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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Scioglilingua’

Can you get your tongue around this Italian word?

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

In Italian, scioglilingua (click here to hear it pronounced) is an autological word – that is, one that describes itself.

It means ‘tongue twister’, and with that gli sound that doesn’t exist in English, it’s not the easiest word to say.

Lingua is Italian for ‘tongue’ (it can also mean ‘language’), and the verb sciogliere means to loosen, untie or release, so a scioglilingua is literally a ‘tongue loosener’.

È un vero scioglilingua.
It’s a real tongue twister.

Questo acronimo mi sembra uno scioglilingua.
This acronym seems like a mouthful to me.

There’s just as wide a range of tongue twisters available in Italian as there are in English. If you want to test yourself (this is an especially good one for those trying to get their tongue around gli), try:

Sul tagliere l’aglio taglia: non tagliare la tovaglia. La tovaglia non è aglio: se la tagli fai uno sbaglio.

(‘On the chopping board, cut the garlic; don’t cut the tablecloth. The tablecloth isn’t garlic; if you cut it you’ve messed up’).

You might see the words sciogliere and lingua used in combination in other contexts, none of which involve tongue twisters.

To deliberately sciogliere your own lingua can mean to loosen or ‘untie’ your tongue so that you speak fluently and with confidence.

Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, for example, suggests 7 trucchi per sciogliere la lingua durante l’esame orale – seven tricks to loosen your tongue during your oral exam.

Mi si scoglie la lingua quando sono con lei.
I become a smooth talker when I’m with her.

To sciogliere la lingua accidentally, however, can mean to let something slip out that perhaps shouldn’t have.

Il vino gli ha fatto sciogliere la lingua.
The wine loosened his tongue.

È stato il tipo di cena che scioglie la lingua.
It was the kind of dinner that loosens the tongue.

And if you sciogliere someone else’s lingua, that means you’re forcing them to reveal something to you, perhaps against their will.

Conosco diversi modi per fargli sciogliere la lingua.
I know a few ways to make them talk.

Una settimana al freddo ti ha sciolto la lingua?
Did a week out in the cold loosen your tongue?

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Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting 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.

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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