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~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Un po' di pepe

Tag Archives: Italian pronunciation guide

Italian Christmas Vocabulary

19 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Feste, Italian language, Parole piacevoli

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Christmas greetings in Italian, Italian Christmas, Italian Christmas traditions, Italian pronunciation guide, Natale

Need to brush up on the Italian Christmas vocabulary? Any excuse to improve vocabulary and language skills is a good one. Try using these Italian Christmas season related words, greetings and phrases to impress friends and relatives at events and in Whatsapp/text messages or Christmas cards.  It may be too late this year for cards, but get a head start for next year! For a review of how to pronounce Italian words, and my own funky way of showing pronunciation, check out the post Italiano per Ristoranti-How to pronounce your restaurant menu.

In Italia, le Feste Natalizie-the Christmas Festivities/Holidays officially start on December 8th, which is la festa dell’Immacolata Concezione, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception.  This is a national holiday and the day most families put up their presepio and tree.  Le Feste Natalizie end on January 6th, l’Epifania or the Epiphany, which is also a national holiday.  January 6th the tree and decorations come down.  As the expression goes ‘L’Epifania tutte le feste porta via’-the Epiphany carries away all of the festivities.

Buon Natale (BWON na·TA·leh) is how Merry Christmas is expressed in Italiano.  Natale comes from the Latin ‘dies Natalis’ which means ‘day of birth’, so Buon Natale literally means ‘good day of birth’.  Buone Feste(BWON·eh FES·teh) which is ‘good festivities’ is also common.  This refers to the whole season, from December 8th to January 6th.

Auguri means best wishes

Tanti auguri di Buon Natale (TAN·tee ow·GOO·ree dee BWON na·TA·leh) = Lots of good wishes for a Merry Christmas

Ti/vi auguro un Buon Natale (tee ow·GOO·roh oon BWON na·TA·leh) = I wish you a Merry Christmas

Buone Feste can be used interchangeably in both of these phrases.

Auguri per le Feste Natalizie (ow·GOO·ree per leh FES ·teh na·tah·LEEZ·yeh) = Best wishes for the Christmas festivities/season

Auguri per un Natale sereno (ow·GOO·ree per oon na·TA·leh seh·REY·noh) = Best wishes for a serene/peaceful Christmas

I miei migliori auguri per un Buon Natale (ee MEE·ay mee·LYOH·ree ow·GOO·ree per oon BWON na·TA·leh) = My best wishes/greetings for a Merry Christmas.  ‘Per un Buon Natale’ can also be replaced with ‘per le Feste’.Panforte di Siena

Felice Anno Nuovo (feh·LEE·cheh anno NWOH·voh) = Happy New Year!

Cosa farai a Capodanno? (CO·sah FA·rahee a capoh·DAN·noh) = What are you doing New Year’s?

If someone wishes you well, reply with:

Grazie, altrettanto (GRA·zyeh al·tret·TANtoh) = Thank you!  Same to you! or with

Grazie, anche a te/voi (GRA·zyeh AN·kay a teh/voey) = Thank you, also to you.

What do I write in my cartoline di Natale? I tend to be extremely thorough in my positive greetings so I usually write something like this mini-essay:

Auguro a te e alla tua famiglia un Buonissimo Natale e un nuovo anno pieno di salute, pace, amore e gioia (ow·GOO·roh a teh eh AL·lah tooah fah·MEE·lyah oon bwon·ees·SEE·moh na·TA·leh eh oon noo·OH·voh AN·noh PYEH·noh dee sal·OO·teh, PAH·chay, am·OH·reh eh gee·OH·yah) = Wishing you and your family an extremely good Christmas and a new year filled with health, peace, love and joy.

Luci Natalizie di Mamma e Papa/ My parents’ Christmas lights

Vocabolario di Natale:

Addobbo/addobbi di Natale (ad·DOHB·boh/ ad·DOHB·bee) = Decorations and ornaments

Agrifoglio (ag·ree·FOH·lyoh) = Holly

Albero di Natale (al·BEHR·oh) =Christmas tree

Babbo Natale (BAB·boh na·TA·leh) = Father Christmas/Santa Claus

La Befana (beh·FAH·nah) = January 6th female gift-bringer

Calze (CAL·zeh) =socks/stockings

Capodanno (capoh·DAN·noh) = New Year’s -literally ‘top of the year’

Cartolina di Natale/d’auguri (car·toh·LEE·nah di na·TA·leh) = Greeting card

Ceppo (CHEP·poh) = yule log

Dolci di Natale (DOL·chee dee na·TA·leh) = Christmas sweets

Elfi (EL·fee) =elves

Gesù Bambino (JEH·suh bam·BEE·noh) = Baby Jesus

Luci (LOO·chee) = lights

Presepio or Presepe (pre·sep·PEE·oh) = Nativity scene, creche

Pupazzo di neve (poo·PATZ·zoh dee NEH·veh) = Snow person

Regalo/regali (reh·GAL·oh/ reh·GAL·lee) = present/presents

Renne (REN•neh) = reindeer

Santo Stefano = December 26th Boxing Day

San Silvestro = New Year’s Eve

Slitta (SLEET·tah) = sleigh

La vigilia di Natale (vee·gee·lyah dee na·TA·leh) = Christmas Eve

Zampognaro (zam·poh·NYAR·oh) Abbruzzese bagpiping shepherd

Click on the links to read more about some of these vocabolario items!  Let me know in the comments if you get to use any new words this Natale!

Cari Lettori di Un po’ di pepe…..Auguro a voi e alle vostre famiglie un Buonissimo Natale e un nuovo anno pieno di salute, pace, amore e gioia!  Baci e abbracci, Cristina

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Secondo Bloghiversario!

25 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Cannolo Award, Italian pronunciation guide

AuguriToday is Un po’ di pepe’s secondo bloghiversario-2nd anniversary of blogging!  I can’t believe 2 years has already gone by since I hit the big blue PUBLISH button for the first time.

In honour of the bloghiversario, last week I finally made my most viewed post June 2014’s ‘Italiano per Ristoranti~How to pronounce your menù’ into a PDF that is downloadable from the blog. It only took 22 months to get it done, but as my Mamma says ‘Meglio tardi che mai’-better late than never! Click on the link in red and the PDF is available at the end of the post. I’m thinking of adding more content and turning this into an ebook available on Amazon.  Hopefully it won’t take me another 22 months to do that! Another exciting thing that happened in year 2 of blogging was receiving a Cannolo Award.

One more thing I will do in honour of the bloghiversario is post a link to my first real post ‘Il Gigante~Michelangelo’s David’. Davide

Stay tuned for more ‘cose interessanti’- interesting stuff in year 3 including a series on wines of Puglia.  In August I will be reading at the AICW (Association of Italian Canadian Writers) Conference in Padula and blogging from there.   Please leave a comment if there is something you’d like to read more about.  Grazie a tutti i miei lettori, Cristina

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Melagrana

08 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art projects, Italian language, Parole piacevoli

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Drypoint etching, Granada, Italian language, Italian pronunciation guide, Melagrana, Monotipi, Monotypes, Pomegranate, Punta secca

melagrana2While I was looking for some book cloth in my paper drawers, I discovered that I have an infestation of unfinished melagrane.

Unfinished melagrane in my studio

Unfinished melagrane in my studio

Melagrana (meh•lah•GRA•nah) is una parola piacevole (pa•ROH•la pyah•cheh•VOH•leh), a really likeable word.  It is Italian for pomegranate, the luscious red fruit with tart little seeds full of vitamins and antioxidants.  Melagrane is plural and il melograno is the pomegranate tree. The tree is masculine and the fruit is feminine-this causes a lot of confusion.  Just remember ‘la melagrana e il frutto del melagrano’. This is consistent with other fruits and their trees, for example- pera/ pero, olive/ulivo.

Melagrani (pomegranate trees) and melagrane (pomegranate fruit) on the roof of Hotel Columbia in Roma

Melagrani (pomegranate trees) and melagrane (pomegranate fruit) on the roof of Hotel Columbia in Roma

Granata is another word for melagrana. Granata is also the luscious pomegranate red colour, garnet-as in the stone, and grenade-the not so nice kind that blows up.  A grenade does kind of look it is covered in ‘semi di melagrana’ (pomegranate seeds).  Granatina or grenadine is syrup made with pomegranate juice used to make a Tequila Sunrise.

Melagrana comes from the latin words Malum (mela=apple) and granatum (grainy/full of seeds).   The Spanish city of Granada is named for the fruit-Granada is melagrana in Spanish.  The official symbol of the city is the melagrana and it appears in its coat of arms and all over Granada. The French word for apple is pomme, so pomme granate resulted in the English word pomegranate (apple of Granada).  I love how all of these words are connected!

Melagrane-unfinished drypoint etching monotype with chine colle

Melagrane-unfinished drypoint etching monotype with chine colle

Mannaggia la melagrana!  I’d better find time to finish all of these monotipi (monotypes) and incisione punta secca (drypoint etchings). I might have to have a melagrana sale.

Ciao, Cristina

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Chiacchiere

01 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art projects, Italian language, Parole piacevoli

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Art, Art materials, Chiacchiere, Crustoli, Italian language, Italian pronunciation guide, Painting

Chiacchierare (kee•ak•kee•eh•RAH•reh) is what I like to call a ‘parola piacevole’ (pa•ROH•la pyah•cheh•VOH•leh)-a likeable word. I love how it sounds.  If you need to review Italian pronunciation go back to this post.  The verb chiacchierare means to chat or talk.  It can also mean to gossip or make small talk. ‘Facciamo due chiacchiere’ literally means ‘Let’s have a few chats’.  Chiacchiere is also one of the many names for fried pastry for Carnevale.

Chiacchiere, 2014

Chiacchiere, 2014

I titled my quick monochromatic acrylic sketch on paper ‘Chiacchiere’ because as soon as I finished it that is the word that came to me.  I wonder what these two vecchiette (vek•KYET•teh =little old ladies) are talking about today? I might turn them into a real painting or some note cards…so I can write down my chiacchiere and send them to you!

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Italiano per Ristoranti~How to pronounce your restaurant menu

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italian language, Travel tips

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

Downloadable pronunciation guide, Italian language, Italian menu, Italian pronunciation guide, Italiano per ristoranti, Restaurant Italian

Bruschetta (broo.SKET.tah)

Bruschetta (broo.SKET.tah)

When I’m at a restaurant and I hear BROO∙sheda, FOKA∙sia, pra∙skew∙do, spug∙eddy, la∙TAY, EX∙preso or worst of all, GA∙noh∙chee.…I have to cover my ears. This post is my small effort to encourage everyone to get to know the beauty of the Italian language. Whether you are planning a trip to Italia, or to your local Trattoria, learning how to pronounce the words on the menu is worth the effort!

Italian pronunciation is very different from English. Pronouncing Italian words is easier than it looks, because every letter has a purpose. Words are pronounced phonetically-the way they are spelled.  There are no silent letters as in English, except h at the beginning of a word.  My name ‘Cristina’ has no h because there is no reason for it. In Italian, you won’t find crazy words like ‘enough’ that don’t sound at all like they are written (?inaf).  If you know the sounds made by certain letters and combinations, you can pronounce all of those big long words with lots and lots of vowels.  Pronouncing Italian correctly will also help with reading.

Note…. It isn’t easy to ‘speak’ with writing, and no written material can replace listening to and speaking Italian on site! This is a basic, practical introduction….just the facts! I’ve written the approximate pronunciations so that someone who speaks English can understand them.

2 important things to know:

  • There are only 21 letters in the Italian alphabet. There is no j, k, w, x or y, except in foreign words. J is used in some dialetti (regional dialects) including Orsarese, and is pronounced like a y
  • Emphasis is usually on the next to last syllable. If the emphasis is on the last syllable, the vowel at the end of the word has an accent. For example, tiramisù (teera∙ mee∙ SOO), ragù (ra ∙GOO) menù (meh∙NOO), supplì (soop∙PLEE), bignè (bee∙NYEH), tè (TEH), or caffè (caf∙FEH).  This is very important to remember, as it is what gives the Italian language its musicality. If you pronounce everything the same, then the words will sound monotonous.

Accents/accenti are used:

  • When emphasis is on the last syllable of a word as described above
  • 1 syllable words with 2 vowels, as in può, più
  • 1 syllable words that can have 2 meanings, as in te (you) or tè (tea), e (and) or è (is)

Unlike other languages, in Italian the accent is almost always l’accento grave (GRAH∙veh) sloping down towards the right as in à,è,ì,ò,ù. L’accento acuto, as in é and ó is not used often. We can safely say that 99% of the time, l’accento acuto is only used for sé, né and words ending in ché (perché, finché, giaché, etc). In all other cases, use the accento grave.

Pronouncing vowels

  • • A is pronounced ah as in Mamma or amore (ah∙ MOH∙ reh)
    • I is like the ee sound in green, as in piselli (pee∙ SEL∙ lee). Followed by a vowel, i can also sound like the y in yoga, as in ieri (YEH∙ree)
    • U is like the u in June or the oo in food. Musica is moo∙SEE∙ca, nutella is noo∙TEL∙lah
  • E has 2 slightly different pronunciations that are hard to express in writing, and also vary from region to region. For the purpose of pronouncing food, we will just say that e is pronounced eh like the e in egg.  My favourite example is pepe (PEH∙peh).  Many pronunciation guides make the mistake of stating that e makes the sound ‘ay’.  This is not correct.  Do not pronounce e this way unless you want to sound like Tony Soprano!
    • O is oh like the o in no – calzone (cal∙ZOH∙neh) or the o in hot- cotto (COT∙toh). You may not know which sound the o makes unless you have heard the word spoken correctly, and there is also regional variation

Italian words are full of vowels and most words end in a vowel. If there are 2 or more vowels in a row, each one is pronounced. They may be in the same syllable, as in ciao (CHEEAH∙oh) and ieri (YEH∙ree). An awesome word with 4 vowels in a row is gioia (GEEOH∙yah)! Try saying that with a grumpy face!

Pronouncing consonants
C and G
• C and g are ‘duro’ or hard (as in corso or grande) – except if followed by an e or an i
• C or g followed by an e or i are ‘dolce’ or soft, like the ch in church and the g in gem
• If c or g are followed by an h and then an e or i, the pronunciation is hard once again

Ci = chee                        chi = kee
Ce = cheh                       che = ke (as in keg)
Gi = gee                         ghi = ghee
Ge = jeh (as in jelly)        ghe =as in ghetto

Pesce (PEH∙sheh) = fish…pesca (PES∙kah) = peach…pesche (PES∙keh) = peaches. If you want succo di pesca/pesche (peach juice or nectar) but ask for succo di pesce, you are asking for fish juice. Yuk! Don’t make my Bellini with that!

H (acca/AK∙kah)
• H is muta (MOO∙tah=silent).
• H is used to change the pronunciation of c and g (see above), or to distinguish 2 words that sound the same (anno/hanno, o/ho, a/ha)
• H is only used with c or g if followed by i or e, not if followed by u, a or o. Remember this handy rhyme: ‘cu ca co, acca no/gu ga go, acca no’
Gn/Gl
• Gn is ‘nyuh’ like the n and y in ‘can you’ if you say it quickly and nasally – try bagno (BAH∙nyo) and gnocchi (NYOK∙Kee). Gn sounds similar to the Spanish letter ñ as in señor and piñata. It should not sound like a hard g
• Gl is ‘lyah’ like the l and y in ‘will you’ said quickly. Gl is followed by ia or io as in foglia (FO∙lyah) or aglio (AHL∙yoh)

S combinations
• Sce is sheh like the ‘she’ sound in shelter… pesce = PEH∙sheh
• Sci is shee as in prosciutto (pro∙SHEEOOT∙toh)
• Sb is zb as in sbottonata (zbot∙toh∙NAH∙tah) = unbuttoned, sbriciolata (zbree∙cheeoh∙LA∙tah) = crumbled
R’s are rrrolled.  T’s sound like T, not like D.

Double consonants are both pronounced.  You need to hold the sound for an extra fraction of a second.  Take cappuccino for example.  You pronounce 2 p’s and 2 c’s.  It’s cap∙ pooch ∙CHEE ∙no, not cap∙a∙chee∙no.

Double r’s are rrreally rrrolled as in burrata (boor∙RAT∙ah)

Pronouncing double consonants as single can change the meaning of the word and can even lead to embarassing situations.  For example, if you want to order penne (PEN∙neh) al pomodoro, but you ask for pene (PE∙neh) al pomodoro, you have just ordered penis in tomato sauce!

Plurals

Unlike English and Spanish, adding an s to the end of an Italian word doesn’t make it plural.  In Italian, everything has a gender.

  • Masculine things usually end in an o and are plural with an i
  • Feminine things usually end in a and are plural with an e

Biscotto (bee∙SCOT∙toh) is singular, biscotti (bee∙SCOT∙tee) is plural.  Do not ask for a biscotti. You ask for 1 biscotto or 2 biscotti.

The plural of birra (beer) is birre, so it’s una birra (BEE∙rah) or due birre (BEE∙reh)

Panino is singular, panini is plural.  Since panini is already plural, ‘paninis’ is ‘sandwicheses’!  It sounds just as silly in Italian!

Some foods have been given a sex change in North America. Remember that zucchine, fettucine and linguine are all female and do not end in i

  • Things ending in e, whether masculine or feminine, are plural with an i. For example, a glass is un bicchiere, 2 glasses are due bicchieri (beek∙KYEH∙ree), un salame, due salami
  • Things ending in io become plural with i. Kiss is bacio (BAH∙cheeoh), many kisses are baci (BAH∙chee)

Some words don’t change when plural:

  • Words that are abbreviations like auto and euro (eeoo∙roh)
  • Imported words like computer and taxi. These are usually masculine
  • one syllable words
  • Words that end in a consonant or an accented vowel (il caffè/i caffè)

There are exceptions to these. For example egg-l’uovo (oo∙oh∙voh) is masculine, but the plural is the feminine le uova (oo∙oh∙vah)-not ‘uovi’. Il dentista, il programma and il problema are masculine, but end in a because they come from the Greek, ending in ‘ma’ or ‘ta’.   Sometimes the exception is simply because it sounds awkward.

Using the wrong vowel at the end can completely change the meaning of a word. For example, if you want to order agnello alla menta (lamb cooked with mint) but you ask for agnello al mento (lamb with chin) I’m not sure which body part will be brought to your table!

Now you are ready to read the menu at Trattoria ‘Un po’ di pepe’……. Buon appetito!

This post is available as a downloadable PDF at the end of the menu. Ebook coming soon!

ilmenu

Il menù Trattoria Un po’ di pepe:

Focaccia Genovese (foh∙KACH∙cheeah  Jen∙oh∙VEH∙seh)•Genoa style focaccia

Mozzarella di bufala Campana (motz∙za∙REL∙la dee BOO∙fa∙lah Cam·PAH·nah)•Fresh mozzarella from the region of Campania, made with milk from water buffalo

Prosciutto e melone (pro∙sheeoot∙toh e meh∙LOH∙neh)•Prosciutto wrapped around slices of canteloupe

Gnocchi al pomodoro (NYOK∙kee ahl poh∙moh∙DOH∙roh)•Gnocchi in a tomato sauce

Tagliatelle al cinghiale (ta∙lyah∙TEL∙leh ahl ceen∙ghee∙AH∙leh)•tagliatelle (ribbon-like egg pasta) with wild boar sauce

Penne all’arrabbiata (PEN∙neh ahl ar∙rab∙BYAT∙tah)•Penne in an ‘angry’ spicy sauce

Orecchiette con cime di rapa (oh∙rek∙KYET∙the con CHEE∙meh dee RAH∙pah)•Orecchiette (Pugliese pasta shaped like little ears) with rapini

Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (spah∙GET∙tee AHL∙yoh ohl∙yo eh peh∙peh∙ron∙CHEE∙noh)•Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili pepper

Risotto ai frutti di mare (ree∙SOT∙toh ahee frut∙tee dee MAH∙reh)•Seafood risotto

Pesce spada con salsa di acciughe (peh∙sheh spa∙da con sal∙sa dee ach∙chee∙OO∙geh)•Swordfish with anchovy sauce

Polpette della nonna (pohl∙PET∙teh  del∙la NON∙nah)•Nonna’s meatballs

Coniglio arrosto con patate  (coh∙NEE∙lyoh ar∙ROS∙toh con pah∙TAH∙teh)•Roast rabbit with potatoes

Melanzane ripiene al forno (meh∙lan∙ZAH∙neh ree∙PYEH∙neh)•Baked stuffed eggplant

Crostata con Nutella, mascarpone e pere (cro∙STA∙tah con noo∙TEL∙la, mas∙car∙POH∙neh e PEH∙reh)•Nutella, mascarpone and pear tart

Panettone con mandorle (pah∙net∙TOH∙neh con man∙DOR∙leh)•Panettone (sweet bread) with almonds

Zabaglione (zah∙bah∙LYOH∙neh)•A custard type of dessert made with egg yolks, sugar and marsala

Italiano per Ristoranti Downloadable PDF ©2016 unpodipepe.ca

BUON APPETITO!

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