, three times two is six, four times two is eight, five times two is ten, six times two is twelve, and so one. This is what we call "la tabellina del 2".

What does "la tabellina del 3" mean? "La tabellina del 3" is: one time three is three, two times three is six, three times three is nine, four times three is twelve, five times three is fifteen, and so on.

These things are typically taught in elementary school.

In my day, they used to write multiplication tables on pencils. Not on all pencils, on some pencils they used to write times tables. I don't know if you can see that, I don't think so. Anyway, trust me, here are printed several multiplication tables.

Next, there are also what we call "matite colorate". For example, here with me I have a yellow pencil, an orange pencil, a light blue pencil and a pink pencil.

Then, there are also white pencils, - I've never understood what the (beep) you're supposed to do with them. And in fact, as you can see, here I have a lot of white pencils.

Some people say that colored pencils can also be referred to as "pastelli". In reality, that's not exactly the case and the issue is quite controversial.

Thing is, for most people, the word "pastello" (singular) and "pastelli" (plural) indicates a different object. So for many people the word "pastello" indicates an object which is slightly different from a pencil.

Specifically, when someone says "pastelli", many people will immediately think about wax pastels. They will not think about colored pencils, they will think about wax pastels.

Now, I don't have a wax pastel with me to show you what the word "pastello" refers to. I'll add a picture for you, though.

I remember that with my classmates in elementary school we would often discuss precisely about this, I mean, about the fact that colored pencils and pastels are different things.

Anyway, if we don't want to color with colored pencils, what can we use?

We can use this. What is this? It's a joypad. Specifically, it's a Sega Megadrive joypad.

I'm just kidding. Joking aside, if we don't want to color or write with colored pencils, we can use this. What is this called in Italian? It's called "pennarello".

Specifically, this is not used for coloring. I can't show you any markers used for coloring, because I've made them all run out of ink.

This is referred to as "pennarello indelebile". What does the word "indelebile" mean? It means that it cannot be erased. It is used, for example, for writing on cardboard. So, for example, if you have a cardboard box, you can write on it with this.

In any case, this is also called "pennarello", it is part of the class of items called "pennarelli". You see? If I uncap it... I've taken the cap off... You see the tip, right? Its tip is definitely larger than the tip of a pen.

By the way, I don't know about you, but I love the smell of permanent markers. They have a particularly strong smell, similar to gasoline. I could literally spend all day sniffing them.

Next, to organize our sheets of paper, we can use this. What is this called in Italian? It's called "quaderno ad anelli". It can also be called "raccoglitore". You can say "È un raccoglitore" or "È un quaderno ad anelli".

It is called "quaderno ad anelli" for obvious reasons. As you can see, here there are some rings. This is called "anello". I can open it. I have opened the ring. I'm closing the ring.

This is called "quaderno ad anelli". This is another "quaderno ad anelli". Or, if you prefer the word "raccoglitore", you can say "questo è un raccoglitore", "questo è un altro raccoglitore". Don't ask me why I have a Bratz binder and a Coccolotti binder, because it's a long story.

If you don't want to use binders, you can use what some people call "cartellina" and other people call "cartelletta".

For example, here I have a blue "cartelletta". Personally, would call it "cartelletta". Some people say "cartellina".

If you want to speak like people from Milano, you can pronounce this word with an open E, that is, with an /è/ sound, not with an /e/ sound. You can say /cartellètta/.

This part here is called "elastico".

Lastly, in a stationery shop we can also buy what we call "righelli". What does the word "righelli" mean? These are called "righelli". As you can see, here I have several "righelli". This is called "righello". Well, here, as you can see, I have many, because I need them for my personal army.

In the future I might make another video lesson about Italian vocabulary relating to stationery. Up here I'll add a card to it.