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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Beccare’

The range of uses for this verb could fill a list as long as your...beak?

Italian word of the day beccare
Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Used literally, beccare (pronunciation available here) just describes one thing: the action of a bird pecking at something (becco = beak).

Le galline beccavano le briciole per terra.

The hens pecked at the crumbs on the ground.

This literal definition is just the tip of the iceberg however because, when used metaphorically, beccare is a chameleon of a verb that can change to mean a whole plethora of things.

These include to catch, run into, meet up with, get bitten (by a bug), bicker, boo, ‘bag’ yourself something good, or get landed with something bad. Phew.

Got all that? No? Don’t worry, we’ll look at them in turn.

One of the most common metaphorical uses of beccare is to catch or get caught by anyone from the police to your mum:

Se la polizia ci becca di nuovo saremo nei guai.

If the police catch us again we’re in trouble.

Ho beccato il mio fidanzato con un’altra.

I caught my boyfriend with another girl.

Si è fatta beccare con le mani nel sacco.

She got caught red-handed.

In the same vein, you can use the verb to talk about getting bitten (‘caught’) by an insect or mosquito:

Una zanzara mi ha beccato la gamba.

A mosquito bit my leg.

Or running into (‘catching’) someone unexpectedly.

Ho beccato Elisa in centro, abbiamo fatto una bella chiacchierata.

I ran into Elisa in town, we had a nice chat.

Mi fa piacere che ci siamo beccati.

I’m glad we ran into one another.

When used in the reflexive form (beccarsi), the verb can mean either to land yourself something desirable, or get stuck with something undesirable (it’s understood from context which of the situations you’re in):

Brava, ti sei beccata la fila più veloce.

Good job, you picked the fastest queue.

Vi siete beccati un viaggio gratis!

You got yourselves a free trip!

Mi sono beccato l’influenza durante un viaggio in Inghilterra.

I got the flu on a trip to England.

Grazie a te ci siamo beccati tutti una punizione.

Thanks to you we all got ourselves a detention.

The reflexive form can also be used informally to mean to bicker or squabble:

Giacomo e Francesca si beccano in continuazione, non ne posso più delle loro liti.

Giacomo and Francesca argue constantly, I’m sick of their fights.

Or to mean to meet up or catch up with someone: 

Ci becchiamo stasera per fare due chiacchiere?

Shall we meet up this evening for a chat?

Ci becchiamo dopo!

Catch you later! (lit., ‘we’ll catch each other later’).

Finally, to beccare a person can mean to show disapproval of someone or even boo them, usually in the context of a musical or theatrical performance:

Quando gli attori hanno finito lo spettacolo, il pubblico li ha beccati senza pieta.

When the actors finished the show, the audience booed them without mercy.

With all that newfound knowledge, the world’s your oyster: see if you can go out and beccare a friend, a criminal, or a winning lottery card (but not a cold or a booing).

Do you have an 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 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 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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