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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Ferie’

Here's a word you'll be seeing everywhere in Italy this month.

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

If you live in Italy, you’ll be all too familiar with the scene: You arrive at your favouite pizzeria, only to find a sign hanging on the door saying ‘chiuso per ferie’.

Of course. It’s August.

It’s the same story at the butcher’s, the baker’s and in some areas even the banks.

– Chiuso per ferie, di ritorno a settembre

– Closed for holidays, back in September

Millions of Italians leave for their summer break at the same time, around the beginning of August, and taking three weeks or the whole month off is far from unusual.

Ferie – the plural form offeria, which you’ll almost never hear – means ‘holidays’, but not necessarily the kind you set off on.
 
– Siamo tutti in ferie estive
– We’re all on summer holiday
 
While the word vacanza usually refers to a holiday, or vacation, in the sense of a trip, ferie are often the holidays you claim from work – like ‘leave’ or ‘time off’.
 
You might also use the word vacanza.

– Quest’anno andremo in vacanza in Sicilia.

– We’re going on vacation in Sicily this year.

 
Vacanza can also be used in the plural, literally meaning ‘vacations’:

– le vacanze sono andate bene

– While this literally translates to the rather odd-sounding phrase ‘The vacations went well’, it simply means ‘I/we had a nice holiday’.

The distinction between these two words becomes clearer when you go back to the Latin roots: while vacanza comes from vacantia – ’emptiness’ or ‘leisure’ – ferie comes from feriae, an ancient word for a ‘festival’ or ‘holy day’. 

Ho quindici giorni di ferie pagate.
I have two weeks’ paid leave.

Ha preso una settimana di ferie.
She took a week off work.

It’s plural because it referred to holidays that were marked every year – like the Feriae Augusti, the festival of Roman Emperor Augustus – the summer celebrations introduced in 18 BC that are the origins of modern-day Italy’s Ferragosto

These days, you’ll see ferie and vacanze used practically interchangeably for holidays of all kinds. 

But ferie seems to be more commonly used, especially when talking about vacations around the sacrosant Ferragosto holiday on August 15th. And some say it refers more to taking annual leave, whether you actually take a trip or not.

If you’re planning to work in Italy, you’ll want to ask your employer about ferie retribuite (paid holidays).

But ferie isn’t just for August. Italians also use the phrase ‘giorno di ferie’ for any day they take off work for any reason.

 
– ho preso un giorno di ferie
– I took a day off
 
If you’re lucky, this August you can say:

– ho fatto le ferie al mare 

– I spent (literally ‘did’) my holidays at the seaside
 
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 new 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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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 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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