parolaccia
In Italian, the phrase "a swear word" is translated as parolaccia.
The term parolaccia refers to a swear word or profanity. If you want to say "to swear" or "to use profanity," Italians often use the verbal phrase dire una parolaccia. There are several ways to express frustration in Italian depending on the intensity. For example, Dannazione! translates to "Damnation!" and can be used to express frustration or disappointment, while Maledizione! means "Curse!" and can convey strong negative emotions. For expressing annoyance or irritation, you might say Porca miseria!, which literally means "Pig misery!" If you want to be less offensive, Accidente! can be compared to saying "Oh no!" or "Darn it!" in English and is used to express frustration or disappointment. A soft substitute for a stronger swear word starting with the letter "c" in Italian is Cavolo!, which literally means "cabbage".
What does it mean word for word?
The word parolaccia is a compound of parola (word) and the suffix -accia, which is used to denote something bad, ugly or unpleasant.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of parolaccia is parolacce. If you need to describe someone or something that uses a lot of swear words, you can use the adjective parolaccioso.
Did you know?
- In Italy, the use of bestemmie is not just a social taboo but can be a punishable administrative offense in certain public contexts.
- The word parola, which forms the base of parolaccia, is also the root for the English word 'parole', which refers to a released prisoner's promise to behave.
- While a parolaccia is a general swear word, Italy has a distinct category called bestemmie. These are blasphemous oaths that are considered far more offensive than standard profanity.
Examples in context
- "Merda" è una parolaccia.Shit is a swear word.This sentence is useful for identifying that a specific word is a parolaccia.Tatoeba #14041427 by Guybrush88, translation #9550172 by Dmitrij15
- È una parolaccia?Is it a swear word?This sentence is useful for asking if a word is a parolaccia.Tatoeba #14041407 by Guybrush88, translation #11135001 by ddnktr
- Non dire quella parolaccia!Don't say that swear word!
Example conversation
Sofia and Alessandro are at home with a small child.
- SofiaAlessandro, non dire quella parolaccia davanti al bambino.Alessandro, don't say that swear word in front of the child.
- AlessandroScusa, Sofia, non volevo.Sorry, Sofia, I didn't mean to.
- SofiaCerca di fare attenzione.Try to be careful.
- AlessandroHai ragione, lo farò.You're right, I will.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
