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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Che barba’

This phrase is anything but boring.

Published: 26 August 2020 16:26 CEST
Updated: 11 October 2023 12:07 CEST
'Che barba' on a chalkboard background.
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Life in Italy is rarely dull, especially when you’re learning the language.

Every conversation opens up new opportunities to test your vocabulary, learn something new, or make a complete fool of yourself.

Still, you might like to know when Italians are telling you they’re bored or tired of something – particularly if they do so using today’s curious phrase.

Literally meaning ‘what a beard,’ che barba in Italian is usually used to mean ‘what a bore.’ Hear it pronounced here.

Perhaps this means that whatever’s happening is about as exciting as watching a beard grow. Or as tedious as having to shave every day.

Personally, I like to imagine it’s a reference to a particularly long-winded – and long-bearded – professor who regularly bores his students to sleep.

In any case, if you hear someone suddenly exclaim “che barba!” they’re not complimenting someone’s excellent facial hair.

– Non ti è piaciuto il film?

– No. Che barba!

– Didn’t you like the film?

– No! What a bore.

Or you can dispense with words altogether, as this Italian phrase has its own hand gesture.

If you see an Italian stroking an imaginary beard, they’re probably not contemplating the meaning of life.

For example:

– How was Italian class today?

– (Silent stroking of chin)

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

  1. I seem to recall during my time in Northern Italy, that this expression also referred to the fact that men had to shave every day; a boring fact of life. The gesture is close to one of my favourites: the quick, multiple flick of all four fingers under the chin denoting ‘I couldn’t care less’ (me ne frega….). So not to be confused, even if the end result can be similar!

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

These Italian words are both used to talk about 'half' of something, so what exactly is the difference and when should you use them?

Published: 23 April 2024 10:48 CEST
Updated: 23 April 2024 11:49 CEST
Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

It’s often the case in Italy that you’ll find several words that mean something very similar, and it’s not always easy to know which one is appropriate. Our new mini series looks at some of the most common word pairs, and sorts out which should be used and when.

Why do I need to know the difference between metà and mezzo?

Because you’ll need to use both of them in daily conversation if you live in Italy, but the difference in meaning isn’t always clear.

What’s the difference?

When you want to talk about ‘half’ of something in Italian, it may seem as though you have two choices.

Depending on what you’re talking about, you could reach for either metà or mezzo (or mezza, which we’ll come to later) but many language learners say they’re not always sure which one to use in certain situations.

Put simply, the difference between metà and mezzo is much the same as the difference between ‘half’ and ‘middle’ in English.

Metà: a half, as in one of two equal parts of something.

Mezzo: the middle, as in equally distant from two points.

For example:

Ha mangiato metà torta

He ate half of the cake

Facciamo a metà

Let’s split it (in half)

E’ sdraiato in mezzo alla strada

He’s lying in the middle of the street

Non penso che ti dovrebbe mettere in mezzo

I don’t think she should be putting you in the middle of this

READ ALSO: Come stai vs come va

But is anything in Italian ever really that simple?

There are some specific situations where the two words seem to be used interchangeably, or where it’s not clear why one is typically used and not the other.

Confusion arises particularly around telling the time in Italian, as you could say:

Sono le undici e mezzo

It’s half past eleven

Il mio treno arriva alle 5.40: vediamoci dieci minuti prima, alla mezza.

My train arrives at 5.40: let’s meet ten minutes before, at half past.

Why in this case aren’t we using metà for ‘half’? And why is it sometimes mezza rather than mezzo?

The English ‘half past’ doesn’t translate literally into Italian. Mezzo is used here instead, since we’re talking about the ‘middle of’ the hour, the point equally distant between two hours.

This might take some getting used to for English native speakers, but it is pretty logical.

As for why it’s mezza in the second example, this isn’t because it needs to agree with the gender of the noun in the sentence.

In fact, dictionaries tell us it’s always more correct to use mezzo regardless (although many Italians themselves find this rule confusing.)

But, in this case, as the language guardians at Italy’s Accademia della Crusca explain, mezza may (if you prefer) be used instead of mezzo when we already know the time, or at least the hour, being talked about.

So if you had earlier told someone an event would start at 8pm, but it’s now been delayed by half an hour, you could then say:

Comincerà alle otto e mezza

But if you’re inviting someone for the first time, you’d probably stick to:

Alle otto e mezzo

This can be a lot to remember when you’re in the middle of a conversation, but with practice you’ll soon get a feel for which word sounds right in which context. 

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

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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