Italian-Idiomatic-Expressions-01 Flashcards
Italian-to-English-Expressions
crollare sotto le torture
to break under torture
dare dell’idiota a qualcuno
to call somebody an idiot / to call someone an idiot
fare un figlio
to have a child
fare silenzio
to keep silent / to be quiet
fare uno sforzo
to make an effort
fare una sosta
to break a journey / to take a break / to make a stop
fare lo stupido
to play the fool
scoppiare a ridere
to burst out laughing
scoppio dal caldo
I’m boiling
scoppiare uno scandalo
to break a scandal
scoppiare a piangere
to burst out crying
scoppiare in singhiozzi
to burst out sobbing
scoppiare un palloncino
to burst a balloon
spezzare il cuore
to break the heart
tenerci
to value / to hold dear
domare un cavallo
to break in a horse / to tame a horse
fare attenzione
to watch out / to be careful / to make sure / to pay attention
fare il bucato
to do the laundry
fare casino
to make a noise / to make a mess / to make trouble
fare un complimento
to pay a compliment
fare la doccia
to shower / to have a shower
fare un favore
to do a favour
fare un giro
to take a ride / to take a spin / to take a tour / to do a tour
fare una passeggiata
to go for a stroll / to go for a walk / to take a walk / to take a stroll / to have a walk
fare le pulizie
to do the cleaning
fare uno sbaglio
to make a mistake
fare un viaggio
to take a journey / to make a journey / to take a trip
scoppiare una bolla
to burst a bubble
scoppiare uno pneumatico
to blow a tyre / to burst a tyre
comunicare una notizia
to break the news
entrarci
to matter / to be relevant / to have to do with something
fare un passo
to take a step
fare un pisolino
to take a nap / to have a nap
fare il proprio dovere
to do one’s duty
prendere parte
to take part
rendersi conto
to realise / to realize
rompere il cellulare
to break the phone / (mobile)
rompere una gamba
to break a leg
rompere un rapporto
to break a relationship
scoppiare una bomba
to explode a bomb / to blow up a bomb
sono pieno da scoppiare
I’m fit to burst / I’m bursting at the seams / I am fit to burst / I am bursting at the seams / I am full to bursting
venire meno a una promessa
to break a promise
correre un rischio
to take a risk / to run a risk
correre il rischio
to run the risk / to take the risk
fare affari
to do business
fare amicizia
to make friends
fare un discorso
to make a speech
fare un esame
to take an exam
fare una foto
to take a photo
fare una gita
to have an outing / to make a trip / to take a trip
fare un incidente
to have an accident
fare un’offerta
to make an offer
fare i piatti
to do the dishes
fare il finto tonto
to play dumb
liberarsi da un’abitudine
to break a habit
mi scoppia la testa
my head is pounding
rimetterci
to lose out
rompere le palle a qualcuno
to irritate somebody / to annoy somebody / to irritate someone / to annoy someone
avercela con qualcuno
to have it in for somebody / to have it in for someone
cedere il posto
to give up one’s seat
farcela
to manage to do / to cope / to succeed
fare un bagno
to take a bath / to have a bath
fare una chiacchierata
to have a chat
fare una festa
to have a party
fare un intervallo
to take a break / to have an intermission
fare una partita
to have a game / (sport)
fare un sogno
to have a dream
mancare alla parola
to break one’s word
scoppiare in lacrime
to burst into tears
scoppiare una guerra
to break out a war / to start a war
scoppiare un’epidemia
to break out an epidemic
scoppiare un incendio
to break out a fire
scoppiare una lite
to break out a quarrel
accorgersene
to realize it / to realise it / to notice it / to become aware of it
approfittarsene
to take advantage of / to exploit
cavarsela
to get by / to manage / to muddle through / to get off lightly
lavarsene le mani
to wash one’s hands of something
legarsela al dito
to bear a grudge against somebody / to bear a grudege against someone
mettercela tutta
to do everything you can possibly do
metterci
to take time / (used in personal sense)
passarsela bene
to have a good time in life / to be doing well
prendersela con qualcuno per qualcosa
to get offended with someone over something
sbrigarsela
to finish something / to handle it / to manage it
sentirsela
to feel capable of doing something
smetterla
pack it in / knock it off / stop it ; (imperative)
spassarsela
to have a ball / to have a great time
vedersela brutta
to be saved by a miracle / to have a lucky escape / to have a narrow escape
volerci
to be needed / to take a certain amount of time / (generally used 3rd person - It takes …)
volercene
to take / to want ; (ie to take a lot of effort / patience / etc .. to do something or to really want to do something)
a chi tocca?
whose turn is it?
avere fiducia in qualcuno
to trust somebody / to have faith in somebody / to trust someone / to have faith in someone
essere fuori di sé
to be beside oneself / to be furious
essere a secco
to be out of money / to run dry
fare due passi
to take a walk / to take two steps
farsi le ossa
to gain experience
farsi in quattro
to work very hard
fare quattro chiacchiere
to have a chat / to have a little chat
prima di
before
tenere duro
to hold on / to not give up
un tipo in gamba
a smart person / a capable person
una buona forchetta
a foodie / a lover of food / a hearty eater
un buontempone
a good time person / a fun loving person
un campanilista
a parochial minded person
un casinista / un pasticcione
a scatterbrain
un fanfarone / uno spaccone
a boaster
imbroccarla giusta
to hit the nail on the head
un menagramo
a jinx
un musone
a sulker / a moper
un ruffiano
a pimp / a panderer / a ruffian
sono contento di
I am content to
sono felice di
I am happy to
un attaccabottoni
a bore / a drone
a bizzeffe
in abundance
a bruciapelo
at point-blank / point-blank
un burlone / un mattacchione
a practical joker
un cialtrone
a scoundrel / a rascal / a slob
un dormiglione
a sleepyhead
un golosone
a gourmand / (someone who has a sweet tooth)
un impiccione / un ficcanaso
a busybody / a snooper / a nosy parker
un piantagrane
a troublemaker
un pivello
a newcomer / a greenhorn
un rompiscatole
a pain in the neck / a pest
uno scansafatiche
a lazybones / a shirker / a slacker
un voltagabbana
a turncoat
a casa del diavolo
at the back of beyond / in the middle of nowhere
a casaccio
haphazardly / at random
a cuor leggero
light heartedly
cogliere qualcuno alla sprovvista
to catch somebody off guard / to catch someone off guard ; (unawares, off balance)
correre a gambe levate / scappare a gambe levate
to make a dash for it / to beat a hasty retreat
a macchia d’olio
like wildfire
a malincuore
reluctantly
mano a mano
gradually / little by little
mano nella mano
hand in hand
a occhio e croce
more or less / roughly
a pennello
perfectly / to perfection
ridere a crepapelle
to laugh until one’s sides ache
a rotoli
downhill / to the dogs
a sbafo / a scrocco / a ufo
at someone else’s expense / scrounging
a squarciagola
at the top of one’s voice
a tu per tu
face to face
avere la faccia tosta
to be cheeky
avere fegato
to have guts
avere le mani bucate
to be a spendthrift
avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto
to be blinkered
cercare un ago in un pagliaio
to look for a needle in a haystack
cogliere in flagranza
to catch red-handed / to catch in the act
a denti stretti
through gritted teeth
la disponibilità
the means / the resources / the assets / the supplies / the availability / the accessibility
essere al verde
to be broke
un fancazzista / un fannullone
a lazybones
fare il filo
to have the hots for / to fancy
mangiare la foglia
to get wise to / to catch on to / to get the hang of
un maschilista
a male chauvinist
un menefreghista
a self-centred person / a person who could not care less / someone who could not care less / somebody who could not care less
mi sono cascate le braccia
I could have wept
mordersi la lingua
to bite one’s tongue
prendere due piccioni con una fava
to kill two birds with one stone
prendere sotto gamba
to underestimate / to devalue
ripercuotersi
to effect / to have repercussions on
uno sciovinista
a jingoistic person
uno stacanovista
an eager beaver
tenere il piede in due scarpe
to be indecisive
verificarsi
to prove to be / to happen / to occur / to take place
accorgersi di
to notice / to become aware
ammettere di
to admit to / (doing something)
avere bisogno di
to need to / to have need of
avere il diritto di
to have the right to / (do something)
avere intenzione di
to intend to / to have the intention of / (doing something)
avere paura di
to be afraid of / to be afraid to
avere il tempo di
to have the time to / (do something)
avere voglia di
to want to / (do something)
cercare di
to try to / to seek to / to look to / (do something)
chiedere di
to ask about / to ask for
confessare di
to confess to / (doing something)
credere di
to believe / (someone doing something)
decidere di
to decide to / (do something)
dimenticarsi di
to forget to / (do something) ; (followed by inf)
dire di
to say / (as in to say yes/no)
dubitare di
to doubt / (something or someone)
evitare di
to avoid / (doing something)
fingere di
to pretend to / (do something)
finire di
to finish / (doing something)
immaginare di
to imagine / (doing something)
impedire di
to prevent / (someone from)
innamorarsi di
to fall in love with / (somebody)
lamentarsi di
to complain about / (someone, something or doing something)
negare di
to deny / (having done something)
ordinare di
to order / (to do something)
parlare di
to talk about / (someone, something or doing something)
pensare di
to have an opinion about / to think about ; (doing something)
permettere di
to make it possible to / to allow / to permit ; (someone to do something)
piantarla di
to stop doing something / to pack it in
pregare di
to pray to / to beg for / to ask ; (someone to do something)
preoccuparsi di
to worry about / (someone, something or doing something)
pretendere di
to claim to / to expect to / to pretend to ; (do something)
proibire di
to prohibit / (doing something)
promettere di
to promise to / (do something)
ricordarsi di
to remember to
rifiutarsi di
to refuse to / (do something)
scusarsi di
to apologise for / to apologize for /(doing something)
sforzarsi di
to make an effort to / (do something)
smettere di
to stop / (doing something)
sognare di
to dream about / to dream of / (something or doing something)
sperare di
to hope to
suggerire di
to suggest
temere di
to fear
tentare di
to attempt to / to try to
terminare di
to terminate / to cease / to stop / (doing something)
vergognarsi di
to be ashamed of
vietare di
to forbid
abituarsi a
to get used to
accompagnare a
to accompany
aiutare a
to help
andare a rotoli
to go downhill / to be ruined / to go to pot
arrivare a
to arrive at / to get to / to reach / to manage to
cominciare a
to begin to / to commence
continuare a
to continue / to continue to
convincere a
to persuade / to convince / (someone to)
correre a
to rush to / to run to / to hurry
costringere a
to compel / to force / (someone to)
credere a
to believe in
decidersi a
to make up one’s mind to / to resolve to
divertirsi a fare qualcosa
to enjoy doing something / to have fun doing something
entrare a
to enter
fare in tempo a
to make it / to have time to
fermarsi a
to stop oneself
giocare a
to play / ( sport)
imparare a
to learn to / (do something)
incoraggiare a
to encourage / (someone to)
iniziare a
to start to / to begin to
insegnare a
to teach / (someone)
interessarsi a
to be interested in / to take an interest in / to have an interest in
invitare a
to invite / (someone to)
mandare a
to send / (something to someone)
mettersi a
to get down to / to start to / to resolve to
partecipare a
to participate in
pensare a
to think about ; (remember something) / to reflect
preparare a
to prepare to
prepararsi a fare qualcosa
to get ready to do something
provare a
to endeavour to / to try to / to try
restare a
to stay to
rinunciare a
to give up / to quit / to renounce
riuscire a
to succeed to / to succeed in / to manage to
salire a
to come up / to go up
sbrigarsi a
to hurry to / to get a move on
sorridere a
to smile at
telefonare a
to telephone
tornare a
to return to
uscire a
to go out to
venire a
to come to
amare
to love / to like
desiderare
to desire / to wish / to want
dovere
to have to
fare
to do / to make
lasciare
to leave / to let / to allow
piacere
to please / to like
mi piace
I like
potere
to be able
preferire
to prefer
sapere
to know / (a fact)
volere
to want
