Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Ben asks,
"How do you say "book" in Italian?"
Come si dice "book" in italiano?
The standard way to ask for the meaning of a word in Italian follows a simple pattern.
First is come, translating as "How" in this context. Come. Come.
Next is si dice. "One says." Si dice.
Si, "one," roughly translating as, "one" as in "one says." Si . si.
Next is the word, dice, "says," as in "one says." Dice.
Dice is from the verb, dire, meaning "to say." Dire.
Together, Come si dice, literally, "How one says," but translates as, "how [does] one say." Come si dice.
After this is the English word, "book."
Last is the phrase, in italiano, meaning "in Italian." In italiano.
First is, in, "in." In. In.
After this is, italiano."Italian," as in "the Italian language." Italiano. Italiano.
Note, when the context is clear, you may omit in italiano.
All together, Come si dice "book" in italiano? means something like "How one says "book" in Italian?" but translates as, "How [does] one say "book" in Italian?" and in more natural English, "How do you say "book" in Italian?"
Note the rising intonation of the sentence to mark that it's a question.
Come si dice "book" in italiano?
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Federica says,
"You say ‘book.'"
Si dice "libro,"
First is the phrase, si dice, which literally means "one says," but translates here as "you say." Si dice.
After this is the answer to the question, libro, "Book." Libro. Libro.
All together Si dice "libro" literally means "One says "book," but it translates as "You say "book.""
Si dice "libro,"
The pattern is:
Come si dice "{ENGLISH WORD}" in italiano?
How do you say "{ENGLISH WORD}" in Italian?
Come si dice "{ENGLISH WORD}" in italiano?
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ENGLISH WORD} placeholder with the word you want to know.
Imagine you want to know the Italian word for "pen."
Ask
"How do you say "pen" in Italian?"
Ready?
Come si dice "pen" in italiano?
"How do you say "pen" in Italian?"
Come si dice "pen" in italiano?
This lesson introduces a grammatically complex, but commonly used, pattern: the impersonal form with si.
The si-construction is used to express what people do in general, rather than point to a specific person.
The pattern is si plus a verb in the third person. The example used in the lesson was si dice, "one says." Let's quickly look at a few more examples.
Si chiama, one calls, as in, "One calls it "a book,""
Si mangia, one eats, as in, "One eats a lot at Christmas."
Si dorme, one sleeps, as in "One sleeps late on Saturday."

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