YES ISPEAK ITALIAN HOW TO
How to do it: open your arms and show both palms usually while also raising your shoulders. The word ‘please’ in Italian is translated with (ti) prego which literally means “I pray”. Origin: you are basically praying or hoping for something to happen or someone to stop doing something. What to say: Ti prego! (“Oh, please!”), Ma dai! (“Come on!”), Ma fammi il piacere! (“Be serious!”) This expresses disagreement or disappointment in the situation. If you move your arms while keeping your hands joined in this position, the meaning is still “please” but in the ironic sense of “oh, please/come on/stop it”. If your hands and arms are still, it means that you hope something good is going to happen or you’re asking something of someone (begging). This can communicate both a wish for something to happen or your desire for something to do or to stop doing something. Italy is a very religious country and a common gesture is to join both your hands like you are praying. The “Oh, please!” gesture (the ‘prayer clasp’) It means that you cannot “digest” that person, just like you cannot digest the food that your body rejects or you don’t like. Origin: the gesture indicates a very specific part of your body that’s just above your stomach and it’s usually accompanied by the phrase “you/he/she is here”. What to say: Mi stai qui (literally “You are here”, figuratively “I can’t stand you”) It’s actually pretty funny and not necessarily a rude sign. When to do it: when you can’t stand the person you’re talking to or a third person you’re talking about. How to do it: put your flat hand and forearm horizontally against your stomach. Origin: this gesture symbolizes something ‘magically’ disappearing. You don’t want to get caught! This is probably the only Italian hand gesture that doesn’t need to be accompanied by an expression. When to do it: when you want to tell a friend you want to steal something (not literally, might just be a cookie from the jar!) or you want to point out that someone stole or took something. How to do it: lower the palm and move all your fingers towards the palm, starting with the little finger and finishing with the index while also slowly moving the wrist. Origin: funnily enough, the most common theory could be considered inappropriate and I shall not disclose it here. What to say: Paura, eh? (“You are scared, aren’t you?”) Hai paura?/Hai strizza? (“Are you afraid?”) When to do it: when you challenge someone to do something dangerous or when someone is afraid to do something and you want to tease them. Then keep your hand steady while repeatedly opening and closing your fingers in the pinecone position. How to do it: stretch your fingertips and gather them in order to form a pinecone. This one is similar to the more popular ‘finger purse’ gesture, but all five fingers should open and close repeatedly. Let’s start with the least popular gesture and build our way up to the most popular one.
To help you fully comprehend their meaning, I also included their origin and the proper context in which they should be used. The following Italian gestures are the key to a better understanding of colloquial Italian. For this reason, I took it upon myself to make the real top 10 most popular Italian gestures – a top that includes only signs or gestures that Italians use regularly. And even though it’s not entirely correct, many online charts combine together both popular and obscure gestures. However, only a handful (wink) of these are essential to most Italian conversations.
Italians’ hands don’t like to keep still.
Italians and gestures go together like mozzarella and pizza and you should too.įor example, did you know that Italians use about 250 hand gestures on a daily basis? And no, that’s not a typo. That’s why anyone who wishes to speak Italian like un italiano vero needs to go beyond the famous ‘finger purse’ sign. You don’t really speak Italian if you don’t use your hands too. The Italian hand gestures are considered the essence of the Italian language.
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