Famed anthropologist Desmond Morris was once lead As the saying goes, “The hand is to people what a baton is to an orchestra, guiding rhythm and meaning.” With this metaphor in mind, we can safely say that Italians, with all their non-verbal gestures, body language, and gestures, are “the best conductors in the world”!
Many Italian gestures derive from the Neapolitan tradition, which can be defined as the home of the sign language, even though they are now found in all regions of Italy. Interestingly, some of these words have so complex meanings that they can replace not just individual words, but entire sentences!
we’ve seen it before 20 gestures commonly used by Italians Use it every day, and today, we’re taking a look at 20 more products you can’t live without!
1. Mmm, che nervi!
translate: Oops, how annoying!
If you see someone bite the knuckle of their own finger, usually the index finger, they may be expressing anger.
2. Coffee? there is none left!
translate: coffee? None left!
To say “I don’t have any” or “Nothing left,” spread your index finger and thumb apart in a pistol shape, and turn your hand from side to side.
3. I don’t care!
translate: I don’t care at all!
If you want to appear completely disinterested, you can put your hand under your chin and flick it forward in a repetitive motion.
4. Someone took it!
translate: Someone took it!
When you see someone open their hand and then slowly close one finger starting from the little finger, they are referring to someone who is prone to stealing!
5. What did you say?
translate: What did you say?
On the other hand, if your hand is kept open and slightly bent near your ear, it means you didn’t catch it, didn’t hear it, or wondered if the person had the courage to repeat what he or she just said.
6. Do you have a cigarette?
translate: Do you have a cigarette?
When mentioning cigarettes, because you want one or want to go out for a smoke, you can place your index and middle fingers slightly apart, at the level of your mouth, and the person in front of you will understand what you are talking about .
7) Come on, I’m hungry!
translate: Let’s go, I’m hungry!
If you’re with your friends and want to tell them you’re hungry and want to eat, you can slap your waistline with your fingers together, palms down.
8) I’ll make a call later
translate: I just have to make a quick call.
If you want to tell someone you need to call, you can use this gesture: Spread your thumb and pinky fingers apart, make a fist with your other fingers, and bring your hand close to your ear, like a telephone receiver.
9) The exam is so-so
translate: Exam so-so
When you want to say something “so-so,” you bend your elbow, open your hand and rotate it slightly.
10) Are you crazy?
translate: Are you crazy?
If you bend your elbows and wave your hands in front of your face, you’re telling someone they’re crazy.
11) ok, ok, i’m fine
translate: ok ok i’m fine
When you want to make sure someone knows what’s wrong with you, you can touch your index finger and thumb together to form a circle, with the other fingers pointing up.
12. Near here
translate: come over
To tell someone to come closer, we put our palms down, fingers outstretched, and make a beckoning motion to encourage them to come toward us.
13) It stinks!
translate: It stinks!
If you see a person waving their hand in front of their nose and making a disgusted expression, we know for sure that the place smells bad!
14) No you can’t, it’s dangerous
translate: no we can’t do that, it’s dangerous
For example, when you want to tell your child he can’t do something, you can point your index finger up while keeping your other fingers clenched into a fist, and shake your hand from right to left.
15) I don’t know, I really don’t know
translate: I have no idea.
A gesture widely used in Italy is called “shrug”. You can shrug your shoulders to show that you don’t know something or that whatever the other person is talking about has nothing to do with you.
16) Should we have two strings?
translate: Shall we have some pasta?
When a person wants to say they want pasta, they point their index and middle fingers down, forming a fork shape, and swirl it left and right.
17) What can I use it for?
translate: what do I do?
To say that something has nothing to do with you, or that you cannot influence the outcome of something, open your hands, palms up in front of your chest, and shake them gently with your arms.
18) I saw you that night
translate: i saw you that night
Another very famous gesture in Italian culture is used to signify something shady: when you bend your wrist and move your fingers downward in a circular motion, it means that someone has done something that probably should be hidden.
19) He said “always”
translate: he said “always”
When you want to be sarcastic, place the index and middle fingers of both hands in front of your forehead and move them up and down, like quotation marks.
20. Are there many people? so full!
translate: Are there many people? It’s packed!
If you go to a crowded place and want to say that there are many people, you can open your hands, palms facing up, and put your ten fingers together.
What’s your favorite Italian gesture on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
About Allegra Lucarelli: Allegra is an in-home language consultant and bilingual influencer.She helps families raise their children to be bilingual and multilingual AllegraLu.com.
