Learn Italian Blessings and Sayings: Let’s Explore the Country’s Customs

Learning famous expressions is critical to dipping into the country’s culture and understanding its residents better. Of course, you should first master the basics, including the alphabet, grammar, conjugations, and the simplest topics like time, figures, weather, etc. Afterward, you can familiarize yourself with Italian quotes about love, life, and other vital themes. Such phrases will help you enrich your vocabulary and show mastery when speaking. It’s time to familiarize yourself with the most widespread sayings.

Wisdom Through the Ages: Italian Proverbs About Life

Using common sayings is a great idea to demonstrate deep language knowledge and respect for Italian customs. Expressions about life aim to show the beauty of everything surrounding us and the value of every little moment. Look at some common phrases: 

1. La vita è bella [lˈa vˈita ˈɛː bˈɛlla] – Life is beautiful.
2. La vita è fatta così [lˈa vˈita ˈɛː fˈatːa kozˈi] – Life is like that.
3. Finché c'è vita c'è speranza [finkˈe t͡ʃˈɛː vˈita t͡ʃˈɛː sperˈant͡sa] – As long as there is life, there is hope.
4. L’abito non fa il monaco [ˈɛlle’ˈabito nˈon fˈa ˈiːl mˈɔnako] – A dress doesn’t make the priest.
5. Cane che abbaia non morde [kˈane kˈe abːˈaia nˈon mˈɔrde] – A dog that barks doesn’t bite.
6. Chi si volta, e chi si gira, sempre a casa va finire [kˈi sˈi vˈɔlta, ˈeː kˈi sˈi d͡ʒˈira, sˈɛmpre ˈaː kˈaza vˈa finˈire] – Whatever and whoever turns around, you’ll always end up at home.
7. Chi nasce tondo non può morir quadrato [kˈi nˈaʃe tˈondo nˈon pʊˈɔ morˈir kwadrˈato] – Those born round cannot die square.
8. Occhio non vede, cuore non duole [ˈɔkːio nˈon vˈede, kʊˈɔre nˈon dʊˈɔle] – The eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t hurt.
9. Meglio tardi che mai [mˈɛʎo tˈardɪ kˈe mˈaj] – Better late than never.
10. Nessuna nuova, buona nuova [nes͡sˈuna nʊˈɔva, bʊˈɔna nʊˈɔva] – No news is good news.

Have you ever heard any of the above phrases? Italians sometimes use quotes in their daily communication to bring the wisdom of centuries. These expressions have analogs in different languages, and English is no exception, so it’s easier to understand their meaning.

Italian Sayings About Love and Relationship

Love is the feeling that drives the world, so it’s evident that the Italian language has numerous famous sayings on this topic. Of course, you should first learn how to greet people and express your feelings to the one you like. After that, you can master more complicated expressions about love that will significantly enrich your Italian vocabulary list. 

1. Amore non è senza amaro [amˈore nˈon ˈɛː sˈɛnt͡sa amˈaro] – Love is not without bitterness.
2. L’amore è cieco [ˈɛlle’amˈore ˈɛː t͡ʃˈɛko] – Love is blind.
3. Sfortunato al gioco fortunato in amore [sfortʊnˈato ˈal d͡ʒˈɔko fortʊnˈato ˈiːn amˈore] – Unlucky in the game, lucky in love.
4. Chi si assomiglia si piglia [kˈi sˈi as͡somˈiʎa sˈi pˈiʎa] – Whoever is similar gets along.
5. L’amore è un viaggio non una destinazione [lamˈore ˈɛːˈun vjˈad͡ʒːo nˈon ˈuna destinat͡siˈone] – Love is a journey, not a destination.
6. L’amore domina senza regole [lamˈore domˈina sˈɛnt͡sa rˈɛɡole] – Love rules without rules.
7. Amore e gelosia nacquero insieme [amˈore ˈeː d͡ʒelozˈia nˈakːwero insɪˈɛme] – Love and jealousy were born together.
8. L’amore si misura in piatti cucinati [ˈɛlle’amˈore sˈi mizˈura ˈiːn pjˈatːɪ kʊt͡ʃinˈatɪ] – Love is measured in cooked dishes.

The above expressions are common among Italians, and you can often hear them during a routine discussion. Learning at least a few will boost your vocabulary and help you understand the natives better.

Italian Phrases About Family

Family is the most precious thing every person has in their lives. Mother, father, children, sisters, brothers, and other relatives are all quite important. Let’s learn some Italian quotes that emphasize the value of family:

1. Amor di madre, amore senza limiti [amˈor dˈi mˈadre, amˈore sˈɛnt͡sa lˈimitɪ] – Mother’s love is limitless.
2. L’affetto verso i genitori e fondamento di ogni virtù [ˈɛlle’affˈɛtːo vˈɛrso ˈi d͡ʒenitˈorɪ ˈeː fondamˈento dˈi ˈoɲɲɪ vˈirtʊ] – Affection towards parents is the foundation of every virtue.
3. Tale padre, tale figlio [tˈale pˈadre, tˈale fˈiʎo] – Like father, like son.
4. Una buona mamma vale cento maestre [ˈuna bʊˈɔna mˈamma vˈale t͡ʃˈɛnto maˈɛstre] – A good mother is worth a hundred teachers.
5. La famiglia è tutto [lˈa famˈiʎa ˈɛː tˈutːo] – Family is everything.

Maybe these quotes inspire you to call your parents and tell them how much you love them. In any case, close relatives are of utmost importance for Italians, and their respect for the mother and father can be seen in famous expressions, so choose the most exciting Italian saying about family.

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Quotes About Friendship in Italian

Friends are important to most people, so it’s not surprising there are so many sayings about them. Of course, you can always use an Italian proverb about family to your close people. However, friendship is no less valuable for most people, so grab a few expressions about it: 

1. Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro [kˈi trˈɔva ˈun amˈiko, trˈɔva ˈun tezˈɔro] – Whoever finds a friend finds a treasure.
2. L’amico vero si vede nel momento del bisogno [ˈɛlle’amˈiko vˈero sˈi vˈede nˈɛl momˈento dˈel bizˈoɲɲo] – A true friend is seen in times of need.
3. Gli amici sono la famiglia che scegliamo noi stessi [ʎˈɪ amˈit͡ʃɪ sˈono lˈa famˈiʎa kˈe ʃeʎˈamo nˈoi stˈes͡sɪ] – Friends are the family we choose ourselves.
4. L’amico è colui che sa tutto di te e nonostante questo continua a esserti amico [ˈɛlle’amˈiko ˈɛː kolˈuːi kˈe sˈa tˈutːo dˈi tˈe ˈeː nonostˈante kwˈesto kontˈinʊa ˈad ˈɛs͡sertɪ amˈiko] – A friend is someone who knows everything about you and still continues to be your friend.
5. L’amicizia migliora la felicità e abbatte l’infelicità, col raddoppiare della nostra gioia e col dividere il nostro dolore [ˈɛlle’amit͡ʃˈit͡sia miʎˈora lˈa felit͡ʃitˈa ˈeː abːˈatːe ˈɛlle’infelit͡ʃitˈa, kˈɔl radːopːjˈare dˈella nˈɔstra d͡ʒˈɔia ˈeː kˈɔl divˈidere ˈiːl nˈɔstro dolˈore] – Friendship improves happiness and reduces unhappiness, by doubling our joy and sharing our pain.
6. Un vero amico è quello che entra quando il resto del mondo esce [ˈun vˈero amˈiko ˈɛː kwˈɛllo kˈe ˈentra kwˈando ˈiːl rˈɛsto dˈel mˈondo ˈeʃe] – A true friend is the one who comes in when the rest of the world leaves.

We agree that having a reliable friend is equal to finding a treasure. Using widely common expressions is among the best ways to demonstrate your warm feelings to close people and remind them how important they are to you.

Italian Sayings About Food and Love

The country boasts one of the best cuisines that is famous worldwide. Locals pay special attention to what they eat, and the number of excellent Italian dishes impresses even the pickiest gourmets. Therefore, food is special for the country’s residents, and they couldn’t deal with it without some common expressions about it: 

1. Avere il prosciutto sugli occhi [avˈere ˈiːl proʃˈutːo sˈuʎɪ ˈɔkːɪ] – Having ham on your eyes (being careless to an evident situation).
2. Rompere le uova nel paniere [rˈompere lˈe wˈɔva nˈɛl paniˈɛre] – Breaking eggs in the basket (ruining someone’s plans).
3. Essere l’altra metà della mela [ˈɛs͡sere ˈɛlle’ˈaltra metˈa dˈella mˈɛla] – Be the other half of the apple (finding a soulmate, true love).
4. La mela non cade mai lontana dall’albero [lˈa mˈɛla nˈon kˈade mˈaj lontˈana dˈal’ˈalbero] – The apple never falls from the tree (referring to the similarities between children and their parents).
5. Fare le nozze coi fichi secchi [fˈare lˈe nˈɔt͡sːe kˈɔi fˈikɪ sˈekːɪ] – Have a wedding with dried figs (making an inappropriate choice).
6. Buono come il pane [bʊˈɔno kˈome ˈiːl pˈane] – As good as bread (describing a kind and altruistic person).

Of course, Italians are not always serious, as they have a great sense of humor and love to laugh. Therefore, numerous Italian sayings about food are funny and exciting. Many of them can instead be considered idioms, as they don’t have a direct meaning. Sometimes, it’s challenging to understand what a particular quote says, as there are no analogs in other languages. 

However, eating remains essential to the country’s culture, and locals are insanely proud of their cuisine. It might be surprising, but most pizza and pasta dishes you can order in restaurants outside Italy have nothing in common with the original recipe. So, trying authentic food is among the main reasons to visit this fantastic country.

Learn More Italian Blessings and Sayings with Promova

Are you excited about mastering the language even more? The Promova platform offers plenty of useful materials and expressions you can use in daily communication with Italians. We offer guided courses to help learners strengthen their knowledge and reach the desired level at their own pace. 

Learners can download a convenient Promova app or use the web version to enjoy thrilling lessons wherever they are. Lots of new words on different topics, exciting quizzes, speaking activities, and grammar exercises will help boost your knowledge. Remember that regularity is the key to successful learning, and devote time to mastering the Italian language. Subscribe to the Premium version of the app to get even more benefits.

Conclusion

Learning the common Italian phrases about family, love, and friendship is a great idea for those who would like to explore the country’s history and culture. Locals value their traditions, and some expressions have been used for centuries. Memorize at least some proverbs and quotes to impress your interlocutor with a knowledge of Italian.