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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Sussurrare’

Whisper it, but this might be one of the most beautiful words in the Italian language.

Italian word of the day: 'Sussurrare'
Photo: DepositPhotos

Italians are not exactly known for keeping their voices down.

But when they do, you might like to know that the Italian verb meaning ‘to whisper’ or ‘to murmur’ is the delightfully onomatopoeic sussurrare.

– Sussurralo

– Whisper it

Hear it pronounced here.

Sussurrare can also be used to talk about rumours and furtive gossip:

– si sussurra che..

– it’s rumoured that…

– gli sussurrò qualcosa all’orecchio

– he whispered something in his ear

Sussurro is the noun meaning “a whisper”:

– Non più di un sussurro

– No more than a whisper

Otherwise, you can use the equally onomatopoeic verb bisbigliare (try repeating it out loud quickly).

– È sgarbato bisbigliare davanti a noi.

– It’s rude to whisper in front of us.

– Non serve bisbigliare

– There’s no need to whisper

With words this beautiful, it’s worth finding ways to use them as often as possible – no matter how loud your family is.

Do you have an 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 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.

Member comments

  1. I love the “word of the day”. It is so fun to be able to use these words correctly and to keep a full phrase in your head to be used at the right moment. You might consider putting them in altogether in an ebook.

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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 or 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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