Italian Proverbs || 10 of the Most Used Proverbs in Italy (by Native Speakers)

10 Funny Italian Proverbs || Learn How to Use Them

The Italian language is full of colourful idiomatic expressions that add a touch of humour and playfulness to everyday conversations.

As a language learner, it’s important to not only understand the grammar and vocabulary, but also the nuances and cultural references that make the language unique.

One way to immerse yourself in the Italian language is by learning some of the funniest and most commonly used Italian expressions.

In this article, you’ll learn 10 commonly used funny Italian expressions.

By learning how to use them in the right context, your Italian will sound much more native-like!

Italian Proverbs || Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato

Italian Proverbs || Far venire il latte alle ginocchia

Italian Proverbs || Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona

Italian Proverbs || Avere le mani bucate

Italian Proverbs || Scoprire l’acqua calda

Italian Proverbs || Starci come i cavoli a merenda

Italian Proverbs || Cascare dal pero

Italian Proverbs || Vivere al Colosseo

Italian Proverbs || Essere di manica larga

Italian Proverbs || Essere come il prezzemolo

Italian Proverbs || FAQs

Italian Proverbs || Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato

This saying literally translates as “if it is not soup, it is wet bread.”

It is an ironic phrase, used jokingly when, among several options, someone chooses the correct one only because it is the last one left, and not because they actually knew the right answer.

So here is an example of a scene that has happened to pretty much every Italian child in school:

Teacher: Due più due fa quattro, vero o falso? (Two plus two makes four, true or false?)

You: Falso! (False!)

Teacher: Sbagliato! (Wrong answer!)

You: Allora, vero! (Then, true!)

Teacher: Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato. (If it’s not soup, it’s wet bread.)

Italian Proverbs || Far venire il latte alle ginocchia

This saying literally translates as “to make milk reach someone’s knees“.

It means to bore someone to death, or to exasperate someone.

When someone talks slowly and takes half an hour to get to the point, you can say – not in front of him, but when telling your friends about it – “quel tizio mi faceva venire il latte alle ginocchia” (“that guy made milk reach my knees.”)

If your friend is listening to the latest album by a boring artist whose songs are all the same, you can say, “possiamo cambiare musica? Questa mi fa venire il latte alle ginocchia” (“Can we change the music? This makes milk reach my knees.”)

This Italian idiom derives from the fact that milking a cow by hand is a long, tiring, often tedious practice, because the milk inside the bucket has to reach up to knee level.

That’s why we use this proverb to describe a slow, heavy situation that bores and exhausts.

Italian Proverbs || Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona

“Who goes to Rome, loses his seat“.

This saying rhymes in Italian, and it’s used both literally, when someone takes your seat while you weren’t there, and metaphorically, when someone takes advantage of a person’s absence.

The typical situation where you hear this phrase is when you’re watching TV with your siblings, you get up to go to the bathroom and they take your seat because it’s more comfortable

Ultimately when you return you complain, and they say: “Chi va a Roma perde la poltrona!”

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Italian Proverbs || Avere le mani bucate

Can you guess what it would mean when we say “have holes in your hands“?

This Italian proverb means you’re a spendthrift, so it’s like you can’t keep money in your hand.

When someone spends a lot of money on unnecessary things you can use this idiom.

It especially applies if they don’t have a lot of money.

You can say that person “ha le mani bucate“.

If you know any Italian friends who are shopaholics, this is the Italian proverb you should be using to describe them.

See how they respond! 👀

Italian Proverbs || Scoprire l’acqua calda

This saying literally translates as “discovering hot water“.

It is used when someone realises something obvious that is not surprising at all.

FOR EXAMPLE ||

A: Ci vogliono i soldi per viaggiare! (It takes money to travel!)

B: Hai scoperto l’acqua calda. (You have discovered hot water.)

Italian Proverbs || Starci come i cavoli a merenda

To understand what it means to “fit like cabbage as a snack” ask yourself this question…

Have you ever had cabbage as a snack?

We guess not!

That’s why this expression is used when something has nothing to do with something else.

FOR EXAMPLE || according to Italians, “l’ananas sulla pizza ci sta come i cavoli a merenda” (Pineapple on pizza fits like cabbage as a snack.)

Or, if a friend of yours needs advice on an outfit, and asks you whether or not he should wear that shirt with that jacket, you might reply:

“Per me, ci sta come i cavoli a merenda” (For me, it fits like cabbage as a snack).

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Italian Proverbs || Cascare dal pero

This Italian idioms literal meaning is “to fall from the pear tree“.

This phrase is used when someone is caught off guard, or is totally clueless about something.

FOR EXAMPLE ||

“Quando gli ho detto che doveva consegnare i documenti oggi, è caduto dal pero“. (When I told him he had to deliver the documents today, he fell off the pear tree.)

Italian Proverbs || Vivere al Colosseo

If someone leaves a room or any space without closing the door, in Italian we say he/she “lives at the Colosseum“, because the Colosseum doesn’t have doors or windows.

So the next time your Italian friend leaves the door open, instead of telling him to close it, you can ask them

“Vivi al Colosseo?” (Do you live at the Colosseum?)

It’s sure make them think twice next time!

Italian Proverbs || Essere di manica larga

This Italian proverb literally translates as “having wide sleeves“.

“Essere di manica larga” means being generous, forgiving and understanding and judging without undue severity.

This saying most likely comes from the religious world and from the fact that friars and monks, whose robes have wide sleeves, were more forgiving than priests.

The most common situation in which you would hear this is at school, where students would say phrases like “spero che il prof sia di manica larga” (I hope the professor will have wide sleeves, meaning “be merciful”).

“Questa volta il prof è stato di manica larga coi voti!” (This time the professor had wide sleeves, meaning “gave high marks”).

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Italian Proverbs || Essere come il prezzemolo

In Italian, “to be like parsley” means to be everywhere.

If you run into your friend every time you go out, in many different places and situations, you can say:

“Certo che sei come il prezzemolo!” (Well, you’re like parsley!).

This saying comes from the fact that parsley is found in a wide variety of Italian dishes.

The Italian language is full of idioms like these, and they are all extremely useful for expressing concepts in a more vivid way. Do you know any other sayings? Let us know in the comments!

Learning idioms and proverbs is a really fun way to discover deeper meanings when studying a language.

On that note, we think you might like these too:

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Italian Proverbs || FAQs

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