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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Male che vada’

What's the worst that could happen if you attempt this phrase?

Italian expression of the day male che vada
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

No one likes to spend too much time thinking about the worst-case scenario.

But today’s phrase is for when you can’t help facing up to just how bad things may get: male che vada, ‘however badly it goes’.

If you don’t recognise vada, that’s because it’s the subjunctive form of the verb andare, ‘to go’, which gives the phrase a hypothetical feel: it’s like saying ‘however badly it may go’.

It’s not as negative as it sounds, however.

The closest equivalents in English are probably the expressions ‘if the worst comes to the worst’ or ‘worst-case scenario’, which you typically use to present some kind of contingency plan.

Ti andrebbe di andare a fare una passeggiata?
– Ma il meteo dice che pioverà…
Dai, usciamo lo stesso! Male che vada andiamo al bar a prendere un caffè.

– Do you fancy going for a walk?
– But the forecast says it’s going to rain…
– Come on, let’s go anyway! Worst-case scenario, we’ll go to the bar and get a coffee.

In other words, even if things go wrong you know what you’ll do about it.

Sometimes male che vada is, in fact, downright optimistic. It can be the equivalent of ‘at worst’ or ‘at the very least’, something you say to indicate that even the worst-case scenario really isn’t that bad.

Male che vada, questo tirocinio arricchirà il mio curriculum.
At the very least, this internship will add to my CV.

Cosa aspetti a chiederle di uscire? Male che vada ti dice di no e per te non cambierà nulla.
What are you waiting for to ask her out? At worst she’ll say no and it won’t change anything for you.

So try saying male che vada next time you want to reassure someone (including yourself) that however bad things go, you’ll deal with it.

Is there an Italian word of 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 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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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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