Idioms and Sayings in Italian

A list of 30 common idioms and sayings in Italian with translations and examples.


28 words in this list

Avere le mani in pasta (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee een PAH-stah) β†’ To have a finger in every pie

πŸ—£οΈ Mio fratello ha sempre le mani in pasta. (My brother always has a finger in every pie.)

Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca (AH-veh-reh lah BOH-teh PYEH-nah eh lah MOH-lyeh oo-BREE-ah-kah) β†’ To have one's cake and eat it too

πŸ—£οΈ Non puoi avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca. (You can't have your cake and eat it too.)

Essere una buona forchetta (EH-sseh-reh OO-nah BOO-oh-nah fohr-KEHT-tah) β†’ To be a foodie

πŸ—£οΈ Mia sorella Γ¨ una buona forchetta. (My sister is a foodie.)

Avere la testa tra le nuvole (AH-veh-reh lah TEH-stah trah leh NOO-voh-leh) β†’ To have one's head in the clouds

πŸ—£οΈ Oggi ho la testa tra le nuvole. (Today I have my head in the clouds.)

Essere in grado di fare qualcosa (EH-sseh-reh een GRAH-doh dee FAH-reh kwahl-KOH-sah) β†’ To be able to do something

πŸ—£οΈ Sono in grado di parlare italiano. (I am able to speak Italian.)

Avere la puzza sotto il naso (AH-veh-reh lah POOT-tsah SOHT-toh eel NAH-soh) β†’ To have one's nose in the air

πŸ—£οΈ Il mio capo ha sempre avuto la puzza sotto il naso. (My boss has always had his nose in the air.)

Avere le mani bucate (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee BO-kah-teh) β†’ To have a hole in one's pocket

πŸ—£οΈ Mio cugino ha sempre le mani bucate. (My cousin always has a hole in his pocket.)

Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca (AH-veh-reh lah BOH-teh PYEH-nah eh lah MOH-lyeh oo-BREE-ah-kah) β†’ To have one's cake and eat it too

πŸ—£οΈ Non puoi avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca. (You can't have your cake and eat it too.)

Avere la testa sulle spalle (AH-veh-reh lah TEH-stah SOOL-leh SPAHL-leh) β†’ To have one's head on one's shoulders

πŸ—£οΈ Mia nipote ha sempre avuto la testa sulle spalle. (My niece has always had her head on her shoulders.)

Fare una brutta figura (FAH-reh OO-nah BROO-tah FEE-goo-rah) β†’ To make a bad impression

πŸ—£οΈ Ho fatto una brutta figura alla cena di lavoro. (I made a bad impression at the business dinner.)

Essere una schiappa (EH-sseh-reh OO-nah SKYAH-pah) β†’ To be a wimp

πŸ—£οΈ Non voglio fare sport con lui, Γ¨ una schiappa. (I don't want to play sports with him, he's a wimp.)

Essere in gamba (EH-sseh-reh een GAHM-bah) β†’ To be smart

πŸ—£οΈ Mio figlio Γ¨ molto in gamba a scuola. (My son is very smart at school.)

Avere le mani bucate (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee BOO-kah-teh) β†’ To have a hole in one's pocket

πŸ—£οΈ Mio cugino ha sempre le mani bucate. (My cousin always has a hole in his pocket.)

Fare il ponte (FAH-reh eel POHN-teh) β†’ To take a long weekend

πŸ—£οΈ Quest'anno voglio fare il ponte per Ferragosto. (This year I want to take a long weekend for Ferragosto.)

Avere le mani legate (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee LEH-gah-teh) β†’ To have one's hands tied

πŸ—£οΈ Non posso aiutarti, ho le mani legate. (I can't help you, my hands are tied.)

Fare il diavolo a quattro (FAH-reh eel dee-AH-voh-loh ah KWAT-troh) β†’ To raise hell

πŸ—£οΈ Mio fratello ha fatto il diavolo a quattro quando ha scoperto che avevo preso la sua macchina senza permesso. (My brother raised hell when he found out I took his car without permission.)

Essere sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda (EH-sseh-reh SOO-lah STEH-sah LOON-geh-tsa DOHN-dah) β†’ To be on the same wavelength

πŸ—£οΈ Io e mio marito siamo sempre sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda. (My husband and I are always on the same wavelength.)

Essere al verde (EH-sseh-reh ahl VEHR-deh) β†’ To be broke

πŸ—£οΈ Sono al verde questo mese. (I'm broke this month.)

Non vedo l'ora (Nohn VEH-doh LOH-rah) β†’ I can't wait

πŸ—£οΈ Non vedo l'ora di partire per le vacanze. (I can't wait to leave for vacation.)

Essere sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda (EH-sseh-reh SOO-lah STEH-sah LOON-geh-tsa DOHN-dah) β†’ To be on the same wavelength

πŸ—£οΈ Io e mio marito siamo sempre sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda. (My husband and I are always on the same wavelength.)

Essere sulla buona strada (EH-sseh-reh SOO-lah BOO-oh-nah STRAH-dah) β†’ To be on the right track

πŸ—£οΈ Penso di essere sulla buona strada per raggiungere i miei obiettivi. (I think I'm on the right track to achieve my goals.)

Avere le mani in tasca (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee een TAH-skah) β†’ To have one's hands in one's pockets

πŸ—£οΈ Non puoi avere le mani in tasca durante un colloquio di lavoro. (You can't have your hands in your pockets during a job interview.)

Avere le mani in pasta (AH-veh-reh leh MAH-nee een PAHS-tah) β†’ To have one's hands in the dough

πŸ—£οΈ Mia madre ha sempre avuto le mani in pasta quando si tratta di cucinare. (My mother has always had her hands in the dough when it comes to cooking.)

Fare la fine del topo (FAH-reh lah FEE-neh dehl TOH-poh) β†’ To meet a bad end

πŸ—£οΈ Se continui a comportarti cosΓ¬, farai la fine del topo. (If you keep behaving like this, you will meet a bad end.)

Essere una mosca bianca (EH-sseh-reh OO-nah MOHS-kah BYAHN-kah) β†’ To be a rare bird

πŸ—£οΈ In questo ufficio, trovare un collega competente Γ¨ come trovare una mosca bianca. (In this office, finding a competent colleague is like finding a rare bird.)

Essere in giro (EH-sseh-reh een JEE-roh) β†’ To be around

πŸ—£οΈ Non so dove sia mio cugino, ma penso che sia in giro per la cittΓ . (I don't know where my cousin is, but I think he's around the city.)

Essere una testa calda (EH-sseh-reh OO-nah TEH-stah KAHL-dah) β†’ To be a hothead

πŸ—£οΈ Mio fratello Γ¨ sempre stato una testa calda. (My brother has always been a hothead.)

Essereun pesce fuor d'acqua (EH-sseh-reh oon PEH-sheh fwohr DAH-kwah) β†’ To feel out of place

πŸ—£οΈ Non conosco nessuno qui, mi sento come un pesce fuor d'acqua. (I don't know anyone here, I feel like a fish out of water.)

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