I cant find the word WYUN pronounced WHY-OON anywhere. Recall that French domination of southern Italy lasted a long time and resulted in the introduction of new words that were not part of the lexicon of the Florentine dialect. Thanks for putting this together. Wouldnt know any other way. It is used like Hey man! as greeting between mates. I have another question- know this isnt the right place to post it, but how and where on this page do I start a new comment or question? Another one: A duva jisti? But then back then, guess bastard was bad. al of them are correct and all italian families talk like that. Fun to see scola pasta here. Chickery chick, chala chala, checkalaromi in the bananica, pollicowolica cant you see, chickerchick is me I supplied the punctuation and excuse my phonics. Never learned Proper Italian cause of the dialect speaking. Oo vidi?. Thats the way my Dad (Elmont, LI by way of Lower Manhattan) pronounced it and the only way my brother and I know how to say it, There are many instances where southern Italian dialects substitute the sound [b] for [p] and [d] for [t], in addition to the vowel [u] for [o]. Laposta. Italians are the descendents of Germanic (Indo-European) tribes ultimately, from the Ukraine, just like the Greeks, Germans, Slavs, Celts. My mother used to say one that I still cannot find. You will learna to speaka English Papa said: -ah-speth-a-mee-notes (wait a minute) I had absolutely no idea there was Italian slang for american guido. [EE-dee-GAA-noesh], facciabrutt ugly face (faccia brutta) [FA-chuh-broot], faccia di katzo ball face (faccia di cazzo) [FAA-chaa-dee-KAA-tsoe], facciadu/faccia du two faced (facce due) [faatch-aa-DOO], facciu fridda its cold (fa freddo) [FAA-choo-FREE-daa], fugeddaboudit forget about it (forget about it), fanabola!/vanabola! My mom said because it made the whites as bright as the moon. Gavedelle = oval shaped hard cookies with a slight topping of crushed nuts. It was pronounced beet-ah-bahn-ya. Very useful advice within this article! means someone who talks too much. Thanks, Geralyn Giese. (la sorella!/tua sorella ( una putana)!) meaning when someone starts up about something. | Privacy Settings, (=da sempre) since the beginning of the world : since the beginning of time ; since the world began ; from time immemorial ; always, good luck ; fingers crossed ; break a leg. Get results from both the General dictionary and the Collaborative one through one single interface! The official Collins English-Italian Dictionary online. My grandfather said it all the time. I studied French, Italian and Spanish. (come si chiama?) This is just a hunch, but I believe the word you heard was most likely a version of the official Italian word dissapita (something bland and unappealing). A fact that embarasses me since I grew up in Italian neighborhoods in northern NJ.). Growing up in central Long Island during the 1970s, I heard many of these expressions and although Im not Italian-American I incorporated them into my daily tongue. As others have pointed out, the letter C at the beginning of a word turns into a G. I would ask my dad how to say something in Italian and he would do one of four things: come out with the proper word, come out with a Sicilian dialect pronunciation of the standard Italian word, come out with an entirely different word (such as the above mentioned smozzatudda), or come out with the English-Italian- Sicilian gumbo mixture. Oh YES! Best part were not Italian at all! im wanting this for a tattoo my email address is mmsassie@yahoo.com Figs were jarred and used to make delicious Xmas and Easter cookies! Bungaline = Clorox bleach So many of the comparisons here to standard Italian are really comparisons between two different dialects. sugu= spaghetti sauce, My family used the term mangia-cake, which is a cake eater. Anyone have a clue? Colin McIntosh, Editor In the 19th and early 20th century they were sort of like Italys Texas oil barrons. Think of it somewhat like Hawaii and the US in that Hawaii also has its own history different from mainland US. In one sense, a Canadian is an American as much as any New Yorker. Bacigalupo is an Italian surname, and it was the name of a character on the old Abbott & Costello TV show who was a clownish sort of Chico Marx stereotype, although he was much shrewder than Chico. Many Italians from the mainland did not consider Sicilians as real Italians. sincerely yours. My grandfather was from Naples and he would sing to his grandchildren the following song: Depends on how he pronounced it and in what context. I have a hunch go-vah-go-vah-gah may be a variant of vaffanculo? I remember waking up on Xmas Day and running downstairs with my cousins to eat left-over home made pizza! The entire song is made up of corrupted Italian words. I took a DNA test and was surprised to learn that most Sicilians (including myself) have significant Middle Eastern, Spanish, Greek & N African DNA. It includes over 96,000 definitions and more than 112,000 examples from real-life use, plus extensive coverage of etymologies, subject classifications, and regional variations. Maybe Porca miseria. Literally, Miserable sow, but really more like, shit, or, dammit, or a slap to the forehead with an eye roll. Italian slang for lazy person with a small dick. To mean stomic pains and food coming back up. Also, scasciad (ska-shaad) meant messy, disorganized, shitty, screwed up. The person has almost nothing. oh btw thanks again for this site I have been wondering over 60 years what the words were that Mother used now at least I know some! Remember that [t] in official Italian is often replaced by the sound [d]. youre an expert on this subject. Italians. LOL, my mother used to say that all the time too as well as ti potza schiatta la vasheeg( vescica may your bladder burst) and potz yetta la cheed ( la aceto may you vomit vinegar). 7 years in Brooklyn was an education for which I should have gotten 2 years of college credits, that is after the first year of shock and acclimating. Ralphie. Quanto costa? Native Italian speakers generally use avere l'alitosi to mean "to have bad breath.". Another is caca!! Anyone ever heard the term ska-sha-BONG to mean a jalopie or crappy car? place in drainer (ma che bella) [maa-KAY-bell], ma che quest? Also sha-woo-dad meant all messed up and sloppy or falling apart. ), I got called a horses KNOCK-you plenty of times (prolly ass or penis? ) or Sicilan or half and half. And a favorite VAFRITT-go fry! These Italian profanities expand on the ever increasing resources of colloquial language found on this silly website, which includes British Slang, Australian Slang, Irish Slang, Russian, French . Normans and other Nordic types also spent time in that neck of the woods ergo blonde hair, blue eyes. Vecha Strega my aunts crazy mean mother-in-law, or old witch., lots of these are non-sense for me and im italian , gita schlamorta gita mort You ought to die spitting blood.. ( a very bad curse), fanabola te parida angula sord Your father and your sister should burn in hell together (another bad curse), fanabola te parida angula sord bascially to hell with your father and your sisters ass also. I am sure I spelled it wrong but I thought that was the word for fart until I was older.I grew with a lot of slang Italian words. Spacone meaning flashy person (guido/mob wife type). Im glad you mentioned Staten Island. I still use them quite regularly You will hear these words in areas where southern Italian immigrants settled. Thus the customs, food preparation, and language vary widely. (stai zitto) [stah-tuh-JEET], stendinz intestines/guts (inglese: intestines) [stehn-DEENZ], stugots/stugats f___ it (questo cazzo/questu cazzu/stu cazzu) [stoo-GAATS], struppiau extremely dimwitted (stupido) [stroo-pee-YAOW], stuppiau very dimwitted (stupido) [stoo-pee-YAOW], stuppiad dimwitted (stupido) [stoo-PEE-yaad], suprasa/suprasad type of salami (soppressata) [soo-praa-SAAD], ti voglio benassai I love you so much (ti voglio bene) [tee-VOAL-yo-TROAP-aa-SAI], un ada oda another time (un altra volta/un altra ora) [oon-AA-daa-O-daa], ue, goombah! (chissa?) It was a real blast from the past. (with cent sound like chent). . This will be the official hub of everything related to AmericanItalian. watch out, youre gonna get hurt! Dont forgetbasnigol which is Italian slang for basil! Does anyone recognize this word and description, or something like it? I am just reading this now and it is brining back lots of memoires of my grandparents. Love love love this dictionary- helped me to remember some of the terms that were forgotten once my grandparents had gone! The word can also be used as a verb, meaning "to chestnut," or "to brown.". If someone from Spain tries to talk to me, I say: Im sorry, I dont speak Portugese and they ask me if I speak Spanish because they are speaking Spanish and not Portugese. I recently visited Italy and it warmed my heart to hear some southern Italians speaking to each other in my parents tongue. Does anyone know what it means and the possible spelling? drop 2 or 3 slices at a time into the vinegar for about 5 seconds day is de? where i guess they curse the dead? . shit! I think it was the word from dialect of Neaples Guagli, or Uagli this second is exactly pronounced like the capital letters Y E O) and means boy, kid . aneddu. She cursed the spaghettis sisters face. In university I learned the official Italian word was basilico (with the second syllable stressed). WordReference. shame on you! usually shouted as she waved a wooden spoon at us. I remember a lot of them, and if interest is still here, I can post them. The site offers two English-Italian dictionaries: The WordReference English-Italian Dictionary Darlene, I knew how to phonetically say fart in middle class italian [scoreggio] and in sicilian it is [pirito]. This was used for a meal that was just thrown together by a medigan. It was never used a compliment. Youre logged in. cave crush jam mash overwhelm pinch press push down smash squash squeeze squelch swat (ma che cozzo fai?!) You gotta remember Gabbagul is more of an Italo-American dialect that has evolved over 100yrs. 2.PieryallahmeeZzeryia or Manayeeaha LA Mizeria Per la Miseria. SCHIACCIARE.. doo-ya-vach (two-faced person) Most Popular Phrases in English to Italian Communicate smoothly and use a free online translator to translate text, words, phrases, or documents between 90+ language pairs I so enjoyed reading through this! Thanks! It has been shaped and molded into a vocabulary that was more . my ex brother in law ! Rege mangia love (The king eats eggs?!) I love that you mention gagutz. She would voice this all in one complete long senetnce: Go VAH-go vah-GAH, SCUDdy vah DAY-stah, BRUCE-t-cahDOANia, miz-diablo, voo-TAHN-noo-SHAKE-oo (might be scutty, day-stah = testa = head? HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. I also write travel stories. Ti do uno schiaffa in tua faccia, se non ti smettila. Imagine how it was for our grandparents and great-grandparents when they first came here not knowing a word of English. (Pardon my spelling Im doing this phonetically). Today the official language of Italian republic was once the dialect of Florentine raised to national status. Like, You put that cookie (bish-gawt) in your pocket and now its all in moo-nates. Thanks. I have since found out what it means:-( Sorry, I really wasnt trying to be vulgar. gibone possibly from the French gibbon( monkey ) meaning a jerk. Sicily was also a Norman kingdom, Sicilians have viking blood. Ts and Ds seem to get interchanged often too. scasciata I believe translates to ruined or destroyed or broken down scasciabanga applied as you say to a jalopie could be an American-Italian word. For capo fresco i came up with fresh head with google translate. So there you have it, now you can call someone a fart in two italian dialects. Makes it hard to learn proper Italian, because the voice recognition programs keep correcting me! Strumbalad = mixed up person Mi fa cagare! be quiet! Very good to read. The va, fa, and culo were drawn out with the cu in culo given an extra emphasis. An important part of Italian American identity, the Italian language has been widely spoken in the United States of America for more than one hundred years, due to large-scale immigration beginning in the late 19th century. It soon spread to many Italian communities across cities and metropolitan areas in both the U.S. and Canada. A real treat to see in print again (after many years) expressions I heard growing up in West New York, Hudson Co. How about engood-a-sorda your sisters ass. Saluti! One time grandma Jennie wanted the scolapasta and i didnt know what she wanted..She said you know macaroni stop, water go!. quante mosseliterally translates to how or so many movements ? indicating a probable dramatic exaggeration of some sort either in response or reaction to some stimulus. ring. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holders. - the Blessed Virgin Mary, not We have made every effort to mark as such all words which we believe to be trademarks. But think about if you added some great visuals or videos to give I remember these words from while growing up (Italian neighborhood in Jersey). Scudada = a rash on your butt (it hurt real bad) [WAAR-daa], uarda la ciunca! This site starts at the very beginning of the dictionary, and makes me scroll down through the entire comments section. (fa ti cazzi tuoi) [FAA-tee-GAA-tee-doo-yay], fattu napiridu I farted [FAA-too-naa-pee-REE-doo] (ho fatto napiridu), ffangul! Hope this is helpful! In a small pot boil vinegar (3 parts vinegar plus 1 part water) So maybe youre serach never stop . It all made for a very rich gravy. [seh-SEHN-taa-FAA-may], sfacimm bad person (sfacimma) [SVAH-CHEEM] [svaa-CHEEM], sfogliadell italian pastry (sfogliatella) [SHVOHL-ya-dell], sciaquadell whore (sciacquata) [shock-wa-DELL], scumbari disheveled (scumbari) [shkoom-baa-REE], sigilian Sicilian (siciliano) [sih-jeel-YAAN], spasciad/scasciad not talking (to someone) (spacciato/spasciau) [spaa-SHAAD], spustad/spostat spaced out(spostato) [spoo-STAAD], stanna mabaych son of a b- (mispronounced son of a b-) [STAA-naa-maam-BAYCH], statagitt!/stagitt!/staizitt!/staizii! Thats Abruzzese dialect also means lazy, sloppy. (che cazzo fai?) Id definitely change it. One of my great aunts, after a meal, always said, Per la bocca, meaning she wanted just a little taste of something sweet to finish, For the mouth.. Just imagine how who long it took to save for the voyage, and not knowing what was ahead without the luxury of Television, News, Weather Reports, Magazines, or Newspapers! It is simply how the vernacular language came to be spoken in that area on account of the surrounding influences. [aa-WOON-duh], aunda ciunca/awunda chunka? I also seen laca (?) . They lived at first in St. Anthonys parish below Greenwich Village, then in the west 30s around 9th ave. My mother, born 1907, was the ninth of eleven children and didnt speak much Italian but words she did sometimes use were Neopolitan dialect. Her family is from Northern Italy and insists that Tuscano is proper Italian. like umbriago which means no good drunker. Also remember some of those actors were not Italians and they were trying to speak proper New York Napuledan. amore a prima vista exp. To North American speakers, the Italian [t] sound resembles our North American I guess yachetone is midway between english and italian! The original post mentioned spusada whereas you are referring to the phonetic pronunciation spusdada (variation of official Italian spostata). I think the spelling of many of the words is up for debate, because they really are primarily spoken. Ronnie- as for the word, eegatz- I wonder if thats where Americans get our expression, eegads! I have no idea, just thinking. I also remember the coal man w/ the chain drive truck, the junk man w/ the horse (w/ the bells around his belly) cart, the ice man, the eggman (w/ the push cart), all were Italian. And the simple meal of macaroni and beans sounded something like basta vasool rather than pasta e fagioli. ass? one very important word to add is goulee! I too have heard this, or a variation of this phrase. Thanks a lot. In Italian: Se ne sono andati. Vi ringrazare dal fondo del mio cuore. This word was used a lot in my Sicilian household, miss-keen-ah or mischina..basically a pathetic person. My grandpa was the only who could speak Neapolitan, so other family members dropping the ce from dice makes sense. Lol. This site I would rate excelllent! Our pronunciation help, synonyms, usage and grammar tips set the standard. The clearness in your post is just great and i could assume Also, reading this had made me inexplicably hungry. (kind of similar to our English word buffet, likely of French origin). Thats how it sounded when she said it you probably have the spelling right.she would say it playfully not really sure what it means. : means: They left. My mom, dad, and friends rarely spoke proper Italian, but spoke a combination of slang, dialect, corrupted []. (ma che cosa questo?) Have yet to make the trip,but on my bucket list. Also try all the other free bilingual PONS online dictionaries available on this site. Ah the cheche, I never heard this outside of my family . My own perception of what my Calabrese parents were saying was something akin to pruvulun(e) (official Italian provolone). In Italian: Dove sei andato? Learn more. Imagine a whole state where everyone appreciates pasta vazool in gravy and the joys of ravioli night, where bakeries dont close Sundays but on Mondays, where most people understand these words even with Lois Griffin accents And the office assistants pronounced your name right when you get called to the office in high school. Whenever they toast, they say, Salute per cent anni. (Pronounced, salutee per chento anni. I had the same problem with Spanish. Plus, you have the Chicago influence of other Italians so I think a lot of these words and phrases were influenced by the city in which these people lived. I havent yet read every word in the comments but I will, when I have time. Correct my second possibility which would be HALF SAID = META DI DETTA. Interestingly, my husband, Russian Jew, grew up with the same treat, and it was called MandelbrotAlmond Bread. If you add peppers drop them in the boiling vinegar. Youre logged in. bam! Eegats is possibly English-to-Italian, like baccausa., Ye gods and little fishes is the English expression. After all, the Florentine language itself was only a dialect until it became elevated to official national status. And, my son, after going to college and living in Manhattan for a few years picked on me for my use of the Italian-American forms of everyday Italian words. Everyone Ive ever known was either Neopalitan (I always thought the spelling was Napolitan, and yes, I do know how to pronounce it. Everything started with a G instead of a C, like gavatel instead of cavatelli. Crazy was POT-see. 2023 Bocelli, the famed Italian tenor, sponsors an annual scholarship at London's Royal College of Music. Your site is extremely helpful. You may be referring to ma certo, meaning but of course. Do you have a good translation for Oofah!, Meenchia! gavone to cavone, statagitt to statazitt, etc.) A woman on Story Corps remembered going shopping for a colander with her Italian grandmother (who spoke no English) as a little girl. I thought my mother was cool at the time, but now as I look back a realize how much I missed not being able to speak Italian so I especially appreciate your work on these interpretations. Jesus! italians say Oh mio Dio or Dio mio Ges or Madonna! and sometimes even mamma mia! , Actually, my mother would say Madonna Mia My Mother. Like, I ordered the zupa-da-pashe at that new restaurant on the avenue and it was nothing but un-gwike-ya. Lastly, what about coo-baad?, the feeling of being cramped or in a tight space. Or at least something to that effect lol. Yes I remember grandma told us about the pissa pot.when we had no money she used to say we dont have a pot to piss in.still dont. (fa ti cazzi tuoi) [FAA-tee-GAA-tee-doo-yay], fattu napiridu I farted [FAA-too-naa-pee-REE-doo] (ho fatto napiridu), ffangul! Italian spelling does not use certain letters such as k and j and w and x. It was developed andspoken in tightly-knit Italian communities and neighborhoods. It sounded like GWOT-city-BEP. (ma che cozzo fai?!) Oh, and Sicily was, like Naples, part of (classical) Greece for centuries. a rege mangia lova Great job. American Italian perhaps is often even more apt than Italian American in describing this wonderful language of the immigrants and their children that we will do well to hold on to as an American cultural treasure. Welcome to the English-Italian Dictionary on WordReference. They give you gatz, or ga gatz. meaning nothing. If you visit Italy and Sicily and talk to those who went to university you will learn alot. They never say la its always just a. I grew up in Brooklyn and love this list! [FWEE-dee-DOW-goo], gabbadost/gab a tost hardhead (capa dura/capa tosta), gabbagul/gabbagool type of meat/food/idiot/fool (capicola/capocollo/capacolla) [gaa-baa-GOOL], gabbaruss/gab a russ redhead (capo rosso) [gaa-baa-ROOS], gabbadeegats/capa di cazz ball face (capo di cazzo) [gaa-baa-dee-GATS], gabish?/capish?/gabisc? Cant begin to tell you how wonderful it is to have found this site. This is the Italian I grew up with! These I know. Due to local influences, the dialects spoken by immigrants to North America have evolved quite differently from the original Calabrese dialects in southern Italy. Hey, maybe it was the Bronx/Yonkers version LOL!!! It is important to remember that the dialects were typically handed down orally from one generation to another, as they have been since Roman times. My Dad used to have a saying and im trying to get spelling. Best Italian-Italian Dictionary: Treccani. I find this very entertaining. CIAO e. TUTTO POSTO. Really nice job! But it was a Zi they were saying the Aunt. (sei senti fame?) Thats the spatter that happens when youre frying bacon. Dont ask me where those words came from, but we used them all the time. Kind of Americanized. Second generation Sicilian-American from from Caldwell in Essex County, New Jersey. I wonder how many of the Sicilian words are influenced by the ethnic history of Sicily. Naples dialect. Omgthese words are words I grew up with!!!!!! Francesca Moy, PASSWORD English-Italian Learner's Dictionary 2014 K DICTIONARIES LTD. KERNERMAN SEMI-BILINGUAL DICTIONARIESBased on the semi-bilingual approach to lexicography for foreign language learners developed by Lionel Kernerman. Its all shaquad! (At which point, one of her studentsa recent transfer from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrinasaid, Hey! I was told many early Italian immigrants worked as laborers for contractors. (andiamo!) Have also heard it unkindly applied to peoplenot nice ! Everyone is passed away and I have no idea how to do this. zudiccie? also i like the italian words there really cool. Our neighborhood centered around our church and school and was settled mostly by the mezzogiorno immigrants from the southern regions and between 1900 and 1920. fuocu mio means = my fire! hows it going? They lived on the East Side of Cleveland, the Woodland area I think. But maronna mia is not My God but my blessed mother or Our Lady it is madonna mia where madonna refers to the Madonna, the Blessed Virgin Mary, not the singer! lick the jewel. I have spent many hours thru the years trying to find the words and phrases I heard as a kid . There are more words, but I hope these bring back memories. Centanni is the right spelling in Italian and it meanshundred years . Very few people at the time had indoor plumbing and homes had outhouses in the back. Second, each person had a different influence from English, and that also makes it different, with the result that the dialect spoken in the US obviously differs in some things with the same dialect spoken in Southern Italy. Cu vinne? I was recommended this web site through my cousin. Another popular phrase that I grew up with was to say when seeing someone, Wai-i-o? (Literally pronounce, Y-E-O). be quiet! Good work! Anyone hear capo fresco or fresh head? annuiari. Firsr looked up poltergeist presenza demonica no correlarion there. Ar jun a stomic pain like in GERD time to take tums lol (la sorella!/tua sorella ( una putana)!) Used in anger, it translated, Death to your family! It is easy to see how compare in official Italian gets repeated as goomba, the [k] sound becomes [g] and the vowel [o] becomes prounced as a [u] (written here as oo). Im writing a paper for a linguistic anthropology class about my familys linguistic features and the lexicon on this page is helping me tremendously! Where did your fathers family come from? (ue, compare!) I cant believe it! It was the meat on my plate which I did not like to eat. Nice to know I am remembering it the way my grandparents said it. Its a fun way to address someone you like. Grazie. WordReference also has an extensive Italian verb conjugator. I actually heard a bus driver on capri say this, and he pronouced it the same way. I grew up in Brooklyn in the 70s and 80s and am half Italian: Napolitano and Calabrese. In some areas its used to describe someone unusually skinny, pedophilia, and I've even heard homosexual. a pietz would be la pizza in this restaurant I go to here in Giessen, Germany they feature spaghetti a matriciana a dish from Matricia. I have heard that word countless times growing up. . Im agonizing over this! You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [vee-dee-kaa-CHOON-kaa], walyun/wayo/guaglion/guaglio young man (guaglione) [waal-YOON], uarda/warda look! The PONS Italian - English online dictionary is a free online resource for everybody.