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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Persino’

Even a beginner can manage this handy term.

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

Persino is one of those words I find myself looking up again and again, seemingly unable to make it stick.

It doesn’t help that it also goes by an alias: perfino, which means exactly the same thing – ‘even’.

Despite my blind spot, the two are actually quite straightforward. You say perfino or persino when you want to highlight something unexpected or unlikely.

Ha girato mezzo mondo ed è stata perfino al Polo Nord.
She’s travelled half the world and even been to the North Pole.

Persino sua moglie non è d’accordo.
Even his wife doesn’t agree.

They’re essentially words to add emphasis, a bit like pure or addirittura. We use ‘even’ much the same way in English, or in some cases ‘just’ or ‘only’.

Mi viene la pelle d’oca persino a pensarci.
I get goosebumps only thinking about it.

Perfino un bambino lo saprebbe fare.
Even (just) a child can do it.

Perhaps what throws me off is the fino part, which usually means ‘until’ or ‘up to’. But – and here’s what I really should memorize – fino can also be an emphatic ‘even’.

It’s more unusual, but you sometimes see it used this way with troppo (‘too much’) to imply that something’s happened ‘far too much’ or ‘all too well’. NB: you drop the final ‘o’ in this construction, just because it sounds better.

Sono stato fin troppo buono.
I was even too good (or: far too good). 

Hai detto fin troppo.
You’ve said quite enough (or: all too much). 

The parts of the puzzle all start coming together when you learn that sino is another word for fino, albeit a less common one (and if you want to get stuck a dictionary loop, trying looking all these terms up in and finding “sino: see fino”, only to be told “fino: see sino”).

So perfino or persino, which to go for? That’s entirely up to you: the two really are interchangeable, though my repeated Googlings turn up more results for persino than perfino.

Un giorno ce la farò persino io!
One day even I will manage it!

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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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