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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 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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