We’re all prone to avoidant behaviours from time to time, and Italians, despite being more sociable than many of their northern European counterparts, are no exception.

Whether you’re avoiding a person or swerving out of the way of a pothole, there’s one verb in Italian that will do the job: schivare (pronounced skee-VAR-ay).

The word has the same root as schifare (to disgust or make sick): the early German Franconian dialect word skiuhjan, meaning to respect or revere something.

With schivare, this evolved into the idea of steering clear of something out of a sense of respect or reverence, and then just into avoiding altogether (with schifare it mutated one step further, becoming ‘to repulse’).

Schivare can mean to dodge or avoid a physical object, a situation or encounter, or a person.

È un soldato, è abituato a schivare lame e proiettili.
He’s a soldier, he’s used to dodging blades and bullets.

Devi imparare a schivare le buche guidando a Rome.
You have to learn to avoid the potholes driving in Rome.

Non so perché tutti mi schivano.
I don’t know why everyone’s avoiding me.

Bel modo di schivare la domanda.
Nice way to dodge the question.

The phrase ‘to dodge a bullet’, meaning to escape an undesirable situation or outcome, translates directly into Italian as schivare un proiettile.

Abbiamo schivato un proiettile, fidati.
We dodged a bullet, trust me.

Related to schivare, the adjective schivo/a means shy, timid, reserved, or self-effacing.

È una tipa schiva, non parla mai di se stessa.
She’s a reserved person, she never talks about herself.

È un animale d’indole schivo che non tende a mescolarsi ad uccelli di altre specie.
It’s an animal with a shy nature that tends not to mix with birds of other species.

Don’t be schivo! Try out these words in a conversation this week.

Do you have an Italian phrase you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.