Italyabbiocco
noun · Regional · ahb-BYOK-ko
The overwhelming drowsiness that follows a large meal. Roman in origin, now understood nationally, and with no single-word English equivalent.
Italy
Italian Slang for Emotion & Reaction
16 Italian slang terms for emotion & reaction, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.
Surprise, exasperation, delight, disbelief. Often interjections rather than nouns — words that do something rather than name something.
assurdo
adjective · Colloquial
Absurd — but used far more loosely than the English word, as a general marker of anything remarkable, exasperating or extreme.
cavolo
interjection, noun · Colloquial
A euphemism for a much cruder word, used both as an exclamation and as an intensifier: che cavolo vuoi? — 'what the hell do you want?'
+1 more sense
che due palle
phrase · Vulgar
An intensified che palle — what an almighty drag.
Use with care
che palle
phrase, interjection · Vulgar
What a drag; how boring. An extremely common complaint about tedium rather than about anything genuinely bad.
Use with care
fregarsene
verb · Informal
Not to care at all. Me ne frego — 'I couldn't care less'. Chi se ne frega — 'who cares'.
magari
interjection, adverb · Colloquial · mah-GAH-ree
If only! I wish. Standing alone, it expresses a wish the speaker thinks unlikely.
+2 more senses
mah
interjection · Colloquial
Hmm; well now. Signals doubt, scepticism or resigned uncertainty about what has just been said.
mannaggia
interjection · Informal · mah-NAH-jah
Damn; blast. A mild curse of frustration, often extended to mannaggia a te or mannaggia la miseria.
meno male
phrase, interjection · Colloquial
Thank goodness; just as well. Expresses relief that something worse did not happen.
pazzesco
adjective · Colloquial
Insane, unbelievable — usually in a good sense, but usable for anything extreme.
porca miseria
interjection, phrase · Informal
Damn it; bloody hell. The socially safe member of a large family of porca... expressions, the others of which are blasphemous and genuinely offensive.
Use with care
scialla
interjection, adjective · Informal
Relax; take it easy; no worries. Youth slang, Roman in origin and now broadly understood.
sclerare
verb · Informal
To lose it; to flip out from stress or frustration.
scocciare
verb · Colloquial
To annoy, to pester. Uno scocciatore is a pest.
+1 more sense
sticazzi
interjection · Vulgar
So what; who cares. Roman, vulgar, and widely misused outside Rome — it expresses indifference, not admiration, and Romans will tell you so.
Use with care