Today we are going to do… nothing. Uh? No walking, no movies, no activities. That’s “il dolce far niente”, an Italian phrase which means “sweet doing nothing”: just stop what you’re doing, let the world pass you by, and relax.
Intermediate Level – Lesson Nr. 3
Great website! Any chance of their being an “Advanced” level any time soon? =)
Grazie mille
Advanced level? Maybe, but not on the immediate future.
We’d love to do a once a month advanced level lesson, more like a radio show about Italy, but we are still on the planning stage.
😀
mi piace tantissimi!!! 😆 che figata 8)
Moi j’aime bien écouter advanced level aussi puis que je suis encore très loin de ce niveau.
Grazie mille Jane e Massimo! I have a quick question about the dialogue in this lesson. Is Massimo saying, “Non ho voglia”? I wasn’t sure if it was “Non ho voglio” or “non ho voglia”
I look forward to hearing more about your advanced style radio show! I would love to be able to listen to real Italian and follow along with a transcript. Good luck!
Stephen,
It’s “non ho voglia” (I don’t feel like). About the advanced style radio show: we’ll get there!
Grazie, e Buona Fortuna
Ciao Jane e Massimo! Io sono in Italy, in Sestriere per l’Olympia! I am really enjoying your lessons, and they have helped so much with my speaking here. Any chance you can do something Olympic games related in the next few weeks?
Grazie mille,
Lisa Marie Cirincione
Ciao Lisa Marie! WOW! In Italy – lucky you!
Something Olympic games related… sounds like an idea. Let’s see…
Say hi to Italy for us.
Ciao e Buona Fortuna!
Hola Jane and Massimo,
Io mi chiamo Miguel et Io vado a Italia (Venice and Rome), en April. I have been listening to your program, and it’s helping me. Hablo espanol muy bien que me ayuda comprender Italiano. Any other suggestions?
Miguelito
Hola Miguel,
The only suggestion would be to talk as much as you can to people when you go to Italy. That and practicing the podcasts should make it!
Ciao e Buon Viaggio!
ciao,
In the expression ‘il dolce far niente’….why ‘far’ and not ‘fare’?
Also, your translation of ‘il dolce far niente’ is too literal and sounds somewhat awkward…the dictionary I’m using has a better sounding translation. It is ‘delightful idleness’. I hope this helps.
Marvin, you could have used “fare niente”. The expression “far niente” is a colloquialism and it’s way more common than “fare niente”.
ciao massimo e jane! and i’m back on track studying intermediate level lessons. loving it as usual.
ma, ho una domanda. per che se dice “voglia” e non se dice, “voglio”?
in una lezione passata, io ho aprendere “io voglio…”
aiuto, per favore!
😀 my broken italian!
Lucy, “io voglio” is the verb “volere” (to want), while “voglia” as used in this lesson belongs to the expression “avere voglia di”, which means “to have the desire of”, so voglia = desire.