r/Italian

i think someone unintentionally (or possibly intentionally) gave me the malocchio so basically i became friends with this one girl a month ago (we will call her magie) , n shes a sweet girl but a decent amount of her compliments are jealousy based

not all but a good amount

for context im good friends with this one guy (we will call him ian) n me n him always compliment eachother- n she has tried to get his attention in VERY strange ways

well the other day maggie said “i wish ian gave me the same attention he gives u” - yesterday when me n my family were talking i was saying something really nice that ian said to me (it had to the convo topic) n i wasnt eating anything while talking ab this well while i was talking about it i bit the inside of my mouth really hard n not even near on purpose. 30 minutes later from that i got the WORST headache imaginable

also yesterday my jewelry holder randomly fell n it was so weird, my toenail randomly got a big ass crack (i kinda fixed it)

also ian has a discord server n this girl that hates me bc he rejected her (yes a different girl- we will call her bonnie) joined the server again randomly n tried to apologize to him for her behavior n thats been making me feel on edge- point is bonnie joined n apologized so randomly, bonnie has also shown ACTUAL jealousy towards me that is more obvious than what maggie is doing

maggie also has said that she wishes she had my body, n she wishes people treated her like they treated me

i also randomly kept tripping dropping things n ive just been feeling a bigger wave of anxiety recently as well - way more than normal

i dont wanna sound full of myself but i feel like i couldve gotten the malocchio from either maggie or bonnie- im gonna do the olive oil test later but i needed to put this here first bc im freaking out

Hey!

The majority of my family is from the Vincenza region. I know the cornicello is a very southern tradition. What are traditional talismans and good luck charms in the Northern regions?

Hi, so I'm wondering if there are any terms of endearment for kids that mean "little shark" or "baby shark"

Also, if you know any other cute names a parent would call their kid please let me know!

I (36f) am looking for an Italian boyfriend. 30-45m. I am UK based and a professional girl who loves watching rugby and cooking - how would I go about this? I'm looking for someone preferably based in Italy so I can move over. Is tinder my best option? Please help? Anyone with experience in this please offer support, thanks.

[UPDATE] Thank you everyone for the many thoughtful replies:) I didn’t expect to receive so many comments, and it has been genuinely interesting to read such a wide range of perspectives. I’m reading through all the comments and will reply to them one by one as I work my way through them later. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experiences and perspectives!

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My boyfriend is Italian, and I’m trying to understand whether something that happened between us is genuinely a cultural difference or simply a difference between our individual communication styles.

I had made a dish and, when my boyfriend saw it, he said, “What is that?” while looking visibly displeased. He continued to look at it with a disgusted or disapproving expression and then said, “It probably has no flavour anyway, does it?” He said this because I generally prefer food to be less strongly seasoned than he does.

For context, the dish was seasoned. I had used Japanese-style seasonings. At the time, I told him that although the seasoning was different, the dish was not unseasoned or bland.

When I later told him that I found his comments and reaction disrespectful towards food I had cooked, he said that this kind of teasing is normal among people in his community and that the incident was a very small thing.

I understand that what is considered acceptable teasing can differ between cultures and social groups. Personally, I would neither speak this way about food someone had cooked nor want someone to speak this way about mine.

So I’m particularly interested in hearing from Italians: would this kind of comment and reaction be considered normal teasing in your family or social circle? Would you say something like this to your boyfriend about food they had cooked? And if your partner told you that they found it hurtful or disrespectful, would you still consider it normal banter?

Hi all, first post on reddit.

My family is from Petilia Policastro, Calabria. I grew up hearing Italian and some of those words stuck with me through the years. I don't speak Italian so I'm at a loss. Unfortunately, all of my family members are dead now so there is no one I can ask.

They used a dialect word that sounded like “goo-NYAH-nya” (sometimes I hear it as “gunauwna”).

It's possibly spelled: 'nguàgna, nguagna, or 'nguagnu.

They would attach this word to a car, a building, or some object that looked funny or not quite right. After one of them would say it, everyone else would laugh hysterically.

Does anyone recognize this word or know how it’s spelled or what it means?

Thank you!

Ciao ragazzi, f26, io sto imparando l'italiano e vorrei uno corrispondente per scrivere o chiamata ! Uomo o donna, non importa.

Hi! My Italian ex and I just broke up about a week ago, and we ran into each other at the bar last night. I know all his friends so as I was getting a drink I said a quick hello and he gave me the two quick kisses, which he never did while dating. If we weren’t kissing goodbye he would just give me a regular hug. Then as he was leaving he came over to me and did it again? Is this like a more formal greeting/goodbye than a regular hug? Thanks!

hi! i really like italian laundry detergents and in general, how beautiful italian laundry smells 😅 do you have any specific recommendations of washing liquid, softener and perfume you use? currently i had chante clair marsilia washing liquid, felce azzura original softener and chante clair muschio bianco perfume but looking for genuine recommendations from italians what combinations you use as i’d like to get the same effect. thanks!

Basta sono stati 3 anni di inferno fra parenti morti sforzi e sopportazioni adesso a 19 anni dopo 5 anni di superiori di cui gli ultimi 3 soprattutto 1 di merda mi sono rotto il cazzo vado da una puttana adesso che ho pure i soldi basta.

I’m curious, because I’ve seen national pride dip significantly, people are constantly leaving, and going elsewhere. Curious why. Is it politics? Cultural? Is it a boring country? Just curious.