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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Avanzi’

All that stuff still in your fridge? Yeah, that's this.

Published: 26 December 2019 10:00 CET
Updated: 28 December 2023 11:53 CET

Italian word of the day: 'Avanzi'

Photo: DepositPhotos

Today’s word is surely one you’ll relate to at this time of year: gli avanzi are ‘leftovers’.

And because Italian Christmas dinners are too big for anyone to finish, we assume you’ve still got these your kitchen.

Stasera mangeremo gli avanzi della cena di ieri.
Tonight we’ll eat the leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.

The term comes from the verb avanzare (‘to advance’), and it refers to what’s left behind once everything else has gone.

While gli avanzi (plural noun) are the leftovers themselves, you might also hear people use the adjective form to refer to il cibo avanzato (‘leftover food’).

The good news is that, just as in many other countries, the week between Christmas and New Year in Italy is seen as an opportunity to relax, take some time off work, gather together with family and polish off all that food.

Meatballs, panettone sandwiches and fish tacos: a few of Pour Femme‘s ideas for how to recycle Christmas leftovers.

So get creative with your avanzi this week and above all, make sure you fit in a lie-down. Buon appetito!

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Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

If you’ve ever found yourself at an Italian airport and looked up at the departure board, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with the word volo, which is the Italian equivalent of ‘flight’ – but also the first person singular of the verb volare (to fly) in the present tense.

And if you’re a fan of classical music, you may of course have heard of Italy’s famous opera trio Il Volo (‘The Flight’).

But what do Italians mean when they say they’re going to do something al volo (hear it pronounced here)?

Much like its closest English equivalent, ‘on the fly’, al volo has very little to do with aircraft or flying as it’s one of the most common Italian phrases to say that you’re doing something ‘quickly’ or ‘readily’, often without having prepared it or thought about it much beforehand.

Facciamoci una pasta al volo e poi usciamo.

Let’s cook some pasta on the fly and then get out.

Ho dovuto preparare la presentazione al volo perché non mi avevano avvisato della riunione.

I had to put the presentation together on the fly as I’d not been notified of the meeting.

But usage of al volo is not limited to practical actions or tasks you may do quickly and without much thought.

In fact, you can also pair it with the verb capire (understand), comprendere (comprehend) or imparare (learn) to say that you grasped something ‘immediately’ or ‘in no time’, meaning you won’t need any further explanation.

Tuo figlio capisce tutto al volo. Ha un grande futuro davanti a lui, a mio parere.

Your son understands everything in no time. He’s got a great future ahead of him, in my opinion.

And if you haven’t fully understood or grasped something on your first try (which is painfully likely when dealing with Italy’s infamous red tape, even for locals), don’t worry: you’ll always have the option to ask a domanda al volo, or a ‘quick question’, to clear up your doubts.

Another popular way to use the phrase is in relation to big opportunities, whether that be in life, in education or at work. So an opportunity that va presa al volo must be seized immediately as it’s too good to be missed.

Finally, if you’re planning on watching Euro 2024 matches on Italian TV over the next month, you may hear football commentators use al volo multiple times while analysing a match as colpire la palla al volo means to strike it while it’s in the air, or ‘volley’ it.

Do you have a favourite Italian word 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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