Tony uses this is one episode, when hes watching a Mickey Rooney movie. This Italian dictionary provides comprehensive coverage of the language as it is spoken and written around the world. My family said ah jh na. Anyone ever heard the term ska-sha-BONG to mean a jalopie or crappy car? ), and the bravest ones came out here. Or the curse Che te potz e shcattar? . My mom said because it made the whites as bright as the moon. But two I didnt see: These three dialects are quite similar among them, most of the time there are only slight fonetic differences in these idiomatic expressions from one dialect to another, while the differences with standard italian are more relevant. Very useful advice within this article! I put together several videos of my family explaining the meaning of various Italian-American slang words (all my Grandparents born in Sicily and now families mainly based in NY/NJ area), and it is good to see some cross-referencing here! Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. In many southern Italian dialects the vowel [o] is replaced by [u], so it makes perfect sense for there to be a connection between sposata and spusada. All rights reserved. When my wife and I were first married we lived in a Ponte neighborhood and we all had vegetable gardens. TUTTO A POSTO.! Stunador stonato is still heard very very frequently and is used as the equivalent of our American English term stoned..meaning as you correctly indicate out of itor dazed. We grew up hearing bedda matri mia, not mamma mia. I know now that this was a leftover from Arabic, a Sicilian dialect thing. R everso offers you the best tool for learning English, the Italian English dictionary containing commonly used words and expressions, along with thousands of Italian entries and their English translation, added in the dictionary by our users. many thanks. Well with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. I may be mistaken about that, but that is what my grandfather used to tell me. Or if you cannot stand something. Each word has a history and there is no reason why a word in 2017 should have a counterpart in two dialects, especially if those words evolved from a different source. Of course I do not know the true spellings so I will try my best. Italian synonyms, Italian pronunciation, Italian translation, English dictionary definition of Italian. Get results from both the General dictionary and the Collaborative one through one single interface! You got it 100+% right, Manage a zutagil = Darn the mouse. Tuto fa-shad all messed up My mother wanted her children to be American first, so she would ask her brothers and sisters to please only speak English around the children. I also wonder if someone can tell me if I am spelling butan or butana right. hey, man! Also I think I seen it referring to stomach/belly/abdomen/lungs? This site starts at the very beginning of the dictionary, and makes me scroll down through the entire comments section. Italian greyhound (dog breed) piccolo levriero italiano nm: Italian horn n (amulet: wavy symbol) corno portafortuna nm: Italian Princess n: slang, pejorative (woman of Italian descent) italiana viziata nf: Nota: Descrizione ironica di donna di origine italiana, che sfoggia in modo insopportabile la sua etnia. Sonny calls Tom Hagan Tom-a-nooch before Sonny starts talking about the button-men he has on the street. Sciabo/sciaba = bland.. Change). a rege mangia lova I was raised in an Italian family (Naples & Sorrento) and my grandmother made them. I believe it meant ditzy or stupid. Avellino to be more precise. She would say mr. Shpillabeek. ocazze e ciuccio cu cucuzzille e love I hope this dialect doesnt die out. I was told it was a standard Italian greeting; my aunt went so far as to have her license plate changed to read Y-E-O! Greetings! Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. Wow, over a year ago, no matter. Ive bookmarked it for reference. Over 230,000 translations of current Italian and English. Im not sure what it meant, but I know it was not a compliment! becausa you wasa borna here ! Learn more. It was a real blast from the past. We pronounced it: [pee di too]. As for GWOT city BEP an Italian friend of mine has no idea. In Italian: la Zia. Italian language. She was napolitano we lived on long island. [vee-dee-kaa-CHOON-kaa], walyun/wayo/guaglion/guaglio young man (guaglione) [waal-YOON], uarda/warda look! Im third generation italian american and we still used some of these words growing up. Basta means enough (already), and your phonetic writing ched reminds me of cheet-o meaning be quiet already. I believe the post that I was responding to originally suggested that it was a death wish, something which I believe is not correct. What the hell did you pay for that? Come potete vedere, molte sono parole vicine al napoletano o comunque ai dialetti del sud. Anyone know anything about that? Me and my buddies here in South Philly are always talkin bout these here things and this lines up all kinds of stuff. Another observation kez a deech Whaddya say as a greeting. July 19, 2020. 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. Thanks you for all the work you put into it. Whenever they toast, they say, Salute per cent anni. (Pronounced, salutee per chento anni. For the ones performing professional translations from Italian to English, the specialized terms found in our dictionary are very helpful. ): stinking breath. You are correct with pichadu. Ar jun a stomic pain like in GERD time to take tums lol what is the slang word for toilet or bathroom? One thing to keep in mind is that there are at least three origins of the Italian language; the proper Italian, dialect specific to each region/municipality, and the bastardization of dialect we usually call Italian-American; which is the subject of this thread. My parents are from calabria, so I understand a lot of this terms. These people are sovanilla..its so boring! Very nice job! Hi Karen Sorry did not see your message until now a year later in 2016! The Italian verb would be Andare and Andiamo for Lets go. My family was from northern NJ in the Fort Lee area and i remember my grandmother and mother saying faccia dos too. Its usually used in the context of calling someone an idiot or something similar and was in common usage in Northern New Jersey in the 1970s-1990s (probably still is, but I dont live there anymore so I couldnt really say. ) When someone was upset with someone they said this. Do you have a good translation for Oofah!, Meenchia! iPhone. 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. You may be referring to ma certo, meaning but of course. No, dont believe it. His family slays toasts, Saluta for gen tanda ahna. (Phonetically speaking. [aa-WOON-duh], aunda ciunca/awunda chunka? iettasangu- a person who makes you spit blood.. This sure reminds me of our experience. It was love at first sight! As if it means heaven help me or whats with these idiots or something along those lines. Hope this is helpful! La Mal Ladrino who steals the cheese. And it can be used as dammit as well marrona, ma che buo?!. The language of those in power is always seen as standard. I too can confirm that in the southern or Calabrian dialect I heard the pronunciation that you described as cooloo. I know there is a ton that you dont have in there yet but I always waondered why my father and grand father would say Putiga when suprised or as if to say oh my god. | Privacy Settings. I had absolutely no idea there was Italian slang for american guido. Sounded something like parc-a ma-zel-ea usually said after someone was being stupid. Italian Translation of "American" | The official Collins English-Italian Dictionary online. or its variation in Ital. oh goodness thank you for this. Yes, Its probably Carminuccio, which is a diminutive or nickname for Carmine. fritatta (free-todd) egg sandwich. History is not static and the history of Sicily and southern Italy is very complex. We have a very rich heritage, a culture of strong families, establishing a better life for each new generation. What a fantastic, colorful and memorable childhood I had! My grandmother and mother made the fried dough in the shape of a donut and called them belly busters. I cant believe it! (awundi?) There is no valid reason for inserting the English name Jane at the end of andiamo. My grandpa always pronounces it cooloo. I have no idea if this is a standard Gabbagul word or if its just because he never learned to speak Italian. Oh YES! SCHIACCIARE.. Unless it depends on the region. btw: Its like nails on a chalk board when I hear people say man-i-cot-i, or bis-cot-i, rick-cotta, or pros-cute-oh. (a fa Napoli) [faa-NAA-boe-laa], fatti gatti due!/vatoli vatoli due! (andiamo) [aan-DOESH], aunda/awunda? dialect spusdada. [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 grandmother used to say (phonetically): Due sonno so betch, a tre non ghareeve: It meant two is too much and three wont reach, which was her way of saying something didnt make sense. For example, a champagne brunch with fingertip sandwiches would be a mangia-cake party. However, the absence of a [d] or a [t] after the first posters second [s] (check his spelling of spusada versus your spusdada) leads to me to believe that the corresponding word in official Italian is in fact sposata (married status of a female, for example on an Italian passport.). I guess some of these words and phrases are just ways that Italian Americans used to hang on to their heritage. Does anyone recall hearing a childrens song or rhyme with words that sound like this? Has anyone ever heard the word smozza tudda (pronounced smoe -tsah -TOO- dah) used for broccoli? We were in Philadelphia. Means: Where did you go? Thank you for these wonderful memories, some of which I still use today. Grazie a tutti coloro che sono venuti prima di noi e non dimenticate mai da dove vengono! day is de? Start creating a word list or do a quiz! Meaning, Mother Mary. A complaint. The WordReference English-Italian Dictionary is a living, growing dictionary. (vai a fare in culo) [faan-GOOL], fraggiol beans (fraggiole) [FRAA-joal], frittat/fritad fried egg dish (frittata) [fr-TAAD], fuidi dogu! My friend from Brooklyn tells me you dont get much real food on the West Coast either as hes currently living in San Francisco. Has anyone ever heard a spanking referred to as a scupalone? The there were the lombards (long-beards) who were more recent teutonic people up north. Another one: A duva jisti? 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. hey, man! watch out, youre gonna get hurt! My theory is that immigrant Italians would drop the vowel in an attempt to Americanize the words. Angelo, Karen, Shed use these when shed get mad at me or my brother, or at her husband. AND WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR DINNER? Im 1st generation from Brooklyn NY, I grew up hearing these words and phrases every day. So rather than a death wish (as you have suggested), it is an observation or commentary on an existing state of affairs. The languagewas prominent in United States cities on the East Coast, such as Newark, Paterson, New York City (especially Manhattan and Brooklyn), the cities of Long Island,Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston, but I am finding that it was spoken very similarly in the other regions of the US as well aspockets of Canada. (guarda la ciunca!) I grew up in Pittsburgh, and now live in Chicago, me and my amicci and familigia in both places still talk this way amongst ourselves. It is an awesome Italian/Italian-American networking site. Of course, none of my medigan teachers knew what I was saying! 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 . I grew up in that ny nj area and speaka da gabagool italian! Does it mean something (other than a last name). I know this is not how its spelled. Ti do uno schiaffa in tua faccia, se non ti smettila. As I got older I discovered that the vowels at the end of the Italian words I heard when I was growing are not silent but should actually be pronounced. I recently ran across an Italian whose last name is Stucatz. Great job. [kay-preh-KAA], chiove troppassai its raining very hard (fa piove molto) [KYOH-vay-TROAP-aa-SAI], cing-u-bezz/cing u bezz five dollars apiece (cinque un pezzo) [cheeng-oo-BETZ], colghioni/cogliones/gulgliones male anatomy (colghioni) [coal-YOANZ]/[gool-YOANZ], cornuto husband whose wife is unfaithful (cornuto) [coar-NOO-toe], cuore stuppau heart stopped (cuore stopped) [KWOAW-ray-staa-POW], ddojefacc/duyavatch two faced (due facce) [doo-ya-FAATCH], disgraziat dirtball (disgraziato) [dees-graats-ee-AAT], edi-conosc? when I was a kid, I used to joke that there must be something about living closer to the Equator making you drop the endings off words. dont embarass me!/stop embarrasing me! Laura. How was beata pronounced like be ata or as in English to beat? Somehow in any case, rightly or wrongly, it became my own belief that this was not a expression usually used in polite speech. To mean stomic pains and food coming back up. 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. Images for hundreds of entries. Never heard ming-ya-roll but a phrase we still use in my family is meeng-ya-moda, this refers to someone who tends to do things in a sloppy, lazy way. ), I got called a horses KNOCK-you plenty of times (prolly ass or penis? Thats Abruzzese dialect also means lazy, sloppy. Thanks for putting this together. My Dad used to have a saying and im trying to get spelling. The translation to English would be equivalent to may you live to be a hundred years old. My father and his comrades would migrate between English, Abruzzese and this fascinating dictionary listed above. Remember that [t] in official Italian is often replaced by the sound [d]. It was a little vinegary, but delicious! : Due to local influences, the dialects spoken by immigrants to North America have evolved quite differently from the original Calabrese dialects in southern Italy. You could have performed any formidable job and our whole local community will be thankful to you. I still use them quite regularly Italian grammar by Cristina Mazzoni. My mom, dad, and friends rarely spoke proper Italian, but spoke a combination of slang, dialect, corrupted []. Also, if it is a fork, it means it will be a woman. | 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. Without a repository for these words, they will likely be lost, as pidgin languages are difficult to sustain. What about BEE-shi or the long form BEE-sho-LEEN? Its a bit strange the way you wrote italian slang words and you catched very different dialects from different regions, but its a funny idea. With Reverso you can find the English translation, definition or synonym for American and thousands of other words. I always thought it meant nothing like the Italian word for mushrooms. Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023, 0 && stateHdr.searchDesk ? As I understand it, a person describing another as a morto di fame is not wishing for that person to die from hunger. I guess it was the Mangiese la zudiccie that she was trying to say. Hysterical stuff, as entire sentences are mixed in with the dialects, such as sti sciusi allucunnu naisi for these/those shoes look nice. Its interesting to hear about ones different from the dialects Im used to from various areas of Italy. [go-maa-say-GYAM], goopalin snow hat (goobalini) [goo-paa-LEEN], goombah countryman/fellow comrade/godfather (compare) [goom-BAA], guacarunno someone (qualcuno) [gwaa-kaa-ROO-no], gumad mistress/girlfriend (cumare/comare) [goo-MAAD], guyasabbu? Not Italian at all. Our pronunciation help, synonyms, usage and grammar tips set the standard. I know the real translation is bottle (bottiglia). If anyone is interested, I cant tell you how much I LOVE these! I still use all these words and they have been passed to my adult children. the new shows that are on today do not compare to the old shows.not even close. keep going! Get English translations of thousands of Italian words and example sentences from both the Global ItalianEnglish Dictionary and the Password ItalianEnglish Dictionary. Favorite word as a kid growing up, my old man would say LA-SOO-YEE, telling my mom to leave him alone! My mom used to call my boyfriend scualiabeep. It comes with maturing and a growing sense of wonder about people and the world. Italian to English word and phrase translator and translation. I am Sicilian and grew up in the SF Bay Area. My mother uses the Naples pronunciation for grandfather thathone. Literally EVERYONE in my hometown was at least part Italian. She referred to EAT THE CHECHE, eat the meat. (ma tu sei pazzo!) shit! Example sentences from real language to show how the word is used. They come from Campania. I was raised on the west side of Buffalo, NY. [gaa-PEESH], gaguzz muscles/idiot/money/squash (cucuzza) [gaa-GOOTS], gaguzzalonga big muscles (cucuzza lunga) [ga-GOOTS-aa-LOWN-gaa], gambarell/gambanell (door)bell (campanello) [GAMBA-rell], gavadeel italian pasta (cavatelli) [gaa-vaa-DEEL], gavone gluttonous eater (cafone) [gaa-VOAN], gettuzang/gett u sang work hard/bleed (gettare il sangue) [get-oo-ZAANG], ghiacchieron blabbermouth (chiacchierone) [gyaa-kyaa-ROAN], giambott Italian stew (giambotta) [jaam-BAUWT], giamoke/giamocc/jamoke idiot (giamope) [jaam-OAK], gomesegiam?/comesegiam?/gome se chiam how do you say?/whatchamacallit? and I dont remember the rest. His family is from abbruzzi. Most Popular Phrases in Italian to English. 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). There are more words, but I hope these bring back memories. The spellings in thisdictionaryare somewhat arbitrary because these words do not truly belong to English or Italian; they are hybrid creations. The original post mentioned spusada whereas you are referring to the phonetic pronunciation spusdada (variation of official Italian spostata). youre crazy! Ok, heres one for the books. This one stands out: mortadafam really hungy/starving (morta da fame) [moart-aa-daa-faam]. moo-thon-thees (longjohns, thermal underpants) Lots of fun reading this dictionary and seeing so much from the East coast.
