Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Baffi’

You'll be licking your chops over this word.

Published: 16 May 2024 10:47 CEST

Italian word of the day baffi

Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

A word that can feel particularly satisfying to say in Italian is baffi: a moustache, or, on an animal, whiskers.

It takes the plural form in Italian, as it’s referring to the two halves of a moustache.

In fact English at one time did the same – moustache (which comes from the archaic Italian mostaccio) used to be used in the plural, but became standardised as singular in around the 19th century.

Ha dei baffi enormi.
He has an enormous moustache.

You don’t need impressive upper facial hair to talk about your baffi, though, as the word also features in certain everyday expressions.

Leccarsi i baffi is to lick your chops – if something is delicious or mouthwatering it’s da leccarsi i baffi.

Si stavano leccando i baffi.
They were licking their chops.

Ha preparato una cena da leccarsi i baffi.
He’s made a mouthwatering dinner.

Buonp Buonissimo Delizioso Da Leccarsi I Baffi Simpson Ned Flunders GIF - Yummy So Good Moustache GIFs — Source: Tenor

And ridere sotto i baffi (‘to laugh under your moustache’) is to laugh or snicker under your breath.

Ti ho visto ridere sotto i baffi.
I saw you snickering.

La smettete di ridere sotto i baffi!
Wipe those smirks off your faces!

The next time you want to express appreciation for a well-cooked meal or tell someone off for sniggering, you’ll know what just to say.

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

Make sure you 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.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Italian word of the day: ‘Campo’

If you’ve been following the Euros on Italian TV, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with the term campo da calcio, or football pitch (soccer field in American English).

And if you’re a tennis fan, you may have heard Italian commentators mention a Campo Centrale (or Centre Court) while analysing Wimbledon matches in recent days.

Quite conveniently, campo (hear it pronounced here) is a bit of a catch-all term for surfaces used as playing areas. Here are some other examples:

Campo da golf – Golf course

Campo da basket/pallacanestro – Basketball court

Campo da baseball – Baseball field

Campo da pallavolo – Volleyball court

But campo is also used to refer to any type of field, whether that be used for farming purposes – for instance, a campo di grano (wheat field) or campo di patate (potato field) – or simply found in nature, as in the case of a campo di fiori (flower field).

La mia casa sta li’ giu’, dietro quel campo di tulipani.

My house is down there, behind that tulip field.

Campo is also frequently used in relation to military efforts and wars. For instance, you may have already come across campo di battaglia (battlefield) or campo di addestramento (training ground) in Italian news reports.

And a number of popular Italian phrases derive from the military usage of the word, including scendere in campo, which literally means ‘to enter the field’ but is used figuratively to say you’re joining a race, battle or contest.

Finally, if you live or have spent some time in the country, you may have overheard an Italian saying something along the lines:

Scusa. Ti devo richiamare. Non ho campo.

I’m sorry. I’ll have to call you back. I have no ‘field’.

But what does ‘having no field’ (non avere campo) mean?

As you may have already guessed, campo is often used as a synonym for segnale (signal).

So, if someone’s saying that there’s no campo or they have no campo, it means they have no phone reception and can’t make or receive any calls.

As a final note: besides being a noun, campo is also the first-person singular of the present tense of the verb campare, which is often translated into English as ‘to get by’.

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.

Url copied to clipboard!