What should you say if someone asks: Come te la passi?
What are you doing if you limonare?
Is it a good thing if something says you’re tanta roba?
Do you feel embarrassed when you can’t understand everyday colloquial Italian? Are you sick of only learning textbook Italian and still can’t understand Italian slang? Then you need to learn Italian slang!
Using slang is the key to sounding natural in Italian. Natives pepper all sorts of Italian expressions throughout their everyday conversations. Expanding your knowledge of slang directly corresponds to how effectively and accurately you can express yourself and understand others.
In this guide, we’re going to look at 15 of the most popular Italian slang words and phrases that will make you sound like a native Italian speaker.
To continue your learning and help you practice all these new Italian slang words, make sure you download your free PDF cheat sheet using the form below.
1. Come te la passi? / Come ve la passate?
Come te la passi? (pronounced: koh-meh teh lah pah-see), literally ‘how are you passing it?’. It’s similar to the English ‘how do you do?’. If addressed to more than one person, you say Come ve la passate? (using the second person plural ‘voi’).
- Ho sentito dell’incidente, mi dispiace! Come te la passi? – I heard about the accident, I’m so sorry! How are you doing?
2. Taggare
Then we have taggare (pronounced: tahg-gah-reh), which means to tag someone on social media. Just like tag items in shops, which serve to provide information about a particular product, tagging a person in the context of social networks identifies him or her in a place, in a message, in a photograph, or calls them out in a discussion.
- Ti ho taggato nella foto che abbiamo fatto ieri sera. – I tagged you in the photo we took last night.
- Ti ho taggato nella storia di Instagram. – I tagged you in the Instagram story.
3. Alzare il gomito
Then we have alzare il gomito (pronounced: ahl-tsah-reh eel goh-mee-toh). It literally means ‘to raise the elbow’ and it is a funny slang phrase to say ‘to drink heavily’.
- Credo di aver alzato il gomito! – I think I’ve drunk too much!
- Forse hai alzato il gomito un po’ troppo. – Maybe you drank too heavily.
4. Guaglió / Guaglione
The next slang word is guaglió (pronounced: wah-lyoh). It is the shortened version of guaglione, a Neapolitan dialect word that means ragazzo (boy, guy). It is only used in Southern Italy, especially in the Napoli area, to address or to refer to a young male.
- Guagliò, da quanto tempo non ci vediamo! – Mate, long time no see!
- Guagliò, andiamo in spiaggia! – Guys, let’s go to the beach!
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5. Un cavolo
The Italian slang phrase un cavolo (pronounced: oon kah-voh-loh), literally ‘a cabbage’, which is used like the English ‘a damn’ as a synonym for the word niente, ‘nothing’. The word cavolo (pronounced: kah-voh-loh) or cavoli (pronounced: kah-voh-lee) in the plural, which used on its own as an exclamation is a complaint expressing displeasure or annoyance at a situation, like the English ‘damn’, ‘darn’.
- Non vedo un cavolo .- I don’t see a damn thing / anything.
- Non vedo un cavolo, accendi la luce. – I can’t see a damn thing, turn the light on.
6. Ammazza!
Ammazza! (pronounced: ahm-mah-tsah). It comes from the verb ammazzare (‘to kill’) and literally means ‘kill it!’. Despite its eerie meaning, this is an exclamation from Romanesco (the dialect of Rome) that can be used to express amazement and disbelief, like when you hear something unbelievable and didn’t see it coming. It’s often followed by another phrase with che + noun.
- Ammazza, che fortuna! – Wow, how lucky!
7. Fa cagare
One way to say you find something disgusting is the slang phrase fa cagare (pronounced: fah kah-gah-reh), which literally means ‘it makes one poop’, but it’s used with the meaning of ‘how disgusting’. An alternative is mi fa cagare (‘it makes me poop’). Attenzione! This slang comes with a warning as it’s quite vulgar.
- Le ciliegie mi fanno cagare. – I really don’t like cherries.
8. (Non) essere in vena
(Non) essere in vena (pronounced: nohn ehs-seh-reh een veh-nah), literally ‘not to be in vein’. Essere ‘in vein’ means to feel like doing something, to be in the mood for doing something or, more generally, to be in top form. The negative expression is exactly the opposite.
- Oggi non sono in vena di uscire. – I don’t feel like going out today.
- Non sono in vena di ballare. – I’m not in the mood for dancing.
9. Ci sei o ci fai?
This Italian slang term is a sarcastic question. It is: ci sei o ci fai? (pronounced: chee seh-ee oh chee fah-ee). It literally means: ‘are you there or are you doing there?’, but what it means is: ‘are you being stupid on purpose or are you really that stupid?’. It is used when someone is doing something stupid or inappropriate, and precisely you ask them if they are really like that or just acting. Depending on the tone used and the context, this expression could be a playful and ironic phrase as well as a snarky, annoyed one.
- Oggi sei strana, ma ci sei o ci fai? – You’re weird today, are you really like that or are you acting?
10. Costare un botto
Related to money, this Italian slang is costare un botto (pronounced: koh-stah-reh oon boht-toh). The expression un botto means ‘a lot’ or, literally, ‘a bang’ (we’ll see it in other slang phrases too!). If something costa un botto, then it’s very expensive, it costs a lot.
- Mi piacerebbe andare alle Hawaii, ma costano un botto. – I’d love to go to Hawaii, but it’s super expensive.
11. Vai a farti benedire!
Vai a farti benedire! (pronounced: vah-ee ah far-tee beh-neh-dee-reh), literally ‘go get blessed’. It may look like a good wish to someone, but like the previous slang phrases, it also means ‘bugger off’ and it’s not very nice to say! If it’s used in the third person, for example if something va a farsi benedire, then it means it’s going ‘out the window / to hell’.
- Dopo soli due mesi il mio telefono nuovo è andato a farsi benedire. – After only two months my new phone went to hell.
- La mia dignità è andata a farsi benedire ormai. – My dignity has gone to hell by now.
12. Limonare
Then we have the slang verb limonare (pronounced: lee-moh-nah-reh). It means ‘to make out’ and it is the equivalent of the French kiss. In this sense, il limone describes a passionate kiss. This expression originated in Northern Italy and it probably comes from the ancient custom of selling lemons in pairs. Hence the common practice of referring to young couples as ‘lemons’ and, by extension, of the verb limonare instead of kiss.
- Ho visto tuo fratello limonare con Greta alla festa. – I saw your brother making out with Greta at the party.
- Ho visto Federica limonare con Lorenzo. – I saw Federica making out with Lorenzo.
13. Sciallo/a
Sciallo/a (pronounced: shahl-loh/lah). This youth slang originated from the Roman dialect, but it’s now used almost everywhere in Italy. It is both an adjective, meaning ‘calm’, ‘relaxed’ and an exhortation, like tranqui, meaning ‘stay calm’, ‘don’t worry’, ‘everything’s alright’.
- Scialla, non abbiamo fretta. – Relax, we’re not in a hurry.
- Stai sciallo, un brutto voto non è la fine del mondo! – Don’t worry, a bad mark is not the end of the world!
14. Gufare
Gufare (pronounced: goo-fah-reh) is a verb which comes from the noun (il) gufo (owl), but what it actually means is ‘to bring bad luck’ or ‘to jinx’. It’s used when you don’t want to say or do something because you’re afraid you’re going to jinx it.
- Speriamo che non cancellino il volo. – Shh, non gufare! – Let’s hope they’re not going to cancel the flight. – Shh, don’t jinx it!
- Non voglio gufare, ma qui a ferragosto non piove mai! – I don’t want to jinx it, but here on the 15th August it never rains!
15. Tanta roba
Finally, we have tanta roba (pronounced: than-tah roh-bah) which literally means ‘so much stuff’, and it’s now something younger Italians say when they see someone attractive and handsome (both male or female) or when something looks/sounds attractive, interesting, or cool.
- Domani vado al concerto di Dua Lipa. – Tanta roba! – I’m going to Dua Lipa’s concert tomorrow. – Kicks ass!
How to master Italian slang and speak like a native
What should you do if someone asks for spicci?
Is it a good thing if someone says to you: Vai a farti friggere?
Feel lost? Maybe you recognise certain words but still have no idea what they mean in this context.
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