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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Curiosare’

Here's a look at an Italian word you might be curious to learn about.

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

Curiosare is a word with no direct English translation, and which can be used in a few different contexts.

As you can probably guess, it’s related to the English word ‘curious’.

It’s a verb which roughly means ‘to look around’. This can have positive or negative connotations, depending on whether you’re describing someone’s diligent research or busybody nature.

You can curiosare in a shop, in a book, in which case it means something like ‘to browse’. But to curiosare is something more than absent-minded wandering, although there’s often not a specific purpose to it.

Curiosare tra le pagine di un vecchio libro
To browse through the pages of an old book

Curiosare nelle vie della città
To wander through the streets of the city

Curiosare nelle vetrine dei negozi
To look at shop windows

Curiosare in un archivio
To look through an archive

You can also curiosare into other people’s business, in which case it could be translated as ‘snooping’.

But it’s not always malicious or with any negative connotation; you might simply be interested to learn about your favourite actor’s previous films, or your new acquaintance’s Instagram.The only criteria for curiosare is that you’re doing the research/snooping/browsing in order to satisfy your own curiosity, rather than out of necessity or obligation.

Curiosare nella vita privata di qualcuno
To snoop into someone’s private life

Non per curiosare, ma…
I don’t mean to pry, but…

Its roots can be found in the Latin word cura meaning ‘concern’ or ‘care’, which exists in today’s Italian with the same meaning.

In Latin, curiosus had several different meanings, including ‘curious’ but also ‘meddlesome/inquisitive’, ‘someone who snoops/an informer’, ‘careful’, and ‘complicated’.

In Italian, the adjective curioso came to mean ‘curious/inquisitive’ just like the English adjective ‘curious’.

Italian also developed the noun curioso, which means both ‘someone who is (excessively) curious/nosy’ and ‘a curious/peculiar thing’. And that’s how we got the beautiful verb curiosare, to describe people doing something out of curiosity.

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For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

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

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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