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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.

Published: 9 August 2019 15:29 CEST
Updated: 9 August 2023 16:01 CEST
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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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

We’re sure you’ll learn this Italian phrase in no time.

Published: 14 June 2024 13:59 CEST
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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