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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
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

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.

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading 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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For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Rimorchiare’

Here's an Italian word you'll want to pick up.

Italian word of the day: 'Rimorchiare'

If you’ve ever studied for your foglio rosa (provisional driver’s licence) exam in Italy, you’re sure to have come across the word rimorchio (trailer).

Theory test T/F question: ‘The width of the trailer must never exceed that of the vehicle pulling it.’

Credo che dovremo noleggiare un rimorchio per trasportare tutta la merce.
I think we might need to rent a trailer to transport all the goods.

And rimorchiare, along with the more formal trainare, means to haul or tow.

La barca è stata rimorchiata a riva.
The boat was towed to shore.

But rimorchiare isn’t just used to talk about vehicles… it also means to pick/chat someone up or hook up with them.

Sono usciti per rimorchiare.
They’ve gone out on the pull.

Se n’è appena andata con un tipo che ha rimorchiato.
She just left with some guy she picked up.

A rimorchiatore is a tugboat, but can also mean a player/persistent flirt, and rimorchione/a also describes someone who’s constantly chatting people up.

got talent nina GIF by Italia's Got Talent

In some parts of the country, meanwhile, you might hear someone described as a provolone – a big tryhard or wannabe player.

That’s a wordplay based on the reflexive verb provarci, meaning ‘to try it on with’, and the famous Italian cheese. 

È un gran provolone ma non riesce mai a rimorchiare.
He’s a real tryhard but he never manages to pull.

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

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

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