Italian All-in-One For Dummies (56 page)

larga/ghe/go/ghi
(
lahr
-gah/geh/goh/ghee) (
loose
)

corta/e/o/i
(
kohr
-tah/teh/toh/tee) (
short
)

lunga/ghe/go/ghi
(
loohn
-gah/gheh/goh/ghee) (
long
)

You may notice that Italian uses
numero
(
nooh
-meh-roh) (
number
) to talk about shoes, but
taglia
(
tah
-lyah) or
misura
(mee-
sooh
-rah) (
size
) to talk about clothes.

Table 8-2
shows women's shoe sizes in North America and their conversions to European (including Italian) and U.K. sizes.

Table 8-2 Women's Shoe Sizes

Talkin' the Talk

If you've seen the pair of shoes of your dreams
in vetrina
(een veh-
tree
-nah) (
in the shop window
) and you want to try them on, you can follow Michela's example. (Track 16)

Michela:
Posso provare le scarpe esposte in vetrina?

pohs-soh proh-
vah
-reh leh
skahr
-peh eh-
spoh
-steh een veh
-tree
-nah?

May I try on a pair of shoes in the window?

Saleswoman:
Quali sono?

kwah
-lee
soh
-noh?

Which ones?

Michela:
Quelle blu, a destra.

kwehl
-leh blooh, ah
dehs
-trah.

Those blue ones there, on the right.

Saleswoman:
Che numero porta?

keh
nooh
-meh-roh
pohr
-tah?

Which size do you wear?

Michela:
Trentasette.

trehn-tah-
seht
-teh.

Thirty-seven.

Saleswoman:
Ecco qua. Un trentasette . . . sono strette?

ehk
-koh kwah. oohn trehn-tah-
seht
-teh . . . soh-noh
streht
-teh?

Here we are. A 37 . . . are they tight?

Michela:
No. Sono comodissime.

noh.
soh
-noh koh-moh-
dees
-see-meh.

No. They are very comfortable.

Quanto vengono?

kwahn
-toh
vehn
-goh-noh?

How much do they cost?

Saleswoman:
Novanta euro.

noh-
vahn
-tah
eh
-ooh-roh.

Ninety euros.

 

Talking definitely and indefinitely

When you're shopping for something, even if you're looking for something as specific as a blue skirt, you don't say, “I'm looking for
the
blue skirt.” Instead, you say that you're looking for
a
blue skirt, where the indefinite article
a
shows that you don't have a specific object in mind.

You use exactly the same construction in Italian:
I'm looking for a blue skirt
becomes
Sto cercando una gonna blu
(stoh cher-
kahn
-doh
ooh
-nah
gohn
-nah blooh);
una,
here, is your indefinite article, which corresponds to the English
a
and
an.
In Italian, the article has to match the gender of the word: Feminine words (which usually end with
-a
), use
una
and
un',
and masculine words (which usually end with
-o
) use
un
or
uno.

Coloring your words

Of course, knowing some
colori
(koh-
loh
-ree) (
colors
) is important when you're shopping for clothes, shoes, or anything! To make life a little easier for you,
Table 8-3
lists the most common colors. Some colors agree in number and gender, some agree only in number, and some are invariable. The following table is organized accordingly (with the first set agreeing in number and gender).

Table 8-3 Colors

Choosing the right fabric

Each type of fabric has its own characteristics. You need to choose
la
stoffa giusta
(lah
stohf
-fah
jooh
-stah) (
the right fabric
) for your garment. If it's an elegant piece, you'll choose
seta
(
seh
-tah) (
silk
),
velluto
(vehl-
looh
-toh) (
velvet
), or
raso
(
rah
-soh) (
satin
).
Cotone
(koh-
toh
-neh) (
cotton
) and
lino
(
lee
-noh) (
linen
) fabrics are fresh and practical, very suitable for sportswear and summer clothing. No time to iron your clothes? Then choose
acrilico e sintentico
(ah-
kree
-lee-koh eh seehn-
teh
-tee-koh) (
acrylic
and
synthetic
), but don't complain if you don't look glamorous in clothing made with these materials!