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ITALIAN

Italian word of the day: ‘Accipicchia’

Wow, this one's fun to say!

Italian word of the day: 'Accipicchia'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

In Italy, you really must expect the unexpected. The only thing we know for sure is that every day here will be full of surprises.

So here’s a handy word that you can use in all of those eye-opening situations – good or bad.

Put simply, accipicchia means “wow!” or “gosh!”

A bit like caspita or cavolo, it’s the kind of inoffensive euphemism that you might use in front of children.

It comes from accidenti, which means something like “damn!” and is itself pretty mild by today’s standards.

But accipicchia has stuck around, maybe because it’s such fun to say.

So how do you say it exactly? ‘Ah-chee-pick-ya’, with a very slight stress on the third syllable.

The wide range of words dictionaries translate it to include the likes of “blimey” “crikey” “shoot” “jeepers”, “jeez” and even “cool beans”. And like these words, accipicchia sounds very mild, even twee.

But we think it’s charming, and it can definitely come in useful.

Whether you’re delighted, frightened or just mildly bewildered, this is an exclamation you can use without fear of causing offence.

– Accipicchia! Mi ha spaventato

– Jeez! You really scared me

– Accipicchia, che cosa cavolo è?

– Gosh, what on earth (literally ‘what the cabbage’) is that?

– Accipicchia! Guardate che traffico!

– Yikes, look at this traffic!

As you can see, this exclamation is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or alone.

So next time something takes you by surprise, we hope you’ll get some use out of this fun Italian word.

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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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

Here's the Italian phrase you'll need if you're looking for a change.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

If you live in Italy or have spent a considerable amount of time in the country, you may have overheard an Italian parent telling their child they needed to cambiare registro right after they threw a tantrum. 

If you work or have worked in Italy, you may also have had one of your superiors tell you that a cambio di registro was needed in the office. 

But what do Italians really mean when they tell someone they need to ‘change register’?

Italians use cambiare registro to tell someone that they need to change their behaviour, manners or way to approach a particular task (including work or school assignments), usually because they’re not particularly happy with the way they’re currently handling things. 

It is generally used with the verb dovere (must/have to), which must be conjugated according to the person who could do with a ‘change of register’. For instance:

Non hai passato gli ultimi tre test. Devi cambiare registro se vuoi tenere la tua paghetta settimanale.  

You failed the past three exams. You need to turn things around if you want to keep your weekly allowance.

La tua performance al lavoro e’ stata insoddisfacente questo trimestre. Devi veramente cambiare registro il prossimo mese.

Your performance at work has been unsatisfactory this quarter. You really need to turn things around next month.

You could also say that a situation you’re unhappy with needs ‘a change of register’, without addressing anyone in particular. 

Ci sono cose ovunque. C’e’ bisogno di un cambio di registro in questa casa.

There’s stuff all over the place. Changes are needed in this house.

As you can see from these examples, there’s no single way to translate the phrase into English, though ‘turning things around’ and ‘changing up’ are popular translations.

And if you’re wondering where the expression comes from, it has nothing to do with Italy’s Registry Office (or Anagrafe), nor with any other part of the country’s public administration. 

Cambiare registro was originally a music-related expression as it referred to the act of changing the tone or range (registro in Italian) of some musical instruments, including pipe organs.

But, as in the case of many other Italian phrases and expressions, its usage was later extended to daily life situations to express a need for major changes.

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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