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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Italian word of the day: ‘Tranquillo’

Relax and enjoy this much used word.

Italian word of the day: 'Tranquillo'
Photo: DepositPhotos

We could all do with being a bit more tranquillo.

The word means what it sounds like in English: 'tranquil', calm and peaceful, just like water undisturbed by waves or a place sheltered from sounds.

Il lago, dopo la tempesta, è tornato tranquillo.
After the storm, the lake was calm once more.

Cercava un angolo tranquillo in cui leggere il giornale.
She was looking for a quiet corner to read the paper.

People can be 'tranquil' too, of course, if they're the kind of folks who aren't easily bothered.

È gente tranquilla, che va d’accordo con tutti.
They're easy-going people who get along with everyone.

Here's where tranquillo starts to get slightly broader than the way we usually use the English version: it means something like 'untroubled', 'free of worries or doubts'.

Sull’esito dell’esame siamo tranquilli.
We're not worried about the exam result.

Ho la coscienza tranquilla.
I have a clear (or: untroubled) conscience.

By extension, it can also describe something that's unlikely to cause anyone any worries – for instance, an undemanding job.

Per me importante avere un lavoro tranquillo che mi offre la possibilità di avere tempo libero.
For me it's important to have an easy job that gives me the chance to have free time.

And if you'd like to reassure someone that there's no need for them to fret either, you can tell them to 'be' or 'go' tranquillo. In fact, even just saying the word on its own has the same effect: 'chill out', 'don't worry'. 

Stai tranquillo, ci sono qui io.
Don't worry, I’m here.

– Scusa il disturbo.
– Vai tranquillo, non ti preoccupare.

– Sorry to bother you.
– Don't worry about it, go ahead.

Tranquillo, andrà tutto bene.
Don't worry, everything will be fine.

Do you have an Italian word you'd like us to feature? If so, please email our editor Jessica Phelan with your suggestion.

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Bocciare’

Don't reject this word without at least giving it a try.

Italian word of the day: 'Bocciare'

If you open your Italian test paper to see the word bocciato sprawled across the front in big red lettering, you’d be right in assuming it’s not good news.

Bocciare in Italian means to flunk, fail or to hold back.

Se non supero questo esame mi bocceranno.
If I don’t pass this exam they’re going to fail me.

Se continua a saltare le lezioni, verrà bocciata.
If she continues skipping classes, she’s going to fail out.

And bocciatura is the practice of holding a student who’s failed their end-of-year exams back a year.

Marco è stato bocciato mentre Alessia è stata promossa.
Marco was held back while Alessia moved on to the next grade.

Bocciato Sono Stato Bocciato Esame Compito Piangere Triste Tristezza Mr Bean GIF - Failed I Failed Sadness GIFs

Bocciare has other applications, however, outside the classroom. It can also more broadly mean to reject: 

Era solo uno dei tanti candidati che sono stati bocciati.
He was just one of a large pool of candidates that were rejected.

And you’ll often see the word appear in headlines about politics, where it usually refers to vetoing a proposal or bill.

I sindacati hanno bocciato la proposta del governo.
Labour unions rejected the government’s proposal.

Il ddl è stato bocciato dalla Camera dei Deputati.
The bill was defeated in the lower house.

The verb has its origins in sport: bocciare originally meant to hit one ball with another in the popular Italian pastime of bocce, or boules.

There’s been some debate as to whether bocciare can be used in the active voice by the person who failed or was rejected, as in the English ‘I failed the exam’, or whether it’s only something that can happen to you (‘I was failed/they failed me’).

L’Accademia della Crusca, Italy’s preeminent linguistic authority, has weighed in on this and determined that it would amount to a semantic ‘absurdity’ in Italian for the victim of a failure to be the author of their own failing (to fail or reject themselves, so to speak).

So while you might hear someone use a phrase like Claudio ha bocciato l’esame in a colloquial context, it’s not technically considered good Italian – at least not for now.

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

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